Saturday App
A runner in blue shirt and orange spandex lying on the track tired.
Is motivation fading when you go long?
 We've all been there. You're competing at your hardest with competitors all around, and suddenly, your desire to continue pushing on begins to fade away. You can see the finish line in the distance, but that last drop of willpower to push has left you. Why has this happened - especially at such a crucial time?!

To put it simply: this can be caused by either dehydration and/or not enough carbs during training. In both cases, the brain is being under fueled and that's a big problem for our performance. After all, muscles aren't the only organ that love carbs - the brain does, too! And when the neurons become starved of their primary energy source, it makes it more challenging to stay alert and focused to give an all out effort in the heat of competition. 
 
Here's what to do:

  1. Try increasing your Max Hourly Carb slider setting by 10 grams per hour every 2-3 weeks. If that doesn’t fix it, bump it up again!

  2. For the Satiety setting, choose an option or two higher than your current setting to increase fueling during training.

  3. Try toggling on the “Hunger during training” concern to increase carbs during training. 

  4. Try toggling on the "Faint or lightheaded" concern to increase fluid intake.

  5. Consider giving caffeine consumption a boost. 

That's it! Give these a try, and you might find that your motivation and performance improve.  
 

[Interesting Reads] Should You Use a High-Carb Fueling Plan All the Time?
[Watch] Best Carb Types For Endurance Performance

Endurance: Ideas + Implementation with Daniel Rowland
Daniel Rowland is an endurance coach and trail and swimrun athlete. His weekly newsletter provides practical takeaways from five research studies that endurance athletes can use to improve their training and performance.
 
Here, Daniel reviews a study on the exogenous carb intake needed to optimize performance for men and women.
Assessing exogenous carbohydrate intake needed to optimize human endurance performance across sex

A previous study I shared showed that higher carbohydrate (CHO) intakes are possible with the right blend of glucose and fructose. There is also plenty of debate about using higher CHO intakes to improve performance with cyclists taking 120g/h and some ironman triathletes taking as much as 140g/h on the bike. In this study, the authors set out “to reassess the current upper limit recommendation for exogenous CHO intake to support modeled sub-2-hour marathon attempts across elite male and female runners”.”.

STUDY DETAILS:
  1. The study involved 120 male and 120 female runners, modeled based on key characteristics required for a S2M, such as body mass and running economy.
  1. Modeled exogenous CHO bioavailability needed for male and female runners was 93 ± 26 and 108 ± 22g/h, respectively.
  1. Without exogenous CHO, males were modeled to deplete glycogen in 84 ± 7 minutes, females in 71 ± 5 minutes, highlighting a significant gender difference.
  1. Estimated CHO oxidation rates were higher in males (5.1 ± 0.5g/h) than females (4.4 ± 0.5g/h).
  1. Exogenous CHO intakes below 90g/h were deemed insufficient for 65% of modeled runners attempting a S2M, suggesting that current recommendations may fall short for elite marathon runners, particularly females.

PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY:

This study suggests that elite marathon runners, especially women, aiming for a sub-2-hour marathon should consider reassessing their carbohydrate intake strategies. Current recommendations may not fully support the high metabolic demands of elite athletes. My recommendation based on this research is that athletes need to consider their own physiological characteristics, the intensity, and duration of their goal performance and adjust their CHO intake accordingly. Most marathon runners are not aiming for a sub-2h marathon so they don’t need to aim for >90g/h, but they may need to aim for more than their current intake.