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Type 1 Diabetic about to train for first Ultra, Diet advice
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has any advice on the best way to fuel for an Ultra? I know it can be very specific to the individual, but i'm keen to start trying new / different ways now in my training before my Hardmoors 55 in March.
When i run marathons i find my self feeling sick from the amount of sugar i need to take on board as a Type 1 Diabetic to stop my blood sugar lowering too much and normally don't bother with any gels after 20 miles. This isn't going to be an option come March and have heard baby food and few other interesting options instead.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated and if there is any fellow diabetics it would be interesting to hear your thoughts.
Thanks in advance,
Sid
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Comments
Hi Sid. I'm also a T1D and have run 10 marathons now (and one 50k 'intro' ultra). I do take gels in a marathon race (3 or 4) but never in training. For a long training run 15M+ I will have some semi dried prunes or apricots. These are tasty, moist and, for me at least, easy to eat on the run. I have also had Cliff Bars once. Cashews can be good in this regard (being s relatively carby legume rather than a nut), and also bananas, of course.
For the last year I have eaten a high fat low carb diet and so have found I need less carbs on a long run whilst trying to maintain a level blood sugar. As a result, I have done away with the idea of carb loading in advance of a race. , but have still run PB after PB!
I guess for you it will be about training your body to eat what you want to and testing regularly on your super long training runs to see the impacts of any food. Good luck and I look forward to reading any other advice on here.
Liquid sugar?
You could possibly get your sugar in liquid form, rather than thinking of it as being the sole preserve of food?
For example: 500ml Ribena contains 70g sugar.
Fizzy juice (as you'll know) is a problem on long runs (i.e. gas/bloating). If Lucozade is your thing, just leave it in a glass the night before for it to lose its fizz.