sarahslacker Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Tomorrow is day 3 of my Whole 30 - I did 15 miles 2 weeks ago and tomorrow I'm scheduled for 17 (marathon on April 28th). I'm confused as to whether I should be using fat or carbs to fuel my long runs - It seems like we eat extra fat to train our bodies to be fat burning. So far I've had 2.5 pieces of fruit today and 1/2 c of sweet potato. Was going to have a bit more with dinner. If I eat too many carbs then will my body continue rely on carbs for fuel? Though where I'm at right now I just want to get through the run. I'm planning on using some walk breaks tomorrow to keep intensity down - any other tips that people have? I'm SUPER nervous based on everything I've heard about the first couple of weeks of the Whole30. PLanning on fueling with Lara bars since they've worked for me in the past. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vkanders Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 For fueling DURING your long runs, you want carbs, as those will immediately replenish muscle glycogen. When people talk about running off fat for fuel, they mean body fat, which is metabolized at aerobic effort levels, not dietary fat. It is true that if you keep fueling with a lot of carbs, you'll be more carb dependent for your runs; that said - a 17 miler is NOT the time to try to totally switch over your fuel source if you're used to training on a higher carb diet. I suggest reading work by Bob Seebohar to learn more about metabolic efficiency and burning more fat. I implemented many of his recommendations and ran a negative split marathon without hitting anything resembling a wall despite only taking in 40g of carbohydrate the entire time, however, adaptation takes many weeks. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenderbender Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Bob Seebohar has great stuff... Great suggestion vkanders. Very true, if you stay in your aerobic zone you can burn primarily stored body fat and spare glycogen.... Avoiding glycolysis from muscle or lactate later in the run. I agree.... 3 days in is not a good time to switch things up.... I'd keep the run very easy and don't push to hard... Back off when you need to.... Don't need an injury... Also might I suggest " Paleo for athletes" by Loren Cordain.... The first half of the book is all about planning your runs and the five stages of proper recovery... You need to refuel after your runs to continue progress in training.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahslacker Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 Survived - Ran a min slower per mile than I did for my 15 miler, it was SUPER tough and I'm wiped out - But I did it - and stayed Whole 30 compliant in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin D Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 This may be a stupid question, but what heart rate zone are you supposed to be at in order to train your body to using body fat as fuel? I was told to try and keep my HR around 140-143 (my resting HR is in the low 50s so I was told I should stay on the upper end of 130-140) for my long road rides and I'm wondering if I'm pushing it too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vkanders Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 This may be a stupid question, but what heart rate zone are you supposed to be at in order to train your body to using body fat as fuel? I was told to try and keep my HR around 140-143 (my resting HR is in the low 50s so I was told I should stay on the upper end of 130-140) for my long road rides and I'm wondering if I'm pushing it too much. Zone 2; however, for most people, your zone 2 heart rate is different for running and cycling due to the work your heart needs to do to overcome gravity when you are vertical. Information on testing/setting zones is best summarized by Friel: http://www.trainingb...ting-zones.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianavuong Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 This may be a stupid question, but what heart rate zone are you supposed to be at in order to train your body to using body fat as fuel? I was told to try and keep my HR around 140-143 (my resting HR is in the low 50s so I was told I should stay on the upper end of 130-140) for my long road rides and I'm wondering if I'm pushing it too much. Phil Maffetone has done a lot of research and published a book on training aerobically to become more efficient at burning fat as fuel. You can google "Maffetone Method" and tons of info will show up. I'm currently base building using this method right now and I will say that it's made a world of a difference. He doesn't use "zones" per say but does use a calculation to determine what your Maximum Aerobic Function is (180-Age = MAF). This would be the highest heart rate you would do your training at to properly develop your aerobic system. Anything higher than that and you're entering into Anaerobic territory. For example, I'm 27 years old. My MAF is 180-27 = 153. I then keep my heart rate between 143-153 at all times during training, unless I'm warming up or cooling down. You also will need to make adjustments to this range based on your health status and how fit you are. I highly recommend you check his methods out. http://www.philmaffetone.com/whatisthemaffetonemethod.cfm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriLala Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I admire YOU for doing 17 miles on day 3 of your whole 30. That is amazing. My experience tells me that diet has more to do with being fat-adapted and burning your own fat storage for fuel than any other 'optimal heart rate zone'. I have been a long distance athlete for eight years and have NEVER figured out how to get optimally lean for performance. I spend an entire year running all my long runs (12-20 miles) in zone2 and never had any significant results. It's more complicated than people make it out to be. Still on the journey...congrats again. I like what vkanders said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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