Last Saturday, I ran my last 20-miler before the KC Marathon.
I had been a little unsatisfied with my nutrition plan during my previous long runs. Before, I was alternating water & a large gulp of Gatorade every 2 miles. Still, I was getting a more sluggish than I thought I should late in the long runs (& my stomach felt full & sloshed around with liquid too).
So I tried an experiment last Saturday. I drank more Gatorade every 2 miles. "Maybe the extra electrolytes would help me," I thought. Here's what I found:
- Mile 0 — Start at home. Should be a great run! I'll spend the next 3 hours working on next week's message during my run too (carrying paper & a pen on the run).
- Mile 2 — My first 2 big gulps of Gatorade. Not bad.
- Mile 4 — 2 more gulps of Gatorade.
- Mile 6 — And 2 more.
- Mile 8 — And 2 more gulps. Feeling good!
- Mile 10 — 2 gulps. Time to turn around at 87th & Antioch.
- Mile 12 — 2 gulps. Ok, I'm definitely feeling it in my legs. Must be the distance.
- Mile 14 — 2 more gulps. Hmmm. The Gatorade is starting to taste foul. And I'm starting to feel funny. Am I dizzy?
- Mile 16 — 1 gulp (that's all I can stomach). Ok, I'm definitely feeling dizzy on my run now. I'm safe running on the sidewalks, but feel like I'm weaving. That's a first for me.
- Mile 18 — No gatorade. Feeling sick. I give up & call my wife to pick me up. I'm ashamed. Am I a whimp? Or am I sick?
- Mile 20 — On the car ride home, I have the wife stop the car (not once, but twice) so I can empty the contents of my stomach over & over onto the street. How am I going to speak in just a few hours at Grace? And I'm thinking, "Maybe doubling my Gatorade intake wasn't the best idea?"
🙂
I too ran my only 20 miler on Friday, and it got realllllly warm during the run. I only drank water during the run, but afterward drank about a 1/4 bottle of G2 (orange). Did not sit well, within about a 1/2 hour my stomach was so upset, I too emptied the contents. Felt much better after that. Hopefully the cooler weather on the 18th will make the dehydration less of an issue. Course I won’t be pushing a 23# baby in a stroller either.
Hope you’re feeling better! Gatorade is nasty enough on the way down, I can’t imagine what it’s like the second time around.
When I trained for my marathon our coach strongly encouraged us to take in both water, maybe gatorade, but also some type of “GU” aka Energy Gel…and maybe a salt packet here and there. I found it took me a few tries to find the GU that works for me without wreaking major havoc on my tummy, but I was always told that water and gatorade simply aren’t enough. I’m sure it depends on who you talk to. You could always try taking in a few licks of salt here and there. I know at my marathon they were offering those at water stops. 🙂 I know you’ll do great, either way.
Tim,
this has nothing to do with your running. I just wanted to say thank you and bless you for speaking with me Saturday morning concerning a dog situation.
Thanks you so much. I needed another guy to talk to.
Jason
Hey Tim,
I can’t believe you didn’t discuss this with us Saturday evening. Just put a scoop of gatorade in your water bottle and take GU packets every 45 minutes. Otherwise it is too much sugar on your empty gut. I know you’ll get your goal that way! I have a super fast who messed that up during a marathon. 🙂