My treadmill run for tonight. 3x10km, 1x3km, 5-10mins break in between.
today also marks my 1000km for 2026~~~ thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice!!
At your paces, think you'd better practise your fuelling rate and amounts solidly soon and decide on a possibly game plan, be it liquid, solid or whatever mix, either you bring it along with you or have someone who is dedicated enough to track + hand the liquid/solid nutrition to you over the course..........
Dont have to aim for high rates like 90-120g/hr range esp if you are not after that last 1-2 mins bit of performance, but still to avoid even half-bonking (ie you are not bonked till walking yet but you are also far from your great running shape), your fuelling still must be decent.
^^^^^
Your last 3k, if fueled properly, it might be entirely possible that you are still not as exhausted and are able to maintain close to your 5:18 pace for the previous 10k rep. Just a possible example, if you had not used much fuel at all. They found that good fuelling greatly improved TTE / Time to Exhaustion.
Or put it this way, you can run another 10km rep at slightly higher paces.
Fueling is critical for both runners, but it is
chemically more demanding for the 4:45 min/km runner due to their higher reliance on glycogen (carbohydrates) for energy. While the slower runner will be on the course for a longer duration, the faster runner burns fuel at a much higher intensity, creating a higher risk of "hitting the wall" sooner.
PubMed Central (PMC) (.gov) +3
Fueling Differences by Pace
| Feature | 4:45 min/km Pace (approx. 3:20 marathon) | 6:30 min/km Pace (approx. 4:35 marathon) |
|---|
| Primary Fuel Source | High reliance on carbohydrates (glycogen) | Higher percentage of fat oxidation |
| Burn Rate | High intensity; burns glycogen rapidly | Lower intensity; glycogen lasts longer |
| Risk Factor | Depletion rate: Risk of running out of glycogen in 90–120 minutes | Duration: Risk of total caloric deficit over 4.5+ hours |
| Target Carb Intake | 60–90g of carbs per hour | 30–60g of carbs per hour |