Bonk run

Last week I made the mistake of listening to the latest Marathon Talk episode that had Tim Noakes as a guest. In case you don't know him, Noakes is a well respected sports scientist and the author of The Lore of Running. I highly recommend that you listen to the episode, but the gist of what he had to say was that most people are not adapted to utilize carbs efficiently and thus we should limit our carb intake. His view on limiting carbs in general diet will surely be debated for a long time, but I think there is general agreeement on the benefits of adapting the body to utilize more fat during exercise instead carbs. Ultrarunner Lucho on Ask The Ultrarunner podcast said a few words about this. It is at the end of the show.

Since I was taking an easy week after a three weeks of long runs, I decided to go out on my long run on an empty stomach. I also didn't take any gels or gatorade with me. After an hour and a half and I was definitely feeling the depletion. I probably could have pushed a bit longer, but I decided to leave it for another week and cut my bonk run. I probably won't do another one until after my races, but in preparation for the next season I plan to slowly extend the duration of these runs.

Next week's training plan is to run the Queensboro Bridge a few times with my training partner. The bridge is considered to be a breaking point in the race and we decided to teach our legs not to quit on the climb.