WHY do long, slow runs help improve pace? (Read 551 times)

To run 24 hours, the biggest thing you have to worry about, nutrition-wise, is how to effectively take in the calories you will need on the run. This is something you will need to practice, either in training runs, or, better, in say 6- or 12-hour races.

 

Yes, it's also important to maximize your ability to burn fat and to store glycogen (and to start your ultra carb loaded – so many ultra runners seem to ignore this), but none of that will matter if you can't get the calories in without puking after 6, 8, 14, hours. You'll be done.

-- And indeed, isn't it amazing how hard something as simple as eating can be.  But yet after you have run for hours, eating is indeed very hard.   I finished that 30K on Saturday and could only get half a doughnut in.  Took me forever to eat just half and I threw the rest away.  The problem for me personally was not stomaching it, I have never had any kind of issue there.  My issue is that I get so fatigued, just chewing and swallowing the food is hard!

-- But I do have a good plan (I think..) for my 24-hour race in April to make absolutely certain that I get in enough food + calories.  No matter what my pace ends up being, I absolutely don't want to have to quit before 24-hours because I neglected intake.

This is totally off subject, but I checked out your log and it is the most colorful log I have ever seen.

Maybe he is matching it to the new fashion in shoes.

 

-- And indeed, isn't it amazing how hard something as simple as eating can be.  But yet after you have run for hours, eating is indeed very hard.   I finished that 30K on Saturday and could only get half a doughnut in.  Took me forever to eat just half and I threw the rest away.  The problem for me personally was not stomaching it, I have never had any kind of issue there.  My issue is that I get so fatigued, just chewing and swallowing the food is hard!

...

Then you know to use something that doesn't need chewing if you run 30k at that intensity.

If you're doing longer races, it will be lower intensity, and things may be easier to get down for awhile. And it's usually a good idea to have multiple approaches in longer races so if one thing doesn't work, maybe something else will.

 

--- All you need to add now is "The Best I could" (like ennay:-)  or what someone else has on theirs, "Screwed the pooch", and you will be all set.  ---Everyone has some "Best I could" or "Screwed the pooch" days every now and again, don't they?...  

heh.  TheBestICould used to be named something else less safe for work.

Buzzie- Have you tried Vitargo?  If so how did it compare to UCAN?

I have not. I'm sticking with UCAN to maintain my keto adaptations.

I have read about it ... the promptly forgot everything when I decided it wasn't for me.

 

Not sure if this is a blessing or curse, I swear I can eat so much in 50 miles that I actually gain weight.  Yeah, bring on the doughnuts, ice cream, goldfish, brownies, chicken-noodle soup, potato chips, nuts, Coca-Cola Dr. Pepper with real sugar as God intended, etc. etc. NOM NOM NOM!

Fixed yer post for you.