One of the marathoners I coach is a professor.

Before working with me, he ran a very fast first marathon. But his second one was significantly slower. And then he got injured.

Now he is healthy and training well, but his confidence in his ability is still shaken.

"I never trust my training and lack confidence to know when good is good. I face this race ahead and I am fearful, hopeful, and mostly confused."

He wants to test his training with a hard tune up race, so he can evaluate his progress, eight weeks from race day.

And after all, that's what a professor would do with students; give them a test to evaluate their progress.

But where athletics differs from education is that testing fitness comes at a cost.

Racing is harder than any workout designed to build fitness.

This is not to say that you shouldn't do a tune up race at the right time with the right strategy. Racing builds experience and can teach you useful lessons.

But know that it comes at a physical cost which requires recovery time and displacement of other workouts.

Want to know where you stand without racing? Here's how:

read more (6 minutes)

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Ready to go after your running goals? ​ Get a truly custom training solution with coaching, accountability, and a supportive team of runners just like you. No matter what your goal or ability, PR Team training can help you reach goals you never thought possible on your own. learn more →

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ask me anything

Q:

I'm preparing for the New York Marathon on 3rd November 2024.

I still haven't found how to manage fuel and hydration for the second half of the race. My long runs helped me prepare for the first half, but after 13 miles or so, when I come home, I need to drink a lot, and I rely on Whey, Gatorade and Gu gel to recover. I'm wondering how I can manage the second half.

Honestly, I intend to take breaks walking and fueling/drinking several times. But I'm not sure that will be sufficient.
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A:

With about a month to go, you still have time to perfect your fueling and hydration.

I'm not entirely clear about what you are doing for fueling during your runs, but it sounds like you are using whey, Gatorade, and gels to recover after your runs.

As a plant-based runner, I'm not a whey advocate, but it's good that you are taking in protein after the run (Nourify is my favorite plant-based protein).

Gatorade provides sodium and carbohydrate and gels are 100% carbohydrate. My question is why are you taking those after the run?

Gels are designed to be quick fuel that's easy to take and carry while you are running. Sure, you could take them after a run to replenish your glycogen, but it's far better (and probably cheaper!) to eat real food with carbs and protein after a run, rather than performance products.

During your run, you want to take in anywhere from 30-90g of carbohydrate per hour of running, at 30 minute intervals start to finish. That's a big range of calories, but it's usually about 2-4 gels per hour. You can use less if you are supplementing with a sports drink like Gatorade as well.

I'm not sure what you mean that you are prepared for the first half, but not the second half. I hope that you are not saying that you are currently not eating or drinking anything on runs under 13 miles!

If that's the case, it's time to start with one gel every thirty minutes on any training run you have left that lasts longer than 1 hour. Yes, even a run that's 60 minutes long, take a gel at 30 minutes with water, to train your stomach to handle it while you are running.

If you need to stop and walk to take it in, that's okay.

This will be a big adjustment if you are currently waiting until you get home to eat and drink, so practice every chance you get to make sure you can do it.

With a successful fueling and hydration plan, you'll have plenty of fuel to get you through the whole race.

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podcast

Curious to find out how the runners I profiled on the PR Training Lab did on their races? Me too! Let's find out.

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Remember Adrian? Did he run his speedy marathon goal in Sydney at the World Age Group Championship?

In this results episode, we follow up with Adrian from PRTL 7. He

🏃🏽‍♀️is 68 years old

🏃🏿has run 36 marathons, but started late in life

🏃🏼‍♀️had a goal of 3:15-3:20, but would be happy under 3:30

Did the plan I created work for Adrian? Did he reach his ambitious goal? How did he place in the World Age Group Championships? Find out!

If you would like a chance to win a free custom training plan and be featured in a future episode, first write a review of the show on Apple Podcasts and then enter here.​

Rather not try your luck with a contest? Get your custom training plan made here.​

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inspo

“Good things come slow—especially in distance running.”

— Bill Dellinger

Have a great run today, Coach Claire

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My mission is to help runners just like you reach goals they never dreamed possible through science-backed training and plant-based nutrition.

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Since 2016, I've helped thousands of every day runners become fitter, faster, and stronger with truly customized training and coaching.

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I also love to share what I have learned from my own journey starting as a non-runner to a 2:58 marathoner at age 42, as well what I have learned coaching runners, completely FREE. I do that every week in this newsletter and on the Planted Runner Podcast.

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