#Wall January 21

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Today I have reached 3 weeks into the Coach4aday 30-Day Sugar Detox Challenge. To be honest I have hit the WALL. My thoughts are filled with glazed donuts.

For those that have ever ran a marathon you know what the “WALL” is. The last 5 or 6 miles of their 26.2-mile race are almost always the worst. Often, that’s when you “hit the WALL”, where muscle cramping and mental anguish eliminate the consistent pace and effort you have exhibited the previous 20-21 miles.

Completing the Raleigh Marathon in 2001 with 2,500 other runners I certainly experienced that.

When you run long distances, physiological changes take place in our bodies.  During a marathon we use up nearly all of our stored carbohydrates, in the form of the glycogen. Once we have exhausted glycogen our bodies scramble to metabolize fat, which is much harder to do during the race. So, our body not being emphatic about our race goal starts to shut down. That shut down comes complete with muscle cramping when we continue to run.

This video below pretty much captures the different stages of running a marathon. Today it is stage 6.

Of all the challenges in those various stages “hitting the wall” becomes the hardest because the mental urge to quit or stop is the strongest. Today the Sugar Free challenge has me dealing with dominant thoughts about consuming something sweet (quitting). Our brains produce urges that with the correct techniques can be manipulated. In 2001 I used that to finish the marathon without stopping even though it involved lots of walking.

Here is a technique to combat any urge that has the acronym DEADS.

So today I am delaying the urge to go eat a donut for 30 minutes, escaping the thought of sugar by listening to music, Avoiding the kitchen, distracting myself with writing, and substituting that donut for a celery stick.

Sugar Detox is the toughest challenge to date but navigating the WALL with this one can take place and get me to the finish line. Pass me a celery stick.