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Running is Ok now time to sort out nutrition
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I know this is an ongoing subject and always being talked about.
Last Saturday I ran 15 miles. I ate nothing before and took on 3 energy gels. I usually run on empty stomach as I am up 5am. Doing a 50k in a month. I'm out Saturday doing 20miles.
I found the following website
http://www.running-training-tips.com/sports-nutrition-ultramarathon.html
Does this sound about right?? The amount of water seems a bit excessive??
I'm going to take a load of food with me and try running and eating. Plus have a decent brekky before hand.I think i'll go down the bagel and mars bar route plus bring a few gels with me. I never really thought about eating from the off?? Is this normal?
Basically just asking for other peoples experiences and thoughts on the above website? Or if somebody could give me a nudge towards perhaps a more informative website
Thanks all
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Comments
Unfortunatly there are as many answers to the question as to what to eat as there are ultra runners. You need to find what works for you. I think though that the value of 280-400 calories an hour during an event sounds plausible and is consistent with other advice. For the fluid intake the numbers look rather odd as 120-250ml every 15 minutes does not = 1-2 litres per hour. 0.5l to 1l per hour is probably more plausible (certainly in the UK) but obviously depends on the weather.
I manage about 300 calories and .5l litres per hour - would that I could manage more without feeling sick.
There are about 5 recent articles on nutrition on the lakeland 100 site that make interesting reading.
http://lakeland100.wordpress.com/
But in the end you've got to experiment for yourself!
Really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I think that's the reason why I get to 15 miles and I feel wasted. I eat no calories an hour and during a 15 mile run I may drink 0.5l. As daft as it sounds I thought I could sustain high mileage with just gels. So this Saturday i'm going to have a good breakfast. Try to eat 3-400 calories an hour plus drink a lot more and see if I can push a little further
Appreciated
Some good nutrition chat on the "<a style="color: #0066cc; border-bottom-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" href="http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/ultra-/-adventure-racing/how-do-you-train-for-an-ultra-marathon/161595-3.html">How do you train for an ultra marathon?</a>" thread and on the Wannabee ultra thread if you trawl back far enough.
On water, I drink about 1L an hr, but I do sweat rather alot. Others drink much less, if you've been running for a while then I suspect you have a good idea of what you need. Just remember if you feel thirsty, then you're already de-hydrated.
Good luck with the up-coming ultra
Whatever it is you plan on doing, you need to start doing it in training as soon as you can - otherwise you might come a cropper on race day! Gastro problems (cramps and diarrohea mainly) are not uncommon if you aren't used to taking on fuel during a race - the change in blood flow and efficiency of the gut during high intensity activity is altered, so you do need to be careful about what/how you fuel and also put in the practice!
If you can start taking on board some fluid and carbs from the outset, you'll be doing yourself a favour. Using exogenous (external to the body - so food/gels/etc.) sources of carbs helps your body to reserve the glycogen stored in your muscles, and so gives you the potential for increased endurance. Also, the longer you are active, the less well the gut functions. So getting things in early on means your more likely to be able to utilise the energy.
As to what and how much - that really is a matter of personal tolerance. The recommendation is to have 30-60g of carbs per hour, with fluid requirements varying hugely between people depending on their own sweat rates, environmental conditions, type of activity, etc. 500ml - 1 litre per hour is probably a minimum, and should ideally be a water/electrolye solution to help replace lost fluids and electrolytes.
This isn't aimed at an ultramarathon, but the principles are the same - you just might need a little more - link
And this one is aimed at Ironman, which again isn't quite what you want - but does give you some idea as to what is required for ultra-endurance events.