In the marathon running scene, more often than not we hear the term hitting the wall. It is really the bane of marathon running. Hitting the wall is feared! Whether or not you hit the wall can make or break your race. It is important to understand why you hit the wall in order to prevent it.

What Is Hitting The Wall?

This hitting the wall phenomenon refers to the depletion of your glycogen stores. Fatigue starts to set in and with that comes negativity. Glycogen is the energy stores in our muscles and liver. It is the easiest most readily available source of energy. It is our body’s preferred source of fuel. When glycogen stores start to run low, as a preservation method, our body and brain starts to shut down. This explains the negativity that comes in the later stages of the race.

When Do You Hit The Wall?

Typically, runners hit the wall at the 18 – 20 miles mark. Our body stores 1800 – 2000 calories worth of glycogen in our muscles. Depending on pace, our body uses approximately 100 calories per mile when running. So, at the 18th – 20th mile, this is where our glycogen stores start to deplete and also where runners normally hit the wall.

How To Overcome This?

Although our body primarily uses carbohydrates as an energy fuel, we also have the ability access our fat stores. The answer lies in training our body to access these fat stores to continue to produce energy to sustain our effort. However accessing fat stores for energy is a longer complex process, one that we need to constantly train our body to utilise the metabolic fat pathway in a more efficient way. One way to do this is doing the long run.

Photo Credits: Jagged Words

Another way to overcome this is by consuming gels. Gels give you a quick fix of carbohydrates. Always try taking gels during training so you know how much more additional fuel you require to complete the distance. Always take gels before you feel the fatigue setting in. There is a saying, always eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty. This will enable you to avoid the hitting the wall phenomenon.

Hitting the wall is not something to be feared. Instead, we should understand it, embrace it, and prepare ourselves well.

Everyone knows Millennials and Boomers are different. Times, they are changing. And the way Millennials approach things are different. Millennials try to keep up with the trend, at all expense. So, here are 5 things for the Millennial generation to know about running to excel at running.

#1 You Need To Train For A Half Marathon, Let Alone A Marathon

A Half Marathon presents a challenge in itself. You don’t need to sign up for the marathon for a challenge. Some have said if you can’t run a sub 2 half marathon, you should not even be attempting the marathon distance. The rationale behind this is due to the risk on injury. If you’re legs are just no used to the consistency pounding for 4 hours, you are risking injury. An injury will set back your running progress. Is it really worth it to take a 6 months break from running just to run a marathon distance. Unless you have put in sufficient training – don’t!

#2 Start Small And Build Progressively

Take things one step at a time. Start small. if you are a beginner, take on the 10km distance. Target to improve the timing of your 10km distance before moving up the distance ladder. Slowly, but surely. This is also an injury risk management strategy. You will reap for benefits this way than moving up to fast.

#3 Start Slow In A Race And Build Up Progressively

Starting at a slower pace and finishing strong is known as negative splits. It is always good to run a race this way. Firstly, this way you avoid going out too fast and taking out too much from you. If you go out too fast you risk burning out before you cross the finish line. Starting out conservatively also gives you a mental boost when you start passing people in the 2nd half of your run. Most people tend to slow down in the 2nd half. This mental boost can give you the adrenaline to bring you back to the finishing line with a personal best.

#4 You Do Not Need A Fancy GPS Watch

Let’s face it! You’re probably going to be spending so much dough on a fancy GPS watch that you don’t even utilise all its functions. Especially if you’re just starting out, you just beed a basic GPS watch. Do you really need the fancy Suunto Spartan Ultra or the Fenix 5X? You probably could do with the basic forerunner 235. You just need a watch to tell you your pace to allow you to pace well. Unless you would fully utilise all the functions and statistics your watch tells you, there is no point forking out so much dough!

#5 Train Different

Try vary your training and incorporate different kind of runs. It’s not necessary that you just run for an hour everyday at the same speed. You can include tempo runs, intervals, fartlek training into your workouts! Training will never be boring this way. And you are bound to see and improvement in your races.