The Importance of Carbs and Pacing

Yesterday I learned a very valuable lesson on the importance of Carbs and Pacing.

Last weekend I ran a surprisingly easy 10 miles by slitting it into 30 minute(3 mile) chunks - running for 30 mins, walking for a couple mins, running for 30 mins, and so on. In fact I managed to knock 5 minutes off of my time for the same distance from 2 weeks previously.

So this weekend I set off with a lot of enthusiasm to tackle my first 12 mile run.

I was careful to pace myself and run nice and slow and steady and found a fantastic stride and was able to just keep going. The first couple miles were tough as I was stiff from my Saturday hills session but once I'd run off the stiffness I felt great. At the three mile mark instead of stopping to walk I pushed right on and aimed for the 6 mile mark. I reached the 6 mile mark and I still felt good, so I carried right on.

Before I knew it I'd managed to cover 8 miles running steady the whole time. I surprised even myself - I didn't think it was possible! I felt invincible! .... That is until I reached the 9 mile mark....

The last 3 miles were torture. Without thinking, the night before I'd eaten a dinner fairly high in protein and low in carbs and my body was screaming at me now for being so stupid. I'd run out of energy and my legs were KILLING me. I was slowed down to a walk for a large proportion of the remaining distance and the only thing keeping me going was the knowledge that I had to finish the 12 miles simply to get home! I couldn't quit.

When I finally limped through my front door the first thing I did was scoff down a peanut butter and honey sandwich and then collapse in the bath. About an hour later I woke up to discover the water had gone cold. I was trembling for most of the rest of the day and was TOTALLY drained of energy.

Today I discussed my run with a fellow runner at work and she gave me the valuable advice that when it comes to pacing you often don't realise you've overdone it on a run until it's too late - until you've already used up all of your energy. Even if it feels like you're going nice and slow and you feel fine you have to remember to save something for the rest of the run.

So what will I do next time? Well I'll forget about healthy eating on a Saturday night and next time I'll pile on the chips and the bread and the cake and as much carbs as I can get. And next Sunday I'll stop and walk every 3 miles for a few minutes - even if I feel fine.