Eating for Training

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Replies

  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    Question about the empty stomach thing. What if its a longer run like 9 miles? Still nothing or eat something?
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).
  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
    Robbnva wrote: »
    Question about the empty stomach thing. What if its a longer run like 9 miles? Still nothing or eat something?

    Depends. Some people don't. I don't eat before my weekday morning runs (usually 4-5 miles) but before my weekend long runs, I have a cup of coffee and something bread-y. After those, I also drink a 16 oz. chocolate milk because it's the only thing my stomach can handle for an hour or so and is quick hit of carbs, protein, and fat.
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    litsy3 wrote: »
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).

    OK what do you do during your run for fuel?

    Also I ran 10 miles today. Burned lots of calories(1500) but struggling to eat all those back. Right now I'm only netting 100 calories with only 7 hours of daylight left. What can I eat to get my calories in? Don't think netting under 1k is a good idea
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    Robbnva wrote: »
    litsy3 wrote: »
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).

    OK what do you do during your run for fuel?

    Also I ran 10 miles today. Burned lots of calories(1500) but struggling to eat all those back. Right now I'm only netting 100 calories with only 7 hours of daylight left. What can I eat to get my calories in? Don't think netting under 1k is a good idea

    Spoon and PB.
    drink them: soda, booze, smoothie, frappe
    pizza, ice cream, etc
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    Robbnva wrote: »
    litsy3 wrote: »
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).

    OK what do you do during your run for fuel?

    Also I ran 10 miles today. Burned lots of calories(1500) but struggling to eat all those back. Right now I'm only netting 100 calories with only 7 hours of daylight left. What can I eat to get my calories in? Don't think netting under 1k is a good idea

    Spoon and PB.
    drink them: soda, booze, smoothie, frappe
    pizza, ice cream, etc

    Did just get tonight dough ice cream, will have to eat some tonight lol. Like the spoon and PB idea also
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
    Robbnva wrote: »
    litsy3 wrote: »
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).


    Also I ran 10 miles today. Burned lots of calories(1500) but struggling to eat all those back. Right now I'm only netting 100 calories with only 7 hours of daylight left. What can I eat to get my calories in? Don't think netting under 1k is a good idea

    After a weekend run, I usu go straight home and put whole cream, unsweetened cocoa, Hemo (it's like Ovaltine), 3-4 eggs, whole milk and blend and drink (I also put other spices like cinnamon and fenugreek)--thick homemade protein shake and you can adjust the calories according to how much cream you use. Since I usu run fasted, having this after my run gets me off to a good start and then I just eat normally after that. Idk if it's a good idea, but I like it.
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    Thanks for that suggestion, that doesn't sound like something I'd try but, I'll definitely try and figure out some things to eat as I continue to do long runs.
  • billscreen
    billscreen Posts: 13 Member
    Before every run: Electrolyte Enhanced Drink Tablets + (8 oz water)

    Runs < 16 miles:
    - Before: No food
    - After: Oatmeal w/cinnamon, 1/2 banana, 1/2 grapefruit, coffee

    Runs >= 16 miles:
    - Before
    FRS Energy + Endurance drink
    Clif Bar - Chocolate Chip
    Salted Watermelon GU Gel (if needed)

    - After: BSN Syntha 6 Protien Powder, Oatmeal w/cinnamon, 1/2 banana, 1/2 grapefruit, coffee

    In my experience, you often won't feel hungry immediately after a run; from what I recall reading, it might be because running (at certain intensities) increases blood lactate levels, which temporarily suppresses a hormone that stimulates appetite. However, I try to eat within 15 minutes of finishing my run, otherwise, when the appetite suppression wears off I'll have a voracious appetite and eat the entire lunch buffet.
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
    edited March 2015
    Another vote for Matt Fitzgerald's book.

    I run anything up to a half marathon distance on an empty stomach (well, maybe some coffee). For runs longer than a half, I usually have a bagel -sometimes I eat it while I run, but that isn't for most people. I'm not hungry after a run, but I do have something with whey protein to help with recovery.
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    I did my 10 mile training run eating a whole grain waffle, banana, and pb before hand. Next time I'll try empty stomach. Im just afraid of losing energy
  • 5512bf
    5512bf Posts: 389 Member
    Robbnva wrote: »
    litsy3 wrote: »
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).

    OK what do you do during your run for fuel?

    Also I ran 10 miles today. Burned lots of calories(1500) but struggling to eat all those back. Right now I'm only netting 100 calories with only 7 hours of daylight left. What can I eat to get my calories in? Don't think netting under 1k is a good idea

    I also have a hard, if not impossible task, of eating back a long run calorie total. Since most long runs are scheduled, i'll eat a little over the day before, and the day after if it's a 16-20 mile run. My last 20 mile run burned just short of 2900 calories which is nearly 2 full days of food with my current 1690 calorie weight cut.

    During the runs over 10-12 miles I'll use a gu every 60 minutes or so and drink a gator-aid mix drink for electrolytes. anything less than 10 miles your muscle store enough to complete the run.


  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    litsy3 wrote: »
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).
    Same here. Always fasted for early morning runs.

    No fuel on the run either. Water only if it's in the 80s or above.
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    ok re-reading this thread I have 1 last question. Somebody mentioned about being carb depleted when going on a long run. Since my long runs will now be 10+ miles, how many grams of carbs should I be eating the days leading up to my run and also the days leading up to my 1/2? I think I am getting about 185 to 200 grams a day now, should I ramp those up later in the week or are those good? Sorry, i'm a newbish runner with lots of questions.

    Thank you
  • teacton11
    teacton11 Posts: 65 Member
    Pre-warning as I am no means a coach or anything:

    Your carbs should be fine, you have limited glycogen storage so you are constantly refilling anything depleted with every meal you eat. Eating more carbs when your levels are already saturated is not going to do anything but add to fat storage.

    Don't make the rookie mistake of just chowing down on as much pasta and crap as you can the night before the race. Fast carbs in = fast carbs out (yeah, I'm talking about porta potty time on race morning) If you wanted to be extra EXTRA sure you are topped off then starting 2-3 days before the race just up your carbs by 50 grams a day or so in small spread out meals. A very light meal the morning of the race. Should be the same food you eat before your training runs so you know your stomach will tolerate it just fine. You want to be topped off, light, and lean on race day. Not bloated, sluggish and ready to poop yourself at any moment.

    As far as those going for carb(glycogen) depletion before long runs. Don't really worry about this yet until you've been training for a much longer time and going much further distances. Most people have + - 2 hours worth of long run paced running before their glycogen storage runs dry.

    The people you see doing this are usually training for much much longer distances than a half or they are planning to competitive race (not just run) the event. Once you run out of gylcogen storage then your body will turn to stored fat to produce energy. Metabolizing fat into energy is a much more taxing process for the body and results in a noticeable decrease in performance. People doing this are training their bodies to be more efficient at this process as well as hardening their minds because pushing in this state is really REALLY mentally taxing to keep pace.

    Keep in mind that running fasted in the morning is not the same as running in carb (glucogen) depleted state. They are using what they already have stored from meals before. They simply are not topping themselves off before they go. This would allow them to hit the depleted state much sooner though. I know a couple of runners who do double days where they will hit a long run in the morning to deplete and eat very min. carbs but high protein then hit a hard run at night. I think these people are crazy...but maybe that's why they win crap and I don't.

    So tl:dr version:

    Your carbs are fine, don't inhale large crab meals the night before like some do, and get a couple years and some longer races on your legs to help fine tune your body before even worrying about glycogen depletion training.


    Hi, I am new here btw. Got fat after marathon season and had to do something about it. 'ello
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    Awesome advice. Thanks
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
    Robbnva wrote: »
    litsy3 wrote: »
    It depends what you are used to. I don't eat before a 22 mile run (though I do always have breakfast before a race of any length).

    OK what do you do during your run for fuel?

    Also I ran 10 miles today. Burned lots of calories(1500) but struggling to eat all those back. Right now I'm only netting 100 calories with only 7 hours of daylight left. What can I eat to get my calories in? Don't think netting under 1k is a good idea

    Sorry, only just checked back in and saw this. I don't do anything during my run for fuel. But I eat lots of food in general so am perfectly capable of eating an extra 1500 calories (though I am small so don't usually burn that much). I'm pretty greedy.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    teacton11 wrote: »
    Once you run out of gylcogen storage then your body will turn to stored fat to produce energy. Metabolizing fat into energy is a much more taxing process for the body and results in a noticeable decrease in performance.

    Not exactly. The body is always using a combination of glycogen and fat stores for energy. We train the body to use a higher percentage of fat, and to become more efficient at using it. Also, you never run out of glycogen. It is the energy source used by the brain. When the stores get low, the brain monopolizes what is left so you can continue to do things like breathe.
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    Having just adjusted my weight loss goal and now having more calories, even on normal run days I'm having trouble getting my calories in. I'll figure it out but after being on a strict deficit for so long, it kinda feels like cheating lol
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