Just over four full days to go until the Shamrock Marathon, so it’s time to start thinking about my fueling strategy and race day plan. Quite predictably, all of the products I’ll be using are from the excellent Hammer Nutrition range, and will fulfill my pre-, during-, and post-marathon requirements.
I’ll start tomorrow (Wednesday) with the endurance-prolonging Race Day Boost, and continue the four day loading cycle until end of day Saturday.
I’ve used this product many times in the past and I’m convinced it does exactly what it says on the web site:
Hammer Nutrition claim this product will:
(a) Prolong endurance
(b) Increase performance time at anaerobic threshold
(c) Provide unsurpassed lactic acid buffering and
(d) Help boost glycogen storage
An extra benefit of the product is that 2000 mg of glutamine daily, the amount provided in four servings (one day’s loading dose) of Race Day Boost, has been shown to elevate plasma growth hormone levels, a definite benefit while tapering for an event.
From the Hammer Nutrition web site:
Race Day Boost contains one of the most potent legal ergogenics available for competition. In the most extensive study to date on Race Day Boost’s key ingredient, fit cyclists, in a 40K time trial, netted a whopping 8% improvement in performance time! The simple formula belies its profound effectiveness, aiding in increased cellular energy production and buffering performance-robbing lactic acid. A four-day loading dose of Race Day Boost prior to a key race can make a noticeable improvement in your performance.
Aside from the Race Day Boost loading cycle, I’ll eat normally on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday – no special carb loading or other well touted pre-marathon diets. Actually, after dropping 7lbs since New Year’s Day, I’m keen to line up at the start as light and nimble as possible.
I’ll also continue taking up to 4 Tissue Rejuvenator capsules per day, which really seems to be helping out my joints and keeping inflammation and soreness at bay.
My recovery times are excellent at the moment and I’m definitely not as stiff and sore in the mornings when I wake up.
Race day (Sunday) will see me consume 3 scoops of Sustained Energy mixed in a 20oz bottle of water, which in effect will be my breakfast.
The 3 scoops will supply me with 343 calories in a unique 7:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio. Marathon start time is 8am, so I’ll probably be up around 5am to mix and consume my breakfast, but I also plan on making up another 24oz bottle which I can sip right up until the gun fires for the start of the race.
Along with the Sustained Energy breakfast, I’ll take 3 Endurolyte capsules, which contain a full spectrum of electrolytes and should help to prevent cramps during the race. I’ll take these regardless of the race day temperature and will carry several more in my shorts pocket “just in case” (I usually take 2 or 3 per hour in a marathon to give myself piece of mind and put any thoughts of cramping way on the back burner).
Depending how I feel after a brief warm up 30 minutes before the start, I may take a caffeine-laced Espresso Hammer Gel, just to settle myself down. I don’t really need fuel at this stage, but for some reason the act of taking a pre-race gel helps take my mind off the huge task ahead. Remember, I’m sipping Sustained Energy all this time, so hydration is not usually an issue either – I’m able to fuel and hydrate with one great product.
Okay, finally we’re off and my thoughts turn to settling in to a rhythm and maintaining an even pace. Unless we have some kind of freak heatwave, I won’t be carrying liquids on my person – after all, I’ve worked really hard to drop 7lbs since the holiday period and don’t want to strap 5lbs of fluid round my waist. Even if it’s just a couple of sips from a cup, I plan on taking water at every aid station.
Some runners don’t drink in cooler weather. Some runners think it will slow them down if they stop to take a drink. Believe me, you’re not doing your body any favors if you skip the fluids. Remember how hard you’ve trained for the race and give yourself every chance for a successful finish.
At around mile 10, I’ll take my first on-the-course hammer gel which I’ve either stashed in a glove or pinned to my shorts. Naturally I try to coordinate this with an aid station so I can wash the gel down with water and take 2 or 3 Endurolytes as mentioned above. Note: I’ll study the course map before the race to work out the best aid station for my first gel.
Hopefully I’ll still be feeling great at mile 10, and when the gel kicks in a couple of miles later, should be on top of the world at the halfway mark. Oh yes, I forgot to mention I plan on hiding a 12oz bottle of Sustained Energy near the 13.1 mile mark (which luckily is also where the marathon starts). If all goes well, and no-one has moved or stolen the bottle, I can sip on the 12oz for the next couple of miles and use it to wash down gel #2 at around the 16 mile mark. It should be a great way to get a couple of hundred calories in my system for the critical second half of the race.
So, now I’m at about 16 miles and have ten tough miles still ahead of me, but I’m hydrated, fueled and in a positive frame of mind. If my pacing has been good I’ve given myself every chance to pick up the pace and finish strong. One last gel is planned for mile 20 and maybe 2 or 3 more Endurolytes to keep deadly cramps at bay which can so easily sneak up on you in the later stages of a marathon. After the 20 mile mark though, I’m on my own – 10k to run with just a couple of water stops to come to my rescue.
Anything can, and probably will, happen in this make or break portion of the race. No fuel or magic potion can really help you if you’ve hit the wall, but there is one possible saviour called Energy Surge, which I successfully used at the recent Colonial Half Marathon.
Post-race, there’s just one more piece of the Hammer Nutrition puzzle to explain – Recoverite. Recoverite will simply and effectively minimize post-exercise muscle soreness, rebuild muscle tissue and restore muscle glycogen. I’ll be sure to have a couple of scoops in my post-race bag that I can mix with water and drink before I hit the famous Irish Stew and Yuengling beer of the 2008 Shamrock Marathon.
It probably seems like a huge effort to prepare and consume the above supplements, but I always perform significantly better when I train and race with the Hammer Nutrition range of products. I can’t imagine having to trust the race specific sport drinks/gels and gamble with what’s left on the aid station tables, and much prefer to control what I’m fueling my body with.
Feel free to email me (steve dot speirs at gmail dot com) about any of the above products or check out the excellent fueling guide on the Hammer Nutrition web site.
Thanks for your time and effort Steve. This was a very interesting and helpful post!!