I was going to call this post “Long Runs and Lessons I’ve Learned,” but after my last long run, it’s clear it’s still a work in progress. One of the biggest things I’m working on is….NUTRITION.
I realized that I’ve been seriously under-fueling for these runs. In the past I ate a gel every hour. But recently, from one of my ultra running podcasts, I learned that runners should aim for 200-300 calories per hour- I was getting in 100, half of the lowest recommendation. DOH!
After that I really made an effort to eat more often. Here’s my gear laid out before my 25 mile run:
The fuel includes two gels, a package of Clif Bloks, Frooze balls, and Uncrustables. I brought along another Uncrustable as well that I didn’t end up eating. Let’s just see how it all worked out…
First, I now eat breakfast before the run. I used to get up and get out the door as quickly as possible, so the most I would eat was half a banana or maybe an orange. Now that I’ve been doing my long runs a little later, I’ve been eating a bowl of oatmeal. This works well as long as it’s at least an hour before I start running. On this day, I was behind on my schedule and finished it about 45 minutes before the run.
For the first hour, I could feel that oatmeal in my stomach. It wasn’t bothering me too much, but it made me not want to eat anything else. Finally, an hour into the run I knew I was going to get behind if I didn’t eat something, so I ate a gel. That’s what gels are great for- they go down easily (at least for me) even when you can’t eat regular food.
About half an hour later I decided I needed to start on the Frooze balls. I had planned to eat them slowly, and eat all five pieces during the run… but on this day, after I ate two of them, I suddenly hated them.
WHAT? I’ve been loving the Frooze balls!!! How did this happen? I was really counting on eating that whole package, and now I didn’t see how I could finish it. Sigh.
A little later I took another gel and then decided to try the Uncrustable- it was my first time trying it on the run.
Well, I have some advice: don’t put it in the pocket of your running shorts. It got all smooshed, and all the jelly ended up in one tiny part. The problem with that was, the rest of the Uncrustable was just bread and peanut butter, which was a little hard to get down. But I ate it. Once it was in my stomach it digested fine- I just didn’t enjoy the shewing and swallowing part so much.
Now I was in those last ten, hard miles of the run, and I opened the package of Clif Bloks. They were… inoffensive. I ate one about every ten minutes, and in that way finished the run.
In retrospect I didn’t eat as much as I had wanted, which was probably partly why this run was so hard. I learned two things: 1) leave plenty of time for breakfast to digest before running! (this shouldn’t be a problem on race day) and 2) bring along a variety of foods in case you suddenly hate one of the items you planned on eating.
For my race, I plan to bring most of my nutrition along with me. I can carry some and put some in my drop bag, which I’ll have access to in the middle. According to the race info, the aid stations will be stocked with fruit, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips. pretzels, pickles and soda. Now I wish I had tried salty things on my long runs, instead of all sweet. We’ll see how I feel during the race- maybe I’ll want a pickle (?)
Twelve days till race day! I’ll have a nutrition update afterwards.
I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics today!
Any other ideas or pieces of advice for me?
What’s your favorite long run nutrition?
30 Responses
My sister eats oatmeal before EVERY long distance run and swears by it as her pre-race fuel (she also carb loads the night before, usually a big bowl of pasta, I think).
I made myself laugh: when I saw the top picture (not fully in view) your ice running hat looked a bit like a cloth diaper and I was very…intrigued? But then I scrolled down just a tad more and realized it was your hat and I laughed out loud.
About to head out for my first outdoor run (and first anything run), since December 27th. Very nervous and know I’ll be sore tomorrow, but the weather is sunny and relatively warm and I NEED TO START. My husband has been treadmill running all winter and mentioned wanting to start running together again this spring and my goodness I am so, so far behind at this point. Usually I’m the one that runs on the treadmill in the winter and he doesn’t. Fingers crossed. It won’t be pretty, though I suspect the run itself will feel okay – it’s tomorrow that will be touch and go. I’m going to take magnesium citrate when I get home as I really find that helps with muscle recovery.
Yes, I know how hard it is to start back- but on the other hand, the first run of spring sounds very joyful! I hope it went well, and that you don’t feel TOO sore tomorrow. Interesting about magnesium citrate… I want to hear how it works out.
While I hate the taste of magnesium citrate, it really does work wonders. Basically everyone in my household uses it. My son gets growing pains in his legs and mag citrate helps a lot with that. My husband runs a lot more than I do at this point – sometimes twice a day, and if he forgets to take it before bedtime he often wakes with restless/sore legs.
It also helps with muscle recovery! There are a few other rapidly digestible forms of magnesium too, that come in pill form. Mag citrate has to be mixed into a warm liquid to activate.
Hmmm! I’m going to look into it. I think magnesium is supposed to help with sleep too- I need that.
Oh and yes, I see what you mean about the ice hat… well I’ve definitely had some inconvenient pit stops on my runs, but I’m happy to say I do NOT need to wear a diaper!
The problem with running nutrition is that this stuff is not easy to eat. Sipping on one Gu after an hour is OK, but giving me 3 Gu’s and telling me I have an hour to eat them and suddenly it’s a chore. A pickle sounds weird enough that it probably would taste good in the middle of a long run.
The aid stations always sounded like the best part of running an ultra. I bet it’s going to be a blast!
Yes, I’m looking forward to those aid stations. Soda? I might just have to have some!
Oh my stars, oatmeal fills me up for HOURS! I can’t imagine trying to eat more – but, totally get how you need to up your intake for this long thing you’re trying to do. I love a salty snack, so those more savory options in the aid stations sound AMAZING!!
When I eat oatmeal before a run, I make it with just water and don’t add anything to it. If I’m eating oatmeal on a non-running day, sometimes I’ll make it with soymilk or protein powder, and I’ll add nuts- THAT fills me up for hours.
I love oatmeal and wish I could eat it before a run, but the one time I tried to do that I ended up with terrible GI distress. Usually before a long run, I will eat light, maybe a piece of toast with peanut butter. I know that I was always under-fueling during my long runs, but if I were to eat a gel every 45 minutes, it would definitely not sit right in my stomach!
I’ve always considered my stomach to be “sensitive,” so I’m pleasantly surprised that I can eat oatmeal in the morning before a run. Also, gels have always been fine with me- it’s almost like they’re pre-digested.
As a non runner, I just find this so fascinating! I have no idea how you run AND chew/swallow. But it sounds like you are learning all sorts of good lessons about how to get your body what it needs.
When you mentioned pickles as an option, it seemed startling, but I guess it makes sense, right? Compact, easy to hold, full of salt and water. Yum! I love pickles. Not sure how appetizing I would find them in the middle of a run though, but maybe it will be just the thing you need.
One thing to remember is, I’m not running that fast, especially when I’m eating. Even so, it was hard at first- it was hard to chew, swallow and keep breathing. But I’ve gotten better at it! And I’ll let you know if I end up trying the pickles during the race.
I’m with Suzanne on this! How do you keep running while eating? It sounds very complicated.
I don’t have any advice, but I can’t run or exercise with a full stomach, either, so I do think the question of when to eat breakfast (and what!) is an interesting puzzle.
Up until this training cycle, I had only eaten gels during a long run, but now I’m branching out! It does take some practice.
I have never thought of eating pickles on a run, but that actually sounds kind of awesome!
It doesn’t sound immediately appetizing to me, but I can see how it could suddenly become appealing after 20 miles when you’re tired of sweet things.
Nutrition has always been an issue for me. I find something that works…until it doesn’t. Lately, I’ve been eating Bob’s Red Mill PBJ oatmeal bars on my long runs. They seem to be working well for me. I tried Frooze balls and I like them but they are kind of chewy. The Bob’s bars are soft and easy to eat. So far so good!
Hmm, yes the Frooze balls are chewy, and very sweet because of the dates. Those oatmeal bars sound good- I might get some. I know, “nothing new on race day,” but…
12 days!! So exciting!
When I did my 56k ultra last year, I made sure to eat a gel every 30 minutes. I thought it was quite a lot, but it worked well. One gel had electrolytes, the other more carbs and the combo worked.
I didn’t have salty stuff but I think that would have been a good idea!
A gel every 30 minutes sounds like a good amount of calories. I might try something salty during my race, and I’ll report back!
I’m a creature of habit. Oatmeal everyday.
Gu during a run… every 4 miles. Sometimes a HS waffle first thing if my breakfast has been a while.
I love the cold brew Gu Roctane gels- they definitely give me a huge burst of energy!
I’m terrible with fueling too. I like to run fasted and obviously it affects my performance if underfueled. I don’t like the feeling of food on my stomach and I get up 4:50am and want to get out of the door by 6am, so a bit challenging. I have’t had to eat/fuel since my last marathon, except few bites of a bar here and there. Now that I feel like my long runs are getting longer and harder, I should probably fueling again. have you tried homemade energy balls? date/oats/peanut butter? I haven’t tried them yet but I honestly hate gels. h
The fueling will really come into play in the later miles, but it is so easy to get behind at the beginning of the run if you are not hungry! I think everyone has to figure out what works best for them, but for me, I usually consume about 150-200 per hour. The good think about ultras normally is that you will have hills which means walking which means time to digest, but I think yours is not too hilly (correct me if I am wrong) so you will definitely want more digestible items! I hate gels/gus, but am a big fan of fruit (watermelon and banana are the most easy to eat due to their softness) and salty stuff (chips, potatoes with salt, rice balls). However, I think if you are having trouble eating, you may want to look into carrying drinkable calories like Tailwind or Gatoraide or something that comes in powder form. They really come in handy when you are in a hot place, as they have electrolytes too! Many people carry two handhelds and have one with Tailwind and one with water so they can alternate.
Yes, that’s great advice- drinkable calories would be great if you feel like you can’t eat. And it’s harder to eat when it’s really hot. About the hills- there won’t be “hills” like in other areas, but there is a section of this trail that they describe as “sand dunes” (yes, I’m scared.) It’s going to be rolling hills, but I’ll probably still be walking up them (because… sand) and running down. Not sure if it will give me that much of a break for eating though.
I’m not much help here so I haven’t done a 50k! For marathons, I liked those chia seed gels I told you about and also things like gummy bears. I did a couple of trail runs – 10k, 10 miles and 1/2 distance I think? I loved the aid stations! Like cooked potatoes to dip in salt? Yes please!! They also had sweet stuff like m&ms. I would hang at the aid station for a bit for trail races because the atmosphere is so much more relaxed and I wasn’t trying to run a certain time/pace. I always eat oatmeal or toast with PB for breakfast. I have trained my body to run fairly close to eating now that I am a mom and have less control of my schedule/time!
I can’t wait to hear how the race goes! Hopefully you figure out nutrition but things tend to work out usually on race day!
Yes, the huma gels! I tried one on my 23 mile run, and it was my best long run of the whole training cycle. I want to get more huma gels but they don’t sell them in any convenient stores around here, and I don’t want to order a huge pack from amazon. I’ll try to find them again (why did I only buy ONE?) because I definitely liked them.
Have a great race! I think that by the time you read this, you will be done already. I cannot wait to hear how it went. I also need to do better with nutrition. I don’t eat anything in the morning unless it is a long run (I eat a PickyBar). I read Wendy’s comment and will be ordering some of those bars she mentioned.
I’m reading this six days before the race! I’ll let you know how it goes!