you have reached your absolute limit in a 1/2 IM or IM run? The background to the question is that I had 2 PB’s this year and in each race I pushed harder on the run than I have before, working through some tough spots but late in both races (mile 12 at the 1/2IM and mile 22 in the IM) I hit a point where I felt like my core temp went up quickly, started feeling very light headed and in the IM had a quick wave of nausea. At that point I chose to ease the pace in each situation figuring I was close to where I wanted to be overall and no need to blow up completely. I was able to regain control (in the half I just eased the pace back about 20-30 sec per mile, took a little longer to regain control in the IM but easing the pace and walking 2 aid stations and 1/2 a hill combined with some pretzels got me back on the move for the last 2 miles at my goal pace). I was very pleased with the results and comfortable with the decisions I made based on my race experience to date so just curious about this for future if i am close to a goal, not a woulda, coulda, shoulda…
I have read a little of Noakes theory that the mind governs our limits before we really reach them and wonder if that is what’s happening and should i try to push through it next time or would that result in a complete blow up (certainly felt like it but i guess only one way to find out)…Do you often push through this point of fatigue/over exertion? How do you know when to say it’s time to ease up?
Great question. This year my coach keeps telling me, “now you just need to learn to suffer a little bit more”. I keep thinking, “how much worse can it get?”. I personally have an issue with stomach nausea on the run. That usually dictates my tempo. I have never tried to push past it in fear that something bad might happen when there is no porta john to be found. I guess I haven’t found the line between uncomfortable and destroyed yet.
seems like we are at a similar point although my fear is more of passing out/being reduced to a crawl…if I was pushing to podium or there was 5-200 grand on the line, I would probably know the answer to the question but as a MOP I have not risked it, still don’t think I will do anything differently next time that i am faced with this decision no matter what the input is as this is just my hobby, more curious than anything else to learn if the barrier is mental or truly physical and what the big dogs do…
I have felt nausea on the run also, but have never vomitted. A few times I’ve challenged myself to run hard enough that I do vomit. But that never happens, I just end up running faster.
Reminds me of that bumper sticker, “Don’t believe everything you think.”
The simple answer is you always know: You never reach your absolute limit. If you do, you die.
The longer (and slightly less flippant) answer is that you only know it in retrospect, years later. Most of what gets you the personal best is not some great effort of will on race day, but rather, the training you put in.
Over time, the training does add up. My fastest half-marathon (running only) was also one of my easiest. Looking back over my training, I see solid, consistent training over many months, that I did not recognize as such when I was in the middle of it. I also see years and years of solid mileage making the running progressively easier, just as aging is making it progressively harder…
Every Thanksgiving, I race my much younger cousin in a 5 mile race for family bragging rights. Last year, I took about 30 seconds from him and missed a personal best by just a few seconds. Afterward, I said to him, “I think I had the PR, but I felt like I was going to puke and had to dial it down.”
He looked at me like I was nuts and said, “I puked three times, why did you slow down?”
Do you often push through this point of fatigue/over exertion?
Depends on my fitness level and what’s one the line. If it’s an early season B or C race, probably not. If it’s an A race that’s going well, I’ll try to push through.
I still remember how horrible I felt in and after my first 1/2IM. I started feeling lousy about 10 miles into the run and stopped to walk a little. But then I was caught by another runner and decided that I wasn’t going to give up my place (I had been in 4th for the entire run) so I ran with him. It was tough at first but I began to feel better and better. With about a mile to go, we spot 3rd up ahead going slow. We passed him and continued on. With about a 1/2 mile to go we pass 2nd. With about a 1/4 mile to go, I start thinking about how I’m going to outsprint this guy (he looked so much fresher than I felt) when he suddenly turns off to start his 2nd lap of the 2-lap run. So luckily I didn’t have to sprint because I don’t think I could have. And I do not think I could have run any faster that day. My whole body ached for the next few hours - not just muscle aches but joints, tendons, bones, everything!
great story, nothing like a fresh rabbit to pace you and must have been a gratifying (albeit painful) first 1/2 IM!! When you say you push through in an A race and are close, does lousy mean the same feeling of lightheadedness, core temp rising and nauseau or more just fatigue?