Race day nutrition is something I struggle with. I don't know if my race and long runs have suffered because I lacked fitness (likely) or if it was because my nutrition plan was deficient.
Everyone has a different take on it and I wondered if you'd share the guiding principle (or gory details) of your approach to nutrition during the long runs and races (primarily ultra distance, but all opinions are welcome)
I only have one specific question. Do you feel hungry when you're racing?
(I don't like feeling hungry, so I usually eat until I don't feel hungry. This is probably a mistake)
for the record, in my last few adventures I've relied primarily on Hammer Perpeteum, random gels and Clif bars.
Trail and Ultra Running User Group
Faster Than Your Couch!
Run for fun.
Refurbished Hip
Nutrition is one of the few things I am good at regarding running. And by good at, I mean I am probably just genetically lucky to have an iron stomach.
The night before I eat a bunch of pasta. Typically I go to Noodles & Company instead of making my own, so it's probably full of fat. During the few days before a long race I also drink a lot of coconut water (hydration + electrolytes.)
Breakfast race morning is kind of whatever -- banana + bagel, Eggos, Poptarts, Honey Stinger Waffles, something high carb and low fiber. I'm not picky.
During an ultra, I will attempt to take a gel (I prefer Crank E-gels, but can choke down any brand) once an hour + eat whatever looks good from the aid stations. I drink water to thirst. I don't count calories, I don't monitor my ounces, I don't have a plan. I just eat. I like real food. I don't do any of the fancy drinks or bars or whatever. If it's really warm out and I'm sweating a lot, I'll pop an S! Cap. To answer your specific question, no, I don't feel hungry when racing. I thought I remember reading somewhere that if you feel hungry, it's already too late and you should have replenished those calories a while ago.
Please note I suck and am slow, so my experience probably varies from someone who is "racing."
Running is dumb.
flashlight and sidewalk
Not a ton of experience, but my plan for this weekend's 50 miles is as follows:
Pre-race: I try to eat really clean the week of the race. Starting Thursday night I plan on stuffing myself on sushi rolls until friday night. A bagel and a banana or whatever looks good at pre-race breakfast.
Race: Planning on doing a GU/hour. I also have shot blocks, stinger waffles, and cliff bars to supplement the GU's. I'll eat anything that looks good at the aid stations. I don't have a detailed eating plan, but I want to eat at least 250 calories/hour. I have endurolytes that I will take 2 or 3 / hour. No water plan, just drink when thirsty and wash down all the food with water.
Recover: Beers
**Ask me about streaking**
The same things I have had success with are the same things I have experienced disasters with, so I don't know for sure. I know I generally take HEED well, but I am determined to make Tailwind work for me. DPC3 is sending me a sample pack, and I will probably order some after I try it. I am told it can be used alone and get you everything you need in a race. I have heard that too many times from people other than the company to not give it a try. I'll let you know how it works for me.
LB2
This is a major problem for me. I get a lot of bloating and feeling like I need to belch. It's not so much nausea as just feeling very full. In fact there are times that I will have visible abdominal distension.
I thought that I had this under control this year on my long training runs only to have it come back during my 50k. I have the feeling that it's mostly due to not eating enough. During my spring training runs, 20, 21, 22+ miles, I was very disciplined with my eating. I tried to take in one energy gel and one granola bar every hour for 300-320 cal. The race was a little different because I was also getting some bananas at the aid stations. There I felt good until about the 18 mile mark. I think my problem came because the next aid station was further away then I had planned for. It was supposed to have good food such as soups etc., so I didn't eat when I should have. When I start to feel hungry then the bloating begins. Once that starts it's downhill from there with no chance of recovery. The last 4 miles of the 50k my stomach was OK as long as I was constantly nibbling on something. Unfortunately I find it hard to run and nibble at the same time. My plan is to have some 25-28 mile runs over the next two months and really work with my eating to see if I can get the problem under control. I think I just need to be more disciplined to eat more during a race even if I have to stop for a few minutes to do so. In the end I think it will help me.
A little over a year ago my Dr thought that I had a gastric ulcer and reflux. He had put me on Zantac. That definitely helped with the reflux at night so he talked me into taking Prilosec. While Prilosec works good for acid reduction it has also been implicated in Mal-absorbtion of certain nutrients including, calcium, potassium, magnesium and others. Also I read a article that was written by a Dr who ran a lot of longer distances and he claimed that it actually could irritate the lining of the upper GI tract causing numerous problems while running. Last year I was plagued with cramps and the stomach issues often as soon as 5-6 miles into a run. Since this was occurring on runs (15-18 mile long) that I had did before and knew that I shouldn't be cramping at all, I knew there was a problem. Last fall I quit taking the Prilosec. I now take one Zantac before lying down to sleep. The cramping is much better. The only time I cramped this spring was when I totally beat up my legs, and then I expected to have some issues. I also feel stronger on the hills then last year. I'm sure a lot of my problems that I had last year were a result of the Prilosec.
One of the guys that works with my wife apparently runs long distances, possibly even some trails. He heard my wife describing my problems and gave her Scott Jurek's book Eat and Run. I'm going to try to read that to see if there is something I can get out of that that might help me out, although going vegan won't happen.
For my long training runs I do what ever I feel like, and normally take in much less than I would for a race. Once I have a nutrition strategy for an upcoming race I try not to do the same thing for my long training runs. I find that if I use the same thing every long run that I will start to get sick of it, even if it works. So I like to mix it up. This also allows me to experiment with other options for race day.
For races up to 50k, so far this is what has been working for me.
Pre-race: Stay well hydrated the week before and try not to eat a ton of carbs most of the week. The night before I usually end up eating pasta, but have found during training that most things work fine for dinner the night before. For breakfast before a race I like a high fat and protein meal 2 hours before the start. Usually a couple cups of coffee with heavy whipping cream mixed in and 3 eggs on a slice of toast with cheese. I have found that this doesn't bother my stomach at all and seems to keep me satisfied for much longer than when I used to eat a heavy carb based breakfast. If I don't have access to eggs, I will have a high protein cereal(Kashi usually) with whole milk. But much prefer the eggs. I'm going to try hard boiled eggs before my next race as they can just be thrown in a cooler.
During race: I use Tailwind nutrition and that is it. I mix it ~100 cals per 10 oz of water. This usually gives me close to 200 cals per hour depending on the day. I like to have a second bottle that I can adjust the concentration from plain water to normal so I can adjust my calorie and fluid intake if I need to. I have tried to take in more calories in the past and it normally messes with my stomach and results in fewer cals consumed in the end. This has worked for up to about 6 1/2 hours. I will be testing out for a longer race in a few weeks. I'm thinking at most I may need to have a few snacks from aid stations along the way, but expect it to work fine.
I am the last person who should comment on this. See this
Occasional Runner
If you want to hear what I have to say on the topic, you should head to Ogden and take a listen tonight. (Note that the flyer mentions "Alternative Fueling")
That would be really cool to listen to. Are you going to be taping it and posting that?
They usually film me when I give presentations, but I generally talk for about 2 hours so it's not something most people would sit through.
Quit being such celebrity and answer the question for us poor mortals who don't live in UT.
One does not simply ANSWER the question. The topic is far too complex for a forum post, it requires pie charts and shit.
Are we there, yet?
Skip the charts, just serve the pie. Pumpkin pie was one of the choices at my last ultra and it sat very well with me along with cinnamon rolls, grilled cheese, other pastries, and mostly water and Coke to drink. I get a bloated feeling if I eat too often. Every 40-60 minutes seems to work for me. More frequently and my stomach doesn't like it. Salty snacks also don't sit well.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.