Tomoka Marathon FTW! Post-Race Review and Nutrition Analysis

I raced the Tomoka Marathon on Sunday March 29th...

At the finish with my biggest fan!

Synopsis:

3:18:23 (chip time), a BQ and PR by more than 16 minutes

3rd overall female, 1st in my age group (F 30-35)

Going into the race, I had the following goals:

Primary: Run sub 3:20
Secondary: Run sub 3:30
Tertiary: Run a BQ, sub 3:35

In other words, I killed it!!

Happy finish!

Pacing:

The thing I am most proud of is how I held my pace. Solid 7:25-7:30 for the first 16 miles, and slowed up just slightly during the portion on soft dirt, miles 19-21. But I resumed 7:30 pace for the entirety of the race, and actually picked up to a 6:50 pace for the last mile.

The other thing I came to realize during and following this race is that I think I could have held an even faster pace. I felt consistently good during the race, and pushed myself to the edge of my "safe zone" that I knew I could hold. But perhaps it was too safe. Perhaps I felt too good in the last 10K of the race. Perhaps I could have pushed it beyond and succeeded! This idea is hanging with me as I move into the next phase of my training for the year: getting back to shorter distances and speed. I want to test myself at faster paces held for longer intervals. I feel like I have a mental barrier on how fast I think I can run, and I want to push that barrier down.

Nutrition:

I stuck with my fueling plan and it seemed to work flawlessly. For the first time, I did not hit the wall in a marathon. There was no bonking whatsoever. Even as I began to feel fatigue, I did not feel total energy depletion, and my intake of fuel was spaced perfectly for my stomach to handle.

Here is what I did in the days leading up to the race, race day, and during the race:

10 days out: Switched to 65% of calories from fat

3 days out:  Switched to 70% of calories from carbs (approx 500g carbs/day)

2 days out: Last big meal for dinner, consumed more electrolytes

1 day out: Continue complex carbs, even more electrolytes

18 hours out: Small meals every 2-3 hours. After lunch, cut out: red meat, fried foods, dairy, fats, & fiber

3 hours out: Breakfast of low-fiber carbs, small amount of protein (bagel, banana, peanut butter)

2 hours out: 12-16 oz sports drink (Gatorade)

1 hour out: Black coffee and Hammer Perpetuum

30 min out: Edurolytes, Tylenol

2-1 min out: Gel + 4 oz water

During the race: 

• 4 oz Gatorade at 4.5 miles
• 4 oz water + Hammer Gel at mile 8.3
• 4 oz Gatorade at mile 12.9
• 4 oz water + Hammer Gel at mile 16
• 4 oz Gatorade at mile 19
• 4 oz water + Hammer Gel at mile 23

I generally followed the Marathon Blueprint plan from Runners Connect, which really helped me realize how I had been under-fueling for pretty much all of my past marathons. The only thing I adjusted was the volume of fluid intake. The Blueprint suggested 8 oz of water/Gatorade at each stop, based upon my calculated sweat loss rate. But when I tried this on my "dress rehearsal" run of 13.1 miles at marathon race pace, I got a bit sloshy. So instead of taking two cups at each aid station, I took one, and never felt sloshy or thirsty during the run. While I really like the Marathon Blueprint, that is one adjustment I would make to it: it assumes that all sweat lost must be replaced, but everything else I have read, and experienced, suggests that drinking by thirst is the best way to go.

All in all, everyone's nutrition plan is going to be different and it is mostly a matter of trial and error. I can do bananas before races, some people can't. So by NO MEANS should anyone mimic my nutrition strategy with precision! I'm just documenting what worked well for me...extremely well, in fact!

Post-race fueling is a must.

It is also important to note that post-race, within 10 minutes of finishing, I took down two scoops of Endurox R4 (Pacific Health Labs), which has been my choice of carb/protein recovery drink.


My body:

My hips and hamstrings held up just fine, much to my relief. I didn't even feel the little nagging hip pain that had been sitting there for a couple of weeks. I held my form pretty well, judging by my husbands pictures and video, and my achilles never gave me a problem. Tapering definitely helped get rid of those little issues that started to hit towards the end of training. Big thanks to Dr Matt Maggio for his incredible help keeping me structurally sound!

Gear:

I don't have too much to note about gear, except that my Oiselle Mac Roga shorts were PERFECT. Didn't ride up, didn't chaffe. First time I finished a marathon without raw inner thighs!

As I noted in a previous post, I ran in my Saucony Zealots and they worked flawlessly. Exactly the right combination of low weight and forefoot cushioning for my taste. Toes splayed out in the toebox, and I still have all of my toenails!

I ran in Zensah calf sleeves, as I always do during marathons. No calf soreness or cramping, but I have no way of directly linking that to the calf sleeves.

Everything held up wonderfully!

Race Review:

The Tomoka Marathon was very well organized and set in an ideal location. The start/finish area was at Rockefeller Gardens in Ormond Beach, which was easily accessible and a beautiful setting. My family had no problem parking and finding me. The course itself is absolutely gorgeous - flat, shaded most of the way, and very scenic, especially in the latter half of the race. The first half was through residential areas mostly, after which it snaked through Tomoka Park. The beautiful, old Florida cypress and oak trees shaded the roadways. The only part of the course that I disliked was the short jaunt into a soft-dirt trail around miles 19-21. My pace slowed then, naturally, but I did regain it when we got back on paved road. The only "hill" of the race was the bridge crossing in the final mile. It actually didn't feel as bad as I had feared, especially the nice downhill side.

A beautiful course!

The only thing about the race that I would change:

They started the half-marathon about 30 mins after the start of the full marathon, and the half course was went the opposite direction of the full marathon, then doubled back to the same finish line. So the last 6 miles of the marathon was quite congested with the latter group of half-marathoners - many walking - and the lead group of full marathon runners. Maybe in the future, they could either start the half an hour before the full, or have the half go the same direction as the full and then double back.

The final stretch to the finish, having just come over the bridge.

All in all, I am SO happy with this race and how my preparation paid off! As we all know, marathons can be hit or miss, and often random factors can turn a very well-prepared-for race go south. This time the stars aligned for me, and I am grateful!

Marathon Taper Nutrition: Fat First, Then Carbs

As previously mentioned, I've been studying Matt Fitzgerald's book, New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutrition, and implementing his methods throughout my own training in combination with the Runners Connect Marathon Nutrition Blueprint. The philosophies are generally in alignment, with the Blueprint more specific for race day fueling strategy and New Rules informing most of my general training nutrition approach.

An excellent training resource, Runners Connect

A very worthwhile read, The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition

With the Tomoka Marathon nine days away, I am now five days into my marathon taper! During past marathons, I had not taken my taper nutrition as seriously as I should have. Sure, added in more carbs in the three or four days before the race, but no other real strategy or method there. How I did in those races varied somewhat, but even in my most successful, BQ-ing race, I hit the wall, every time. This time I am dedicated to pushing that wall away, and feel very confident in my ability to properly fuel during the race thanks to Runners Connect's Blueprint. As for the taper diet, I am now on Day 5 of Fitzgerald's recommended approach: 65% of calories from fat for 10 days (on a 2-week taper), then switching to 70% of calories from carbohydrates for 3 days prior to competition.

The idea is that by cutting carbs and cuing fat, the body switches into a zone of higher fat utilization as primary fuel, priming the athlete's system to burn fat more effectively before switching over to carbs. Marathon runners would sustain their activity for a longer period of time before becoming glycogen depleted, aka "hitting the wall." The 3-day carb loading period ensures that the runner is then fully glycogen loaded before their race. In essence, it provides the best of both worlds: capacity to burn mostly fat, but also turbo-loaded with carbs.

Fats and then Carbs! from TheFitFork.com

The approach is also grounded in some practice, namely one particular study, described here on Competitor.com:

"In 2001, Vicki Labert, and exercise scientist at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, tested the effects of 10 days of fat loading followed by three days of carbo loading on endurance performance in cyclists. After warming up with two hours of moderate-intensity cycling, Lambert's subjects were able to complete a 20K time trial 4.5 percent faster after using this protocol than they did when carb loading was preceded by their normal diet." - Matt Fitzgerald, Competitor.com, Nov 22 2013

My understanding of the human body's adaptability to metabolic changes such as these leads me to believe that a runner on a high fat / low carb diet would have to be doing so for quite some time during training to stimulate such an adaptation, not just for 10 days prior to competition. But Fitzgerald's nutritional approach already somewhat addresses this, with "fasting workouts" during training. As I described in a previous post, this method involves fasting for all shorter, slower runs, about half of all moderate intensity / moderate distance runs, and fueling with carbohydrates for all high-intensity workouts and all runs lasting longer than 2 hours. This ensures that your body is able to perform at its best during key training runs, yet also allows your body to adapt to a low-glycogen scenario, forcing it to burn fat as the primary source. Again, the best of both worlds.

So if you have already trained with "fasting workouts" consistently during training, your metabolism is already somewhat primed to use fuel efficiently during the marathon. This 10-day fat-loading time provides that extra push at the end of training....and you still get the carbs for the last 3 days, to top off your glycogen stores.

Incidentally, due to a cut back in mileage, Fitzgerald and Runners Connect both remind runners to cut calories somewhat during taper. This is common sense: running less + eating the same amount of calories as when you're high-mileage training = possible weight gain just before your race. At the same time, you definitely don't want to under-eat during taper period either. To figure out how many calories to cut from your daily intake, Fitzgerald recommends multiplying [your weight] x [the number of miles per day LESS than you normally run] x [0.63]. So for, say a 135 lb runner who usually runs 8 miles in a day, but during taper runs 4 miles:

135 x 4 x 0.63 = 340 calories to subtract from your daily intake.

**Important note: Do NOT worry that switching to fat will cause you to gain weight. Assuming your total calorie intake is appropriate to your activity level, you should not gain weight aside from a couple pounds of water weight when you carbo load (which is to be expected). Dietary fats do not automatically equate to storing body fat. In fact, pretty much all research now shows that sugar is the weight-gain culprit, not fat.**

Competitor.com gave a great summary of Fitzgerald's nutrition method. Check it out of you like what you've read here and want to implement these strategies into your training and racing.

Now for my experience.

Again, I am on Day 5/10 of fat loading. This has been a major adjustment for me, not only as a runner, but also as a breastfeeding mother. I have actually been hitting about 55-60% fats, not the full 65%, most days (I am trying to maintain a SLIGHTLY more balanced ratio for the sake of lactating, and because I have actually been slowly losing weight over the last couple of months.) Getting 65% of your calories from fat is HARD WORK, let me tell you, especially if you are typically a carb hound like me. It means two pieces of bread and a mandarin orange, and BOOM, you've had all the carbs you can have for the day (assuming you're consuming around 2500 calories / day) and need to fill up on nuts, cheese, olive oil, salmon, whole milk, cheese, peanut butter, eggs, cheese, and cheese. If you crave these foods, then you will be one happy camper for 10 days. I, however, have not been, but am just now kind of getting used to it.

One drawback - you will feel fatigued and weak on your runs during fat-loading. DO NOT DESPAIR! I know it is a bit of a mind-warp what with everything else you feel and think during tapering. It is discouraging to feel slow, heavy, and weak, when you already might be a paranoid nervous wreck during taper. But fear not - as soon as you switch over to carbs, you will feel like a hypercharged rocket booster, and might bounce off some walls. That will be a good feeling to have just before your race.

I will touch base again after a couple of days of carbo loading and just before my race, if I will have the capacity to sit down long enough to blog whilst turning into a carbo-surging superhuman beast.

So far, I am confident in this approach and am building excitement for my race! Also, a BIG thanks to the staff at Runners Connect for their help and support during my training. Excellent advice, a caring team, an awesome podcast, and the Marathon Blueprint is a fantastic tool. I will be writing about how that has worked out after my race.