Most people say to shoot for 3-400cal an hour, most people's body's can't process more than that when they're running.  My loose plan, which I will test at my 50 miler, and have already started testing somewhat on my long runs, is to fuel mainly with Tailwind and grab real food each time I pass through the aid station.  Tailwind has worked great for me on my b2b runs, trying to do around 200cal/hr, which is 20oz with my usual mix.  Sometimes it's hard to drink that much when it's cold out, because I'm not thirsty, so I have to remind myself that it's my nutrition, not just hydration. lol

 

The race is 20-21 May.  I'm really excited, I feel like I'm going to be very well prepared.  It'll be a full moon that night too, should be fun running that first night.  That's something else I have on my training plan, night runs, I run in the dark all the time, but I've never run trails in the dark before.

Ok, I put it on my calendar. Let us know if they have some kind of stalker app or text updates. That is very cool. If I knew my knee could take it, I would love to try one of those some day, or at least a 50 miler. Best of luck to you with the rest of your training.

D2, there's a guy on the main board who worked on training his body to burn fat instead of carbs on the run to avoid digestive issues. I read about it in his report here http://bobhearn.blogspot.com/2015/10/spartathlon-2015.html?m=1

I read that, a while back. Very interesting ( the whole story, not talking just about the fat burning part).

D2, there's a guy on the main board who worked on training his body to burn fat instead of carbs on the run to avoid digestive issues. I read about it in his report here http://bobhearn.blogspot.com/2015/10/spartathlon-2015.html?m=1

Here's the cliff's notes version:

Besides mileage, there are a ton of logistics to consider for this race, and nutrition would have to be a huge one, as really it is for any long ultra. Almost every Spartathlon report I've read features some kind of stomach issues. Actually, GI issues are the #1 reason for DNFs in ultramarathons more generally. With the strict time limits at Spartathlon, there is even less room for error. If you get behind on calories, there's likely not going to be time to slow down and rebuild. But here, I was prepared. For the past year, I've trained low-carb high-fat, essentially not eating carbs during training. This sounds counterintuitive for running long – isn't it all about the carbs? But actually, it's an increasingly popular training regimen these days, followed by many of the top runners. The basic idea is that you train your body to burn fat more efficiently. You can only store about 2,000 calories worth of carbs in your muscles and liver, but you carry essentially unlimited fat reserves. Normally you can't burn this fat fast enough, so the typical ultrarunner will try to take in something like 300 calories per hour in a race. This can get challenging after 50 or so miles, especially if it's hot, and more blood is diverted to the skin for cooling. The stomach and gut can't keep up; nausea is common. But since becoming adapted to this training, having experimented in many races, I've discovered I can get by just fine on 75-100 calories per hour, which I can easily get from just drinking a bit of Coke now and then – a totally minimal load on my digestive system. Really this is perfect for the Spartathlon: there are aid stations about every two miles (unheard of for ultras), and all of them have Coke! This training has really taken nutrition off the table for me as an issue in races, which is a huge benefit.

Thanks, PR!  I turned old last year.  This year I just got a bit older.  Congrats on the fantastic recovery, by the way!  Do you think it was because of the huge mileage base you'd built up?

 

Lauren- I am very sorry.

It's either that, or hops are really good for you.  It's probably the miles, but I'm not going to start skimping on the hops any time soon.

Vet just called with initial test results - my dog definitely has dog cancer (lymphoma) The past 12 months have not been kind to my animals. Going to run out my emotions and discuss options with husband later.

That sucks. How is hubby about it, any better than last time?

Two in one week!

And the week isn't over!

D2, there's a guy on the main board who worked on training his body to burn fat instead of carbs on the run to avoid digestive issues. I read about it in his report here http://bobhearn.blogspot.com/2015/10/spartathlon-2015.html?m=1

Bob also set the US 50-54 AG record for 24 hours with 149.13 miles at the Desert Solstice Ultra back in December.