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I started running regularly since the beginning of 2015 and the maximum distance I ran were half-marathons (21.0975 km). It was only during the mid-2019 training phase for a full-marathon (42.195 km) that I went past my Personal Best.
I ran a distance of 27 km run. That was on the evening of 2 November 2019. Below is a screenshot of the run for reference.
When I reached around the 26 km distance, I encountered a complete depletion of my energy. I was so worn out that I just felt like lying on the ground and taking a nap. It drained me out mentally too (my mind seemed to blank out).
The next 1 km was a very long walk home half-dazed. If someone were to push me in that state, I would have (gladly) welcome the contact with the ground – that was the level of exhaustion. I had no idea what hit me during the run.
I got home, took a protein shake with lots of water and did some stretching. After a a hot shower, I lied on the bed for the next few hours, exhausted but still not being able to sleep (the body felt weird!).
Next morning, I searched online and realised that it was a common issue in endurance sports, like cycling and long-distance running. That experience of sudden fatigue and loss of energy is often called ‘Hitting the Wall’.
I also learned that it is caused by the depletion of glycogen. Glycogen is the stored energy in the form of carbohydrate in the liver and muscles.
Prior months, I was cutting down on my carbohydrate intake to lose weight. But I had changed my diet and switched to consuming carbohydrates again. Thankfully, I did not go through that experience again despite completing two full-marathons (42.195 km) in 2019.
If you are an amateur like me training for long distance run, do take care of your diet, in addition to your regular running and strength training.
Had I known about the ‘Hitting the Wall’ experience, I would have avoided that. Now I know why is it called ‘Hitting the Wall’. Sometimes, you learn things the hard way in life.