What happens when you "hit the wall?"

bobbysands81

How do you come through the other side?

Is it as bad as everyone says it is?

How bad was it for you?

Pherekydes

Your brain gets its fuel supply from the liver. When the liver runs out of fuel, so does your brain. You lose coordination. You become light-headed and giddy and lose the will to continue. If you run a marathon or other long duration run or cycle without taking on fuel you will hit the wall. This is why you see top marathoners using those energy gels. Isotonic sports drinks or coke provide and near-instant fuel source. Many top runners and cyclists swear by coke because it has caffeine in it besides the sugar. De-gas it before use, of course.

In short, you have to find what works best for you. Best to take fuel on board before you hit the wall. If you feel yourself going (giddyness, light-headedness, loss of coordination) take on a sugary source of fuel, the simpler the better.

If you're wondering why you can't stock up beforehand, it's because the liver has roughly enough fuel for two hours work. The muscles have their own store of fuel, but, perversely, they also use fuel from the liver. The brain does not have its own source of fuel and has to rely on the liver.

A more technical explanation

Marathon Man

Funny story:
A friend of mine took his girlfriend to a football pitch to do a bit of running. After the first warm up length she turned to him and without humor said 'I think I've hit the wall'.
That doesn't answer your question but I couldn't resist mentioning it.

dfitzer1

Have done a few marathons and only really hit the "wall" once. Went off way too quick and ended up in an awful jock at 16 (yes only 16) miles. I managed to finish but I was in bits. I think if you follow the advice giving above regarding nutrition and run at a sensible pace you should be OK.

bobbysands81

Cheers folks, interested to hear more stories!

hunnymonster

I hit the wall for the first time last week as it happens. I was out for a cycle in Connemara. I've had a tummy bug for a couple of weeks and had real problems keeping any food down. As a result I ran out of fuel about 4 hours into the cycle even though I was injesting as much as I could as my background supply was so low. As other people have said, I was dizzy (not good on a bike in windy Connemara) and every pedal stroke was a mammoth effort. If you fuel properly for a marathon there is absolutely no need for anyone to hit the wall.

quozl

I'm fairly sure I manged to meet it about ten minutes after crossing the line at the dublin marathon last year.

I was shaking quite heavily with the cold, on a warm day, while wearing multiple layers and a fleece. I think whatever sugar I needed for heating was long gone I've been fecking freezing while/after kayaking and surfing in January, and this was quite a bit worse.

I was still shivering in bed an hour later. I don't get why I was able to shiver but not able to heat myself?

I'm glad I wasn't trying to run like that. Even the 15 minute walk home sucked Oh and it made me very cranky until I got my blood sugar back up )

Clum

quozl wrote:

I'm fairly sure I manged to meet it about ten minutes after crossing the line at the dublin marathon last year.

I was the same. 2 minutes after crossing the line I seized up. Had just gotten my gear bag and all of a sudden the fuel tanks ran dry and had no energy left whatsoever! Sat down on some steps and really struggled to get a dry top on and some sports drink in to me.

Took me about 15 or 20 minutes to recover but it was a very painful few minutes. Every single muscle ached. Of course in the middle of it all some other finisher hit the floor right in front of me shouting about cramp in his calf muscles. Nobody else seemed to know to what do so I had to battle to my feet and stretch the guys legs for him...I hadn't the energy to eat a chocolate bar, how I managed to help out the other guy is beyond me...

Odysseus

I think its quite a subjective experience, I find that when I experience it that I just feel wiped. That is I'm expecting to be passed by an old guy on a zimmer frame. It seems my pace just slows down and I don't have the strenght to fight it, at this stage I just plod on until it passes and the important thing to remember at this time is that it does pass, you can work through it.

At this stage I usually start repeating my mantra of "you knew this was going to hurt, so shut the fcvk up and get the job done. You can moan all you want when its finished".;)

Also I find that every part of me aches a dull ache that eats away at you. I don't get this every marathon, and using energy gels, or carb drinks can delay its onset or stop it completely.

Hopes this helps.