Jump to content

Running a marathon


apburke

Recommended Posts

Hello whole30 community! This is my first time doing a whole30 and my first time posting a topic on a forum! So- I am on day 14, and feeling pretty good. I do have a marathon coming up on Saturday, and I am curious to know if anyone has any suggestions for what to eat this week as well as what to prepare the day of? I will be able to eat breakfast prior to the race.

 

I am a seasoned marathoner (this will be number 24?) and have qualified for Boston more than once. I tried some dates on my 15 mile run the other week, and those were easy to carry/eat. As some other people have mentioned, I too have noticed that my runs feel a little more challenging than they normally do. In the past I have been able to stride along between a 7:20-7:30 min/mile for my longs runs. The past two, however, I have been more 7:50-7:57 min/mile range.

 

I certainly understand I may not PR on this race, but I would like it to be an "enjoyable" experience. Any advice is certainly welcome!

 

Thanks so much! :)

 

#healthnutwholovesbooze

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Best wishes on an enjoyable and efficient marathon!

 

I found this article helpful: http://womensrunning.competitor.com/2015/03/mile-posts/mile-posts-fuel-running-whole30_35997

 

I haven't run races longer than half marathon distance, but I like coconut water during my runs. I have tried eating prior, and only felt more muscle fatigue in my legs. I just do the post run fuel of mashed sweet potato and some grilled chicken breast. At Day 23, my runs are finally starting to feel a bit better. :)

 

Good luck on your race!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi! I just wanted to follow up on this thread and check in to see how the race went. I am only on Day 4 but I have two races coming up in the coming weeks and have been struggling with finding what to use for fuel on runs. I used to put Nuun tablets in my water and use gels, but obviously both of those are out now. Any suggestions would be so helpful! :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My absolute favorite fuel foods during a long run are homemade banana chips and baked eggs. Yes, the baked eggs are a bit hard to transport (I usually wrap them well in cellophane and stick them in my running belt) but worth it for the increase in energy. Banana chips are a life saver: just bananas, lemon juice, and cinnamon (sliced super thin, baked at 250 F for about 3 hours, flipped over at the 1.5 hr mark). They take a while to make but are easy to transport and absolutely delicious. Justins also makes 200 calorie packs of almond butter that are good energy, especially if you are used to using gels, but you definitely should take it with water because it will glue your mouth shut.

I have run with nuun but, unfortunately, have not found a good replacement. Water worked well enough on my 20 miler.

 

I have also found that I need to eat a bit more often during a long run when on whole30 than when I can eat GU and other gels - instead of every 8 miles, more like every 5 miles. Good luck on your upcoming races!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello fellow runner!

 

My pace is not nearly as fast as yours, I typically am in the 9-10 min range, but when I switched over to whole30 I was having trouble finding a replacement for Gu for my long runs. I tried Larabars and sweet potato purree and both of those made my stomach hurt. What I figured out over the course of several 14-18 mile runs is that the best combination for me is using some sort of an electrolyte/salt pill that I take at every 60 min mark, and at the same time I eat a fruit leather. I've also tried (and had some success) with the mama chia squeezes. They do have concentrated juice and citric acid in them, so they are probably not technically compliant. The hardest part for me was maintaining electrolyte balance while sweating and drinking water, so the electrolyte pill made all the difference. I use saltstick caps electrolyte replacement capsules. 

 

Best of luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

I'm a Whole30 newbie (just completed Day #2).  I've been running marathons since 2001.  Barring injury, I'll finish 13 races this year.  I'm squeezing the Whole30 between events.  I'd love to know what fuel y'all have discovered to replace Gatorade, Sports Beans, M&M's, and gummy bears.  I'm pretty certain I'll be OK with just water on the course.  I train with water and race with a sports drink so sticking with just H2O for events shouldn't be a problem.

Is coconut water carbs only?  I love the idea of dates, I can do that.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Do you like dates?  My mileage is low right now (between events) so I'm not needing any carbs on runs.  I plan on eating dates with plenty of water as my mileage increases.  I also bought some Lara Bars, which are Whole30 approved.  They're easily portable and I'll try nibbling on them during long runs.  Think I'll try the banana chips, too.   Some people use sweet potato baby food in place of GU.

Let me know how it's going!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...