Question:Well, first marathon, first serious bonk. Through all my training leading
up to the marathon (16, 18, and 21 milers) I never truly experienced a
serious wall. I always finished very strong and on pace for a 4hr (+/- a
couple of minutes) pace. Well, yesterday at about mile 16 or 17 I had
serious problems. I had to stop on several occasions to go uphill and
really thought I wouldn't finish. The good part is that I did finish and
gutted it out through the last three miles in pretty good time despite the
cramping in my quads.
My question is this, was my bonk simply a matter of getting psyched by my
first marathon attempt. Could I have been dehydrated or simply run out of
fuel too early? I intend to continue with the marathon training as I have
the bug to improve my time. I just know I can do better. Any advice or
stories of your own would be great.
Answer:
you now know first hand what is oft repeated in the forum... The
halfway point of a marathon is the 20-mile mark.
My first 'thon was a very similar experience... Made it thru five long runs,
including a 25 miler, and felt pretty confident... Race day was another
matter, and I bonked VERY early and finished only through strength of will.
Couple of thoughts: You had three long runs with a max of 21. With a goal
time of 4 hours, you may have been a bit underprepared. A fourth run
somewhere in the 23-24 mile range might have made an impact. Also, if you
were cramping in the quads, that's a signature of dehydration. Next time,
maybe hit more water stops. Did you manage to take in enough calories
during the run?
Could be any number of things really... And certainly getting psyched up for
your first marathon can sometimes be more of a negative thing than a
positive one. Good thing is now you are all the wiser and I suspect your
second marathon will be more positive...
Probabaly the best marathon preparation is to have run one previously.
Race conditions differ from training conditions.
The excitemnet can make you go out too fast, and at the same time
help you finish after the bonk.
You may find that being intentially slow in the beginning, to the
point of feeling constrained, may help you in the end by preserving
energy.
Another difference is many marathons are mostly on cement, which is
the most punishing of surfaces.
