About 5 months ago I decided to add a marathon to my spring
racing season. Over the years I’ve studied the marathon, the effects on the
body and the training required to complete the distance but I never pursued
racing one due to an injured knee during my 20’s. Running shorter distances,
cycling and multisport events were enough for me until I started coaching. My initial goal was to run the marathon for
fun and to gain valuable insight and experience of feeling the effects on the
body. I gradually increased my long runs
each week over time, peaking with two 22+ milers and really enjoying every step. During my last long run, about 3 weeks out, I
ran over 22 miles, drank one bottle of water and had 1 gel. The week leading up to my marathon, my legs
felt better than ever and it was challenging to hold back on my last few runs.
The night before the
marathon my adrenaline was pumping (not uncommon before a big race) resulting
in a few too many trips to the bathroom (overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous
system). After a sleepless night, I started
the morning feeling already dehydrated, despite all my attempts to keep hydrated with
water and electrolytes. I assumed it was typical prerace excitement. Arriving at the race, I was feeling relaxed
and ready to get the marathon started.
After the start, I settled into my planned race pace and it felt
easy on the legs. Into the first mile
however, I felt thirsty and knew it was a bad sign. I drank at all the water stops and gradually
moved from water to Gatorade and added gels after every 5-6 miles beginning at
mile 11. The race was a gradual pace decline after I began eating (not helping
the dehydration with blood rushing to my stomach) and the last 6 miles I was
running much slower on cramped quads. Once I
committed to finishing, however I was programmed to finish no matter how much pain I was
feeling. After crossing the finish line,
I guzzled a few chocolate milks and that put me over the edge. My body/stomach did not feel right so
I visited the med-tent to be checked out.
My blood sodium levels were within the safe range but my potassium levels
were high (Hyperkalemia) and my blood pressure was very low. I felt better after some water and after looking
around the tent, thought I was in a much better state compared to the rest, so
I left without any treatment. After
greeting my friends and family my physical state went downhill. I hopped on a bus with a close friend while my family headed back on their own. Soon after arriving to the hotel, I was sent to the hospital to be treated for severe dehydration and
hyperkalemia which is risky to the heart.
The lessons I learned in my first marathon were; Listen to
both body and mind. It’s more courageous
and wise to know when to stop rather than finish and risk ones health to reach
an athletic goal. Everyone can have a bad day or race, we are all human. I’ve
had many great races and plenty of not so great ones; it's all part of racing. The "poor" races have actually taught me more than the
great ones. There is a limit to what our
bodies can take and to know when to save it for another day. Family and friends are the most valuable,
period, and we should keep them at the top of our priorities and think twice
about making risky personal decisions that may negatively affect them in the
end. Mental preparation is often more
valuable than physical preparation and this is the area I could have focused more
on in my marathon preparation. My marathon
pace ended up slower than most of my long training runs and those were run at a
comfortable pace. Dehydration will seriously limit physical performance and
physical suffering! Hyperkalemia is a rare
condition for most people but more common for longer endurance events where dehydration occurs.
Take the time to learn more about the
crucial electrolytes in our body and how to keep them all in balance particularly
for longer endurance events.
Well, 26.2 miles down. Hugely valuable insight gained. Now it’s time
to rest and recover. My quads are hurting
way more than my ego right now! Special thanks to my friends and family that supported me during and after the marathon; Sarah Carrier, Bradley Gates, Christina Chadwick Bennett, Dawn and Jay Cobak and Chris Nolan and his family for a fun evening dinner distraction after a long day.
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