FIVE WAYS TO AVOID ENDURANCE RACE BONKING AND RUNNING OUT OF ENERGY IN A MARATHON OR IRONMAN TRIATHLON

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1) HOW TO HYDRATE PROPERLY BEFORE AND DURING A MARATHON OR IRONMAN TRIATHLON

For a marathon or Ironman that is taking place on a Sunday, the best time to begin hydrating is about Wednesday before the event. There is nothing more important to prevent endurance race bonking than getting your fluid intake right.

As you make your way through each day, be sure to have a water bottle with you and take regular sips of water through-out the day. You might drink more than you usually do, but it's best not to drink huge amounts all at once. Proper hydration for an endurance event is something that is best done over several days at a steady pace.

Most likely by Friday or early Saturday your urine will be "clear and copious" and that means you have reached the place you want to be as far as hydration.

From that point on, do not drink large amounts of liquid, but drink just enough to maintain the level of hydration you have reached. At this stage, more is not better and you have a good start to preventing endurance race bonking.

If this is done properly there is absolutely no need to be drinking large amounts of water or replacement drinks on race morning.

This can have an adverse effect on the way you feel and besides, if you have hydrated properly over the previous 4 days it's unnecessary to be drinking lots on race morning.

As for the race itself it's important to drink at regular intervals. If you wait until you get thirsty it's most likely too late. The best way to ensure you drink at a regular interval is to set your watch to beep every 20 or 25 minutes through-out the race.

For a marathoner that would mean starting your watch "timer" feature the moment the race begins. For an Ironman you would start your timer once you are settled on your bike after the swim/bike transition. At this point, the key is to replace lost fluid at regular intervals in order to prevent endurance race bonking.

The key is to replace the fluid you have lost in the previous 20 minutes or so and by doing that maintaining the same level of hydration you had when the starting gun went off.

That means you just have to drink 3 - 5 ounces at a time every time your timer beeps. Drinking half a water bottle after 90 minutes is not the way to go and often leads to dehydration over the course of the event.

2) HOW TO CARBO-LOAD FOR BEST RESULTS

Much like the hydration process, the carbo-loading should begin on about the Wednesday before a Sunday Marathon or Ironman Triathlon.

It's crucial to eat only foods that have sustained you through your weeks and months of training. The week before a major race is no time to be eating foods that are strange to you.

If you happen to be traveling out of town for a race like an Ironman for instance it's in your best interests to stay in a motel with a full kitchenette so you can prepare your own meals. Eating food you are familiar with is critical to preventing endurance race bonking.

Be sure to eat plenty of "complex" carbohydrates that you are used to in those four days leading up to the race. Whole wheat bread, pasta, salads, and brown rice are a few good choices if these are foods you normally eat.

These complex carbs have been used for decades by athletes of all abilities who want to avoid the pitfall of endurance race bonking that can make any endurance event Hell.

The trick is to load every nook and cranny of your body with glycogen and that is not something that can be done in one day. After four days of concentrating on eating high quality complex carbohydrates, you should have your glycogen stores up to maximum levels for the race.

It's best to eat fairly early in the day on the eve of your race. This gives your digestive system time to work. Make your last large meal one that contains complex carbs as well, but try and avoid over-eating. At this point, there is no benefit in eating large amounts.

Many people choose not to eat solid foods in a marathon, but rely on gels and energy drinks. If this is what you are used to, then that's what you should do. If you do choose to take on more complex carbs, that should be done early in the race.

The eating strategy for an Ironman is far more important because of the length of time you will be out on the course. It's important to take on carbohydrates early in the bike in order to keep your energy levels on an even keel through-out the day.

If this is not done properly, you can expect your invisible "wall" to appear about two-thirds of the way through the bike leg of the Ironman and it will be a long, long day out there as you join the marathon death march with many others who screwed up the drinking and eating for the event.

These people are experiencing first-hand the effects of endurance race bonking and anyone who is still running will pass dozens and even hundreds of people who have hit the wall.

For the Ironman if you follow the plan for drinking at regular intervals by setting your watch timer feature for every 20-25 minutes, then a good plan is to start off by eating and drinking a little at the twenty minute mark of the bike, and from then on drink at every beep and eat and drink at every second beep.

This will keep your glycogen and fluid levels on an even keel through-out the day and this is one of the major keys to preventing endurance race bonking.

3)HOW TO TAPER AND GET PROPER REST BEFORE YOUR MARATHON OR IRONMAN TRIATHLON

Many people new to extreme distance endurance races like a marathon or Ironman triathlon do not factor enough rest into their preparation.

Improper rest is also a contributing factor to endurance race bonking as a person will run out of energy far sooner is they have to push themselves because they are tired and have not tapered properly before their event.

You can train like a gladiator for a year for that one big race, but if you do not have a plan in place for resting and tapering in the final weeks before the event you will be tired at the starting line and will not have your best possible result.

It makes little difference if your race is an Ironman or a marathon, they both require a long taper period. A safe approach is to allow a full four week taper into your big race.

So your last "long" training efforts should be done on that last weekend four weeks before your race. Every week from that point on reduce the amount of time you spend training.

For example in the fourth last week cut your training down to 65-75% of your normal training week. Reduce the length of your long training efforts but maintain your normal intensity. In the third last week take off another 25% of training time.

With two weeks left to go it's not the time to be running 3 hours in training for a marathon or biking 100 miles for an Ironman and you should cut your training down again to about 30-35% of a normal training week with no runs over 90 minutes.

There is nothing you can do to improve your endurance at this point except rest. Take 3 full rest days in the second last week of your taper.

In the week before the race run easily on Monday, Wednesday, and a bit on the Saturday before the race. The Saturday run is just 15-20 minutes(easy)to stretch your legs out.

Begin your hydrating and carbo-loading on the Wednesday before as suggested. If the race is Sunday, make sure the Friday is a full rest day and do a little on the Saturday as suggested.

Friday night is your most important night for sleep as often people are a bit apprehensive on race eve and do not sleep well.

So your main focus that last week should be carbo-loading, hydrating, and resting--as opposed to continuous training, staying up late, spending too much time in the sun, and making poor nutrition and hydration choices.

All these errors or a combination of them will contribute to endurance race bonking whether it's a marathon or triathlon.

4) THE IMPORTANCE OF HEART RATE MONITORS AND RACE-PACE

"The pace is the key". That is one of the most importance things you can remember and etch into your memory when it comes to any endurance race.

Whether you are a weekend warrior taking on that very first marathon or an Olympic marathoner, "the pace is the key" and will determine the outcome of your day. Going out too hard too fast is one of the major contributors to endurance race bonking.

If your plan is to break four hours for the marathon and that first mile time split you are given in your marathon is "seven minutes", then what the Hell are you doing?... is a question that comes to mind.

Did you suddenly decide that you want to break three hours? Learn your pace. Get yourself a pace chart that shows you what your minutes per mile average should be for a four hour marathon. A seven minute mile is about around a 3:02 marathon.

So if the goal you have trained for is a four hour marathon, chances are your pace will be around 9 minutes per mile. That's a huge difference.

Part of the reason so many people take off like jack-rabbits in most races is the adrenaline of the moment and the fact that they have so much pent-up energy from tapering into the race. The more experienced distance athletes will no better and will hold themselves back in the early stages of a long race.

That's one more benefit of a heart-rate monitor. If you are paying attention to it, you will not run faster than your ability.

Running too far over your capabilities will burn off your glycogen stores way to fast and result in you "bonking" big-time after about 2 hours. This is where a heart-rate monitor comes in very handy.

Find your fat-burning range and train in that range with your heart monitor for your marathon or Ironman. It will have you running more within your personal capabilities than you normally do and you will be teaching your body how to burn fat instead of glycogen for fuel. This is the key to not "bonking" in a marathon and running face-first into the WALL at about the two-hour mark.

The main reason for that is that you have tons more fat to burn for fuel than you have glycogen. Steady physical activity will use up un-replaced glycogen stores in about two hours or so for the average person.

That explains why the "wall" in the marathon appears at about the same spot in the race for petty much everybody. However you could compete at a lower intensity and burn fat and keep going for five hours if you wanted to. "THAT'S what a heart-rate monitor will teach you.

A heart-monitor will ensure you run at the proper race-pace for "you". Say for example your fat burning zone using a heart-rate monitor has you running at 145-150 beats per minute.

When you come to an uphill your heart rate will go up and start climbing over the 150 beats mark. That's why you "slow down" on the uphills in order to stay in your fat-burning zone and not burn glycogen.

On the other hand when you go downhill your heart-rate will go down below your fat burning zone and you can speed up to keep it around the 150 beats per minute mark.

This is the exact opposite of all the runner who will power their way up the hills and rests going downhill. Those runners will run out of energy long before you because basically they are doing it backwards and using up tons of energy pushing up the hill. They will eventually experience endurance race bonking first-hand if this running style is their strategy for the day.

You can find your ideal fat-burning zone quite easily. Also, Dr. Phil Maffetone has a great book on heart monitor training that might be worth considering. It explains all of this and will help you find the perfect heart-rate monitor zone for YOU.

5) BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

The attitude you have going into your event will greatly effect the outcome. It has been proven over and over countless times that there is a direct link between having a positive mental attitude and athletic success at any level.

If you are taking on your first marathon or Ironman Triathlon, there are many things that might have brought you to this point and to the starting line of your race. Something compelled you to take on this challenge.

Maybe you never were that much of an athlete or maybe you were "never" an athlete before this happened, yet here you are, at the start line of the big race with all these other amazing people.

As you look around you wonder if you belong. You wonder what you have gotten yourself into. Will you fail? Will all those friends, relatives, and co-workers who have watched with interest your weeks, months, and perhaps years of preparation be disappointed in you if you have a bad race or perhaps don't finish? Will you be letting yourself down?

No, a thousand times no to all of the above, and this line of thinking often contributes to endurance race bonking because all your mental strength is needed for the event and not concerning yourself with thoughts of failure.

You cannot possibly fail if you keep reminding yourself just how far you have come in order to earn the right to be in this place on this day.

You are simply remarkable for taking it this far and reaching the start line. You have already succeeded. You have taken on the challenge of getting to this point and here you are.

You simply cannot lose regardless of what happens once the gun goes off. Any person who gives all they have regardless of the outcome is pretty much a hero and a winner.

We lose when we simply give up on ourselves and our lives and never take risks, and accept our lot in life and believe that it will never change.

That is not you and you proved that by showing up at the start line.

The worst that will happen is that you most likely meet lots of forward-thinking, life-loving people just like yourself during your marathon or Ironman journey. You will learn things about diet, training, and sports gear that you never knew and you will be fit and healthy.

And most of all, you will learn so many great things about yourself and just how much you are capable of that you otherwise would never have known had you not taken that first step that brought you to the start line and made you an instant winner.

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