Figuring out in-race fueling

rybo

Besides all the other issues I had during my 1st marathon, I'm also wondering if I had my racing fuel strategy planned out well enough.

I know which gels I can eat & I like the taste of I just need to figure out amounts. But in an effort to get my body used to running on low glycogen levels, I've not been taking many during my LSD runs. I do however plan to take @ least 2 of my runs and simulate fueling frequency like I would on race day.

Does that seem reasonable? How do others figure out how much fuel to take?

bert16

I worked with an exercise physiologist to put together my training plan for my first marathon; I just followed his direction relatively blindly, since I didn't (don't!) know any better. I have since figured out that his direction is to fuel far more frequently than others seem to be doing. I take one gel every 3 miles with water (since that's usually how far apart the water stations are on the course). Since I have a condition that makes me super sensitive to dehydration, so I double up on the water at each station. It seemed to work for me in January... I have yet to make the wall's acquaintance!

DontThinkJustRun

That's a tough one. I'm not sure 2 runs would be quite enough for me to figure it out. I think most of my issues with the proverbial wall are pace related rather than fuel related, but it still took me a while to figure it out my body's fueling requirements. I usually take my first 60-90 mins in then every 45-60 mins thereafter. The other big component to that is electrolytes that have cals and water. I think mcmillanrunning.com has some good info about running on low glycogen, but I can't remember specifically what his suggested strategy is. I think 2 runs may work for you, but I would be sure they are probably your longest runs. (take my advice with caution, I'm still a rookie;))

Rsespaniak

There's no one size fits all approach to fueling (or other aspects of running marathons) and it takes a bit of trial and error to figure out what will works for you. Using your long runs to try out your fueling strategy is a good move but it may take more than a couple of tries to get it right

I thought I had it right with going by mileage but for my last marathon I switched to fueling by time because that was what my training partner was doing and found out that worked out better for me.

That said, I leave you with the advice my husband always give me relative to training. Listen to everyone but do what works best for you.

FoxyMcDeadlift

I've been tinkering a bit with in race nutrition from when i hit about 17 miles. Im about to try gels for my LSRs in the next couple of weeks. At the moment however, im looking to do the tried and tested bananas and haribo formula as they've worked in training, and sweets have worked in a half i did!

bjbixler

That said, I leave you with the advice my husband always give me relative to training. Listen to everyone but do what works best for you.

That's some good advice there

I'm still figuring my own self out, so I can't help much, but I figure slightly over fueling is better than underfueling. Running my first 17 miler tomorrow, so it's still a work in progress!

biobreak

Why are you training at low glycogen levels? Glycogen is an important part of long distance running - it gives you the carbohydrate spark that lights the fat-burning fire during your runs.

I take a gu about every 5 miles during training and on race day to keep fueled and it works well for me. Others will take them more or less often, but it usually takes more than a couple of weeks to figure out what works best for you. From a scientific perspective, you need a bigger sample size for your tests!

grinch031

Why are you training at low glycogen levels? Glycogen is an important part of long distance running - it gives you the carbohydrate spark that lights the fat-burning fire during your runs.

The theory is that training on low glycogen levels will stimulate adaptations in the body to burning more fat and less glucose than if you always run with high levels of glycogen. This allows you to better preserve your glycogen stores on race day and reduce chances of hitting the wall. It is debatable as to whether this theory has any merit, but I'm one of those people also putting it to the test to find out. I'm about 2 months in to a marathon training plan and so far it seems to be going well. I ran 16 miles this morning with moderate glycogen store levels and no food or sports drinks during my run. My pace was 15 seconds faster than marathon race pace.

I think this is probably unecessary for elite runners who run like 70+ miles a week to worry about lowering their glycogen stores because they are inevitably going to occasionally run while low on glycogen just by the mere frequency they run. Someone like me who only runs about 4 days a week is always fresh, so I have to manually lower my glycogen levels through a low-carb diet to simulate the same effect.

grinch031

And to the OP this is another internal debate I have as well. I know I'm going to use GU or Blocks and Gatorade on race day, so I obviously need to incorporate it into my training. So far I have not used any yet, and was planning to only on 18 and 20 mile runs. For me that is 3 runs total, and I will probably use no more than 3 GU or 2 Blocks during these runs and maybe half a bottle of gatorade.

rybo

Why are you training at low glycogen levels? Glycogen is an important part of long distance running - it gives you the carbohydrate spark that lights the fat-burning fire during your runs.

Basically what grinch031 said.
I'm not going into my long runs eating low carb or anything, but I am trying to get thru my long runs without taking many gels, in hopes that my body burns more fat instead.

I think I'm leaning towards my 3 20 milers to test my "race-day" fueling just to make sure my stomach handle a higer intake, the rest will all be done using gels very sparingly