Guys, I’m freaking out. I agreed to ring in this 4th of July holiday by running 13 miles at 6:30 am on Sauvie Island (why not, right?). I paid $60 and everything. I’ve been a regular runner for a few years, but until I started training for this I pretty much capped it at 6 miles or so. I haven’t exactly followed the recommended training program, so I haven’t exactly run a whole 13 miles at once before, but pretty close. Anyhow, I haven’t been too worried about it since if I’m not hung over or anything I’m pretty comfortable at the 9- or 10-mile mark, and I figure the adrenaline on race day will just sort of propel me through the rest of it. However, now that the race is coming up quick I am starting to worry that I’m going to totally bite it. In order to minimize said biting, I want to prepare myself for *optimum performance*. I’m a little torn on issues like whether or not to drink coffee, and if so, how much or how far in advance? (I’m not a regular coffee drinker but it seems to help before a moderate-length run—will I crash after more than an hour, though?) What to eat, and when to eat it? Toast with peanut butter? Anything less obvious? I’m pretty sure they have “hydration stations” where you can pick up those weird gels and stuff, which I’ve never tried (do they have gelatin in them?? Do they work?), but is there any other magical equipment I should bring to help myself out? Am I just fucked? (I don’t want to walk any of it.)

Oh and if you’re wondering, I’m not doing the full marathon because it scrapes off your nipples and gives you the trots.* No, seriously. This is the t-shirt of someone who has just run one:

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*Actually you can still totally get the trots with a half marathon, but let’s not ponder that.

UPDATE: I did it! Actually I’m embarrassed that I didn’t push myself harder. I ended up eating one piece of white toast w/Earth Balance, two bananas, and a cup of coffee beforehand. And I took Immodium just in case. Heh. I hit the goo at something like mile 11. It was gross. Don’t know if it had time to work before I finished, but the point is that I finished, without walking any part of it. Now that I know how attainable it is (my knees are the only ones filing a complaint) I want to try again and go faster. Seattle half marathon in October, anyone?

Marjorie Skinner is the Portland Mercury's Managing Editor, author of the weekly Sold Out column chronicling the area's independent fashion and retail industry, and a frequent contributor to the film and...

17 replies on “My First (Half) Marathon”

  2. Congrats on your (1/2) marathoning! I would say take it easy on the coffee, mostly because of how acidic in your stomach it is, the last thing you want is to be puking in a porta-potty. Bananas are good, they have lots of potassium which you will be needing to prevent muscle cramps, and they’re easy to digest. Toast and peanut butter for breakfast sounds fine, although again the fat in the peanut butter means your tummy will have all sorts of acids in it, which may not be so comfortable. Maybe oatmeal for breakfast? Although you’ll probably be so jittery you won’t have much of an appetite. If nothing else try to choke down an energy bar of some kind.
    the power goos are good, they have sugars and electrolytes and will help keep you going- some even have a little caffeine in them. I don’t if they are made with gelatin, worth looking up.

  5. ps, DON’T be hung over! And if you’re already comfortable running 9-10 miles, just stick with the same day-before and day-of foods that work for you now, the demands on your body aren’t that different. Something with quick carbs about the 1-hour mark really makes a difference the last few miles, though.

  6. Relax. If you’ve already done 9-10 miles your body can handle a few more. I’d avoid caffeine. It’s a diuretic and you can’t afford fluid loss in an endurance event. Studies show caffeine having no positive effect on endurance event performance. If anything, have no more than one cup if you feel it possibly gives you a pschological boost.

    Make sure to feed yourself properly the day/night before. Eat to fullness, but not beyond that. NO alcohol! Avoid tons of fiber, fat the night before. Keep your meals carb-heavy, more the simpler digesting kind (pastas, rice et. al.) complimented by a little fat and some lean protein. Types of each depend on what your system can handle. Avoid anything that you know could upset your stomach the next day (this is good trots avoidance strategy).

    Wake up the morning of and immediately begin to hydrate. Your morning meal should be mostly very, very simple carbs. White breads, bagels, smoothies, juice. Add a little protein (a little peanut butter is ok, know what your stomach can handle though). Lower fiber fruit is great. As someone said, bananas are a great source of potassium and quick to digest. I’d avoid oatmeal. Even though it’s a soluble fiber (dissolves in water so it doesn’t pass right through you and immediately lead to stomach issues), it’s still a fiber and you don’t want that in your gut before you run.

    Don’t fear the goo. It’s essentially a sugar pack, the quickest, most instant form of energy. Your body stores glycogen (sugars broken down from carbohydrates) in the muscles, liver and blood stream. There’s a finite amount it can hold. Sugar refills are essential during long-distance endurance events. Not to freak you out, but if you’ve ever seen footage of a marathoner “hitting a wall,” stumbling around delirious like their having a grand mal seizure, that’s what a body looks like completely, utterly depleted of its sugars. What your body can store depends on your caloric intake the few days before and the morning of, your body size and muscle mass.
    SO, there’s no need to worry during the race. Keep some goo packs in your shorts or sock for when you start to wane, if you can. Otherwise eat what they provide. Just be careful not to eat too much/too many of them at a time. An excess sugar dose can upset the stomach. I recommend eating a pack at a time always with water. maintaining the sugar/water diluted ratio is pretty important for its travels from mouth to stomach to blood to muscles.

    Also, drink some diluted sports drink along the way. It’ll have the same effect as a goo pack. They should provide these.

    When you go to the goo pack depends on your fitness and energy levels and other factors mentioned above. I’d experiment with a small amount of goo/sports drink after 4 miles or so and see how you feel. If it works, and you feel fine or a burst of energy, keep up the routine at consistent intervals along the way. During the latter half of the run, consult the goo if you really start to considerably wane.

    Finally, HYDRATE! Drink water at least every hour. Or more. Don’t be fooled by cool temps. You’ll still be losing lots of water.

    Have fun! Don’t forget to report back!

  7. Don’t take the goo if you haven’t tried it on one of your training runs yet. Some of them don’t agree with some people. You’d hate to find out during the race that whatever goo they have happens to give you raging diarrhea. For example, I can’t take Clif Shot Blox for that reason. It would be a good idea to find out which sports drink they are using at the race, buy a sample, and try it as well. If you can’t do it then stick with water. Race day is not the day to be ingesting new things.

  9. Sorry, that was mean. I couldn’t resist… Seriously, though, if you’ve pushed through the ten mile mark, you’re golden. And yes, avoid the energy gel if you haven’t tested it out on your own system thus far. As for keeping your nipples in showroom condition, think lube and coverage… I recommend band-aids, with a little bit of Neosporin or Vaseline applied beforehand (but not too much, lest you compromise the adhesive on the band-aids). Good luck!

  10. Okay, first question: Since when was blogtown the land of earnest advice about healthy physical activity and diet?

    Second question: Are the trots like the runs but with a bit more texture and a bit less force? And if so, are the gallops the most unpleasant, high-velocity experience available to the human digestive track?

  11. There’s always the potential for goos to disagree with your system, but this often related to hydration levels. You have to take them after being properly hydrated or during. Otherwise your stomach can’t digest that much sugar, hence gut rot and/or the squirties.

    Same principle applies with sports drinks. They are almost all WAY to sugar-dense as is. For example, the best way to use sports drinks during exercise is to dilute a vitamin water down to a 1/4 sports drink, 3/4 water solution per bottle.

    @chris,
    I agree with you on those shot blox. They’re a little too dense. Also, they’re a waste of money. There’s nothing in them a few gummy bears couldn’t provide.

  12. Chris’ comment above is quite right about testing the goo or gels in advance. Although I use them pretty often today, it took me some getting used to and initially I found them horribly off putting. You can probably buy some from your local sporting goods shop or elsewhere fairly quickly and easily to try before the big day.

  14. do any of you girls actually get bloody nipples? I’ve been a runner forever and sports bras always prevent that. I thought it was a dude thing.

    otherwise, I agree with what everyone else said. and you’re gonna be fine.

  15. You’ll be fine.
    I got drunk & smoked a pack of cigarettes the day before my half marathon, just like any normal day.
    I wasn’t running very fast. More of a jog really, but I finished. I hardly did any training for it either. Things started hurting around 11 miles but like I said, I finished.
    You’ll be fine.

  16. If you haven’t tried Gu or gels, it might be best to not risk it. Instead, honey packets are just as good, or some other sugary snack. Some people eat jelly beans (they even make sport beans that are pretty good–a touch salty though), or cookies or snickers (maybe too melty). Just be sure to start off slowish for at least the first mile or so.

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