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Avoid Hitting The Wall |  |
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You may have heard of runners 'hitting the wall' or 'bonking'. This is a term for when a runner just can't go any further and you may feel like your mind is foggy. It usually happens between mile 18 and 22 of a marathon, but it can happen earlier and even in half marathons. This is usually caused by not taking in enough nutrition during a race. Your body has limited glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. During a long run or race you can try to replenish these usually with fast digesting carbohydrates like gel or honey. See Nutrition for more details.
After about two hours of running, your body has depleted most of the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver. Some of the symptoms include: your legs feeling heavy, you may scuff or drag your feet, you may be in a bad mood, dizzy, confusion, clumsiness, blurred vision, and lack of energy. The brain is only organ that operates solely on glycogen so you'll likely have mental issues (more than usual) first.
This is when your body starts to transition to burning fat as fuel. Fat is harder to utilize and it is slower to burn, so you get a more constant but lower level of energy. But it also takes some carbohydrates to burn fat.
The problem is that we don't train our bodies to burn fat. Most training runs are shorter and slower. If your body is not used to this switch of fuels, you may “hit the wall” or bonk. Your legs will feel heavy, you'll feel really slow, and you may not think you can go any further as your body struggles to transitions from burning glycogen to fat.
If this happens to you during a race there are a couple of things you can do to try to get your body to switch more efficiently. First try just a slight increase in your speed. Sometimes this is enough to kick your body into fat burning gear. Another thing you can try is a surge of about 100 yards or meters. This may shock your body enough to get you going again.
But it's best to get your body used to this transition during training. There are a couple of ways that you can do this. First, practice it by not taking any nutrition before or during some of your longer training runs midway through your training schedule. This is easiest to do by not having breakfast so you are basically starting off with an empty tank. Another way to train your metabolism is about two thirds into your long easy run start doing strides (surges) or simply speed up to your race pace. This will force your body to conserve glycogen and start burning fat.
Hitting the wall can also be caused by dehydration. Be sure to take in adequate hydration during runs and races. If your mouth feels dry, you may want to take an extra cup of water at the next aid station.
To avoid these try experimenting during your training runs. Maybe on an easy day avoid food for a few hours before you run. See how your body feels as you go for at least a 30 minute run. Experiencing this during your training will help you recognize it earlier and possibly avoid it during a race.
Try the same thing with water, but take water along for when you really need it. See Hydration for more information.
During a race you want to hit a happy medium. You don't want to eat too much especially if the weather is warm because your stomach needs blood to digest nutrition. If your body needs extra blood for your legs or skin (to cool you off) there may not be enough left to digest anything. This leads to GI distress which is just not fun!
You also don't want to be so hydrated that you have to stop and use a port-a-potty, but you don't want to be too dehydrated. Some people advocate running a little dehydrated. But that's what training runs are for ... experimenting.
If you take in too much water and become overhydrated it dilutes the electrolytes in your body. You may get a headache or your stomach may be upset. Taking electrolytes (especially sodium) or eating something salty, not sweet, may make you feel better. So be sure to take in electrolytes with your water.
To get yourself out of a bonk, eat some sugars or sports drink and be sure to take in some electrolytes. Walk until you feel like running then slowly pick up the pace. Continue eating or drinking sugars. You may not be able to return to your prior race pace, but you should be able to finish.
