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Fueling long runs - success


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I am in day 30 of my first Whole 30. Two weeks ago I got a hip flexor injury, so I didn't run until Thursday. I am in PT and getting better, but hoped to see improved performance with the new way of eating. The legs had other ideas,because of the injury. I was eating more low carb before the whole 30 and feeling great. I ran a challenging 15K yesterday, which was the longest race I've run in over a year (I've been racing for 25 years), since this year I will be focusing on 1/2 marathons. I ate carbs with all three meals on Saturday - banana, yam, acorn squash, and ate my usual egg, egg whites, peppers and avocado in the morning of the race. About 1/2 hour before the race, I ate 1/2 Larabar. I went out a little faster than I had planned based on my current fitness, about 7:45's, but was able to push myself until the end, 1:16, with no nutrition and only to water stops. I am going to continue to eat this way, but may look at my macronutrient ratios as my training gets more agressive. The best thing is I was not looking to eat carbs all day, and did not even feel deprived during a Super Bowl party. I did notice how much people were eating throughout the game. I would have been right there beside them. Since I was not, I feel great today!

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It took a few weeks, but eventually my body adapted to not using those awful fake gels and gatorade and stuff. Now my body has no problem going up to 12-13 miles with nothing but water and/or coconut water. If I'm going longer, I will have a Larabar. But the few weeks leading up to this adaptation were not fun with regard to training! Now before long runs I generally have 2-3 eggs, half an avocado, and an orange. You just have to play around with what works for you.

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I have found that dried fruit, especially blueberries, are great for fueling my long workouts. Started doing this last year when I was training for my first triathlon. I wasn't doing whole30, but I was having a hard time stomaching all of the alternatives. I find any type of bar too much for me on a long day. I am on day 2 of my whole30 and did six miles this morning without any trouble, I'm hoping I continue to not have issues.

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So I am signed up for the LA Marathon, one month from today. I have been having shin and ankle pain for the last month or so. Last week I did manage to get in a 12 mile run and felt great, followed by a 3 mile run a few days later, again feeling great. I haven't been able to run since, do to ankle and shin pain. I dont want to give up on the race, however, I stop running as soon as I feel pain. I am on day 13 and hoping that I start to recover faster and am working with a PT to help me through this process. I'll keep you posted and let you know how I manage to get through this. I am hoping that I will get over these challenges shortly. Then I will develop a plan for the last month, ha. So far the longest distance I have got in was 16 miles and that was about 4 weeks ago. Yikes. Oh well. Anybody that has been in similar situation, i would love to hear how you made it through.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not having much luck. Day 27 here. Think i need to be adding more carbs. I did have one day this week where I felt an incredible amount of energy, but that was only once. Getting concerned because I have a marathon on the 17th and my last several runs haven't been too hopeful. I am hoping that everything will change by race day. The good news is that I feel like I have recovered from my 13.5 mile slow run today already. I'll keep you posted!

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How much are you eating in the way of carbs? And how do you run; are you a heel striker?

It's too close to your race to change things now, but you should consider trying to convert over to forefoot/midfoot striking instead

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Quick question. I normally do my running in the early morning. The only thing I usually have in my stomach is my PWO food (avocado, haven't found anything better yet). I do well with my runs at that time of morning.

My issue is that I have a 10 mile race this weekend. It is later in the morning than I would normally workout. Do I eat a full whole30 Meal 1? Or am I setting myself up to be weighed down during my run?

Interestingly enough the race happened to fall on my Day 30.

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  • 2 months later...

Last month I ran a 50 mile ultramarathon. I improved my time from the year before on the same course by over 55 minutes for a total time of 7 hours 20 minutes.

My total calories consumed for this run was approximately 400 calories -- TOTAL for over 7 hours of all out race effort.

That's what being fat-adapted and living a low carbohydrate life style/diet is all about. As someone said on a related thread, the best source of fuel you have is the adipose tissue you have on your body.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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There are a few LARABARS not whole30 compliant, but the Lemon, Cherry Pie, Cashew Cookie, Choc Coconut, Coconut, Carrot Cake and Banana Bread are all compliant.

 

I use LARABARS as part of my ultra fueling - works best if you eat a couple of bites every 15 minutes rather than snarfing an entire bar at once. After a long time running, the blander flavors are better - cashew cookie, lemon, carrot cake.

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