I was banded on October 26, and haven't done any great amount of exercise since then but have lost 30 lbs! Yeah! Anyway on Jan. 1 I registered for the Flying Pig Marathon and have been trying to train for this event. I will preface this with I am eating about 1000 to 1200 calories per day. After running about 2 miles, or 30 minutes I just seem to run out of fuel. Fellow runners will know this as hitting the wall. Can any other banded runners out there let me know what their fueling strategy is for longer runs? I am following a Hal Higdon plan which calls for 6 mile plus run long runs at this phase in training. I will also say that prior to the 30 lb weight loss, I could only run for a minute or two before having to stop to walk. Now I can run a half a mile or so before a brief walk break and then back on. Clearly my body must be adjusting to the weight loss but I also want to be able to follow this training plan in order to be prepared for 26.2 miles in May!!!!! PS any others out there registered for the PIG? PPS I don't want to ruin my weight loss by eating too many calories before running either. I'm not sure what the balancing game should be with respect to calorie balance and fueling for running.

I am not a runner, so take this advice as you will.

1. How much Water are you drinking during the run? I know that during my high intensity workouts the more I drink the more energy I have.

2. How are you breathing? In through the nose, hold 2 seconds, out through the mouth. The more consistent your breathing is the more energy your body has. If your breathing is not right nothing else is going to matter. Panting or short quick breaths through the mouth are going to seriously rob you muscles of energy.

3. Are you taking any amino acid supplements? I am a true believer in supplementing prior to a workout.

Dont discount the fact that it may not be "running out of fuel", it may simply be that that's the level of fitness you're at. I've run up to half marathon distance since being banded and have never found that I needed Protein supplements, huge amounts of food or unusual amounts of Water to do it. I would run out of energy at about the 20 minute mark when I started running, then trained up to where I could run for an hour before boredom really got to me, and I keep my runs to about 45 minutes now. I've done less running, more bootcamp over the past year and whilst I'm stronger and have more tolerance to bursts of very hard cardio, my endurance has decreased a bit as a result of the change and 40 minutes or so of running sees me tired. If i went back to just running, that would change again.

It just takes time for your body to adapt and become proficient with metabolising and providing the fuel for exercise, that's part of true fitness, its not at all just about your heart and lungs. That comes with time and consistency.

But that said, i've never done a low carb diet for any more than a week or two at a time, cutting out carbs completely makes me feel like crap and I definitely cannot exercise well on a low carb intake. I do eat bread, oatmeal, lots of fruit and vegies and Pasta and rice. In moderate quantities!

As to amino acid supplements, I have tried Hornet juice before a run as its cheap and easy to get here in Australia and, yes, I do believe it does help slightly with keeping up energy,

Those programs too, I've found they're just too quick in progression for me, it took me two and half years of running to get to half marathon stage. Everyone's different but I'm not sure that its that easy to follow such a plan as an overweight person. As you lose weight you can do more and more and you really will find it hard to believe just how much extra work that weight on your body causes you. Take it at YOUR pace.

It could be that you're running out of fuel--either by not enough calories, not enough carbs, or not enough fluids. Or it could be as Jachut said that it may be your level of fitness. If your plan calls for six mile long runs but you can only run for a half mile at a time, it sounds like your fitness level doesn't coincide with the plan you're following yet. I don't exactly know which of his plans you're following, but the Novice I plan recommends that you be able to comfortably run 3-6 miles at a time before beginning the plan. It's probably not a good time to switch, but Jeff Galloway has some run/walk training plans that may work for you in the future. I like Hal Higdon's plans, too, though.

I just finished a half marathon on Saturday (YAY!!!), which was my first race since gaining weight, having surgery, and then losing weight. I found that I definitely had to eat more, and definitely had to start consuming more carbs. I also had to pay a lot more attention to hydration than I used to in my younger, pre-band days of running. Without attention to those things, runs were slower and harder.

I am not a runner, so take this advice as you will.

1. How much Water are you drinking during the run? I know that during my high intensity workouts the more I drink the more energy I have.

2. How are you breathing? In through the nose, hold 2 seconds, out through the mouth. The more consistent your breathing is the more energy your body has. If your breathing is not right nothing else is going to matter. Panting or short quick breaths through the mouth are going to seriously rob you muscles of energy.

3. Are you taking any amino acid supplements? I am a true believer in supplementing prior to a workout.

hi,

interested in what type of supplements you take prior to workouts, and how it helps?? thanks!! not a runner, but work out 2 hrs day most days, cardio, and strength...

thanks!

hi,

interested in what type of supplements you take prior to workouts, and how it helps?? thanks!! not a runner, but work out 2 hrs day most days, cardio, and strength...

thanks!

I have tried most of the pre and post workout supplements, and the one I keep going back to is NO Shotgun by VPX labs approximately 15 minutes prior to starting, followed by NO Synthesis about half way through. These supplements include a 19g dose of Protein each, so I get an additional 38 grams on top of the amino matrix. This is only on gym days where I do weight training first followed by elliptical, and finish up with body weight training (crunches, push ups, pull ups etc.) This is not for the average person doing light weights and some cardio. The combination of these two give me incredible energy and rapid recovery. So I can push myself hard, wait a couple of minutes, then do it again. I will also warn that this is considered a wet supplement, so it will make your muscles hold Water.

On the days I have martial arts training I usually just take a 5 hour energy 30 minutes prior to class.

Hi all,

Thanks for the great advice. I did walk prior to my surgery, and was walking a mini marathon each year. I would like to think that some of that conditioning would stay with me post surgery. Clearly, walking is not the same as running. First, I tried to make sure to breathe deeply while running and that did help. I remembered when I swim that if I feel out of breath, it is usually because I am not breathing OUT enough rather than not breathing IN. I also got some of those small bottles of the Gatorade Perform. They are 80 calories and have electrolytes like sodium and potassium. While I was sipping on these, I was able to complete a 3 mile run. I saw it as "investing" 80 calories to get a 350 calorie return. I'm not sure if that is flawed logic or not. My scale is still going in the downward direction. I did read where it said that I should be able to run 3 miles comfortably. I chose *not* to pay attention to that. I am reading the book "Ultimate Training Guide". I do have a Jeff Galloway 5-k 10-k training book. Maybe I should look up a JG marathon plan. I have been able to run 3 the past two days and have run about 75% of it. That's great progress for me! L12 - Congrats on your MINI!

I was lapbanded one year ago. I have not done a full marathon but have done two 1/2 marathons and just ran a 10k. I know Hal Higdon training is good but I used marathon rookie training schedule off the internet. It was very basic and was just to get your miles to where they needed to be to finish. I was not worried about time. For the 1/2 marathons and from what I understand unless you are running over 10 miles you probably do not need any supplements. Just hydrate!! I have never taken anything even when running 13.1. You probabaly have not built up your endurance and are just struggling to get through but that will change the more you run. Don't overdo it! I did not specifically count calories but I do make sure after a long run I eat a banana or some carbs to refuel my body. GOOD LUCK!! Maybe try a 1/2 marathon before you run the full. There are lots of them out there and you can find one to fit in your training schedule I am sure. I am running another 1/2 at the end of March and am training for a triathalon. What a difference a year makes!

quote name='HezTri-s' timestamp='1294579703' post='1557230']

I was banded on October 26, and haven't done any great amount of exercise since then but have lost 30 lbs! Yeah! Anyway on Jan. 1 I registered for the Flying Pig Marathon and have been trying to train for this event. I will preface this with I am eating about 1000 to 1200 calories per day. After running about 2 miles, or 30 minutes I just seem to run out of fuel. Fellow runners will know this as hitting the wall. Can any other banded runners out there let me know what their fueling strategy is for longer runs? I am following a Hal Higdon plan which calls for 6 mile plus run long runs at this phase in training. I will also say that prior to the 30 lb weight loss, I could only run for a minute or two before having to stop to walk. Now I can run a half a mile or so before a brief walk break and then back on. Clearly my body must be adjusting to the weight loss but I also want to be able to follow this training plan in order to be prepared for 26.2 miles in May!!!!! PS any others out there registered for the PIG? PPS I don't want to ruin my weight loss by eating too many calories before running either. I'm not sure what the balancing game should be with respect to calorie balance and fueling for running.