traveller011212 wrote:
Mix carbs, protein and fat when you eat. Also, make sure that you are getting enough calories.
yes, do that. i'm a rower so my main races (i.e. provincial, national, university champs, etc.) are olympic length, 2000m, but i've got some head races that will go up to 6.5k. you've just got to prepare adequately beforehand with enough food, and make sure it's not all simple carbs, so you have energy through the whole run. it really sucks when you get out on the water and you're waiting for your coach to meet up with the fleet for a 1.5hr practise and you're thinking "man i'm hungry". that's different from hitting the wall, i know, but being hungry and doing exercise sucks.
the only other thing i can suggest is to just push through it. if you're in a race and you hit it, you're not going to stop to catch your breath. mental strength plays a big part in endurance sports because it's so hard to push yourself for that long, but you've got to do it. once i'm done a race, i can't walk. i have to sit at the finish line for a few minutes before i can row back to the dock, and once i get there i very shakily pick up my boat with my partner and walk it back to the trailer. you've just got to learn how to push yourself, which could take a while. for the first couple of years i decided to quit rowing every time i raced. i'd get to the halfway mark and think "why am i doing this to myself, it hurts so much, i'm quitting after this race" until i was able to get a stronger mental game going on. now i just accept that it's going to hurt like hell, i'm going to want to throw up and pass out, and it's not going to get any better once i finish, but it's going to hurt whether i push myself to the limit or just give it a good effort so i might as well kill myself during the race.