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Training for Ultra Marathon on first Whole30


lauraaggie

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I am trying to deal with the following scenario for a friend.

She is currently on Day 7 of her first Whole30. In her typical week she runs 3-4 miles twice weekly with a long run on the weekends. (Her long runs are 10-25 miles as she prepares for an ultra marathon and for example this weekend she is supposed to run 25 miles.) She also goes to a bootcamp (camp gladiator) an average of 5 times a week, and these are all first thing in the morning around 5-6am.

Over the past year she has lost over 60lbs, going from nearly 200lbs to 130. She is currently at 17% body fat. Before she began the whole30 she says she was probably getting over 50% of her calories from dairy and grains. She was getting about 40-60% carbs, 20-30% protein, and 20-30% fat. She isn't keeping up with ratios on the Whole30, just sticking to the meal template as well as trying to avoid snacks.

I just spoke with her and she feels horrible after completing a 10 mile long run this afternoon. She ate a big lunch about an hour before her run (according to the meal template). She used Whole30 approved baby food pouches during her long run instead of using the gels that she used to use. She said that the entire run was much more of a struggle than usual and felt downright angry for the rest of the day!

I'm really at a loss because my Whole30 felt quite different, but I only crossfit 3 times a week. I'm not going on such incredibly long runs and such. Can someone please give me an outline of what/how often she should be eating on the days where she starts her morning off by going to boot camp and then running 3-4 miles in the afternoon? And also please give me a guideline for her weekend long runs of 20+ miles? Thank you SO much!

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Here's the deal: She's at an EXTREME carbohydrate deficit. No matter how many template based meals she's getting, she's significantly under the amount of carbs she's used to getting. First things first, her runs are likely going to take a hit for a week or two, no matter what. Secondly, she needs to be eating starchy vegetables very often. If it were me, I'd have them 2-3 times a day and still do post workout carbs. She may also want to consider cutting back on her workouts for a few days to get her energy levels back up to snuff.

Finally...she may want to consider the idea that she's over-training... I know that's dangerous territory to approach, but it's also worth consideration.

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I am no ultra endurance athlete but I have completed 2 iron distance races with the second being last Oct. I understand the need to run and have read the article that was posted. I, being a distance athlete, know that most likely, we are not running 25+ miles for our health but for other reasons. So telling her she is overtraining probably isn't going to work. Wouldn't work for me! I think you are trying to find ways your friend can cont to run while being compliant. The first week or two is rough for any long distance anything. I struggled with a 60 mile bike ride but improved after the 3rd week with bringing along a sweet potato and nuts. When is her race? Is this the right time to do the W30 or is she better off staying Paleo till after the race? I started this plan when I didn't heave a pressing race to do so I could be forgiving of myself if training was way off. It is much better now and before I could not tolerate solid food riding. Now I can. Not much help....sorry!

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