How many miles will you go before you fuel midrun? Do you always carry water on shorter runs?
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mkakids
Posts: 1,913 Member
Just curious what the average seems to be. I had a conversation with a running friend and we are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
She carries water for every run (even a 1 miler), eats before each run and fuels every 20 minutes regardless of the length of the run.
I don't carry water with me for anything under 5 miles. I also don't fuel mid run. If I'm running less than 4 miles, I go out in the morning fasted. If its more than 4 miles I generally eat a granola bar or banana before I leave.
I know everyone will differ - just wondering how other people do it!
She carries water for every run (even a 1 miler), eats before each run and fuels every 20 minutes regardless of the length of the run.
I don't carry water with me for anything under 5 miles. I also don't fuel mid run. If I'm running less than 4 miles, I go out in the morning fasted. If its more than 4 miles I generally eat a granola bar or banana before I leave.
I know everyone will differ - just wondering how other people do it!
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You're right. Answers are going to be all over the map on this one. For me, I rarely carry water on runs under 12 miles, unless it's very hot out. Fueling before runs, again, rarely for anything under 12 if it's a morning run. Longer AM runs, I usually eat a banana or an energy bar and always have a cup of coffee. As far as midrun fueling, I usually only do it during marathon training runs to test it out. I usually carry something with me in case of emergency, but I rarely use it. The "less is more" approach works better for me because I have digestive issues. Instead I try eat extra calories the day before.
However, I do fuel during a marathon, about every 45 minutes.0 -
I never fuel at all for any runs (not even 20+ miles), except 4 gels during a marathon, and one or two gels on a pre-marathon training run just to make sure they still agree with me. I sometimes have a sip of water in between reps during a track session. I don't bother drinking on any other runs, though, unless it is really hot. Which it never is, because I live in Scotland.
I think it depends on (a) what you're used to and (b) what your training goals are though. I used to only do short runs (3-5 miles) so never bothered fuelling, and by the time I decided to build up to longer distances it wasn't very hard to just add a mile or two at a time so I didn't need anything extra. I like not having to bother.0 -
I never fuel at all for any runs (not even 20+ miles), except 4 gels during a marathon, and one or two gels on a pre-marathon training run just to make sure they still agree with me. I sometimes have a sip of water in between reps during a track session. I don't bother drinking on any other runs, though, unless it is really hot. Which it never is, because I live in Scotland.
Exactly the same for me. We must be singing from the same hymn sheet.
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lporter229 wrote: »You're right. Answers are going to be all over the map on this one. For me, I rarely carry water on runs under 12 miles, unless it's very hot out. Fueling before runs, again, rarely for anything under 12 if it's a morning run. Longer AM runs, I usually eat a banana or an energy bar and always have a cup of coffee. As far as midrun fueling, I usually only do it during marathon training runs to test it out. I usually carry something with me in case of emergency, but I rarely use it. The "less is more" approach works better for me because I have digestive issues. Instead I try eat extra calories the day before.
However, I do fuel during a marathon, about every 45 minutes.
This is almost exactly how I do it.
Except lately I've been taking water on shorter runs because it's been really hot. I actually ran out of water on a 9 mile run this week and had to find a water fountain to refill my bottle. But normally 12 miles is when I start carrying water.0 -
Water totally depends on the temperatures and sun exposure, but for the most part none unless it's 12+ miles.
I only worry about fueling for my long runs. I'll have some cereal and yogurt that morning an hour or two before I start. Because my long runs these days are almost exclusively on the trails and there is little cover and can get hot, I always bring my pack with me with a bladder full of water, plus something like a Clif bar and 20oz (0.6L for those in the civilized world) of an endurance fuel with electrolytes.0 -
You live in Scotland too, Carson?!
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Oh, that really depends for me.
I HATE being thirsty..... but usually don't take water if the run is shorter than 7 miles. UNLESS I'm thirsty when I start out. If I'm thirsty and I'm like, "Oh I need to go for a run now but I also think I haven't had anything to drink in 4 hours, whoops!" I'll take a handheld out with me on a 4 miler.
If a run is more than 2 hours long, I'll take snacks. Then I eat at 1 hr, 1hr45, then whenever I'm hungry which after 2 hours of running is pretty much constantly. For the 2-hour runs, whether or not I take food depends on what I've eaten. If I'm heading out right after dinner, no way am I taking fuel. But if I haven't eaten in hours, I'll grab a granola bar.0 -
I recently moved to a hot humid climate and have been a bit more careful about taking water after getting into the dangerous zone.
I do take gels and water during tempo runs because I want to mimic marathon race conditions. running over 13 miles without food or water takes me too long to recover so I try to plan for that. It doesn't take long to discover water fountains on running routes in cities.
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I don't carry water for runs under 10 miles. On longer runs like 8-12 I'll just plan the route so that I stop by a library or park with a water fountain. The only times I've ever carried water were for 13 mile runs.
The only time I've ever eaten during a run was the full marathon I ran. Random bits of fruit or whatever people were handing out to runners. I regret grabbing the doughnut hole from that kid, nearly choked on it and it was sooo dry in my already dry mouth.0 -
In the winter I never carry water even on the long run. This summer we had days at 5:30 am that the temperature was 84 with 92% humidity. I tried a 14 miler one day and lost 7 lbs of water weight which was 4% of my body weight. It made me feel miserable all day so I just just got in the habit of drinking 16-20oz of water every 6 miles when the temp & humidity is really high. I typically never fuel mid-run unless it's my last 20 mile run where I'll treat it more as a dry run for the marathon and take 3 gels at 5, 10 & 15.0
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I don't carry water for less than 1 1/2 run. I just started following Racing Weight which suggests 30-60 carbs per hour for exercise longer than 2 hours. It was pretty much what I did during my half Ironman training. I did eat a lot more during a run than I would during that training because I would need to race day and really wanted to make sure my stomach could handle it.0
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On training runs of up to 20-25km I don't usually bring anything. If I'm running more than that I'll bring some water and maybe some food (depending how much more).
During ultras I start drinking fluids right away and sip just about every km; I eat 100-150 calories every 45 minutes.0 -
It depends. I rarely take water or anything to eat on runs less than 10 miles (unless the dewpoint is in the mid to high 70's and then I might take a small bottle if I'm going over 6 miles). I often run at lunchtime and so the temperature has been close to 90°F until just recently.
I realize I've been running without eating on runs up to 15 miles. Again, since I've typically running at lunch, I had breakfast around 6 AM and haven't eaten much of anything for the previous 6 hours. As I get closer to a marathon, I begin taking in gels at a rate that approximately fits my plan.0 -
I take water on my mid-week early morning 10 miler if the temps are mid-70s or higher, just a small 10 oz bottle. This is mostly because I'm so dehydrated in the morning, and I roll out of bed, into running clothes, and out the door for my mid-week runs, so I need a bit of water to keep myself from being dead Other than that, I only take water on my long runs on Sunday, and then I'll go through 2-3 10 oz bottles (I carefully route my runs to pass some drinking fountains).
As for fuel, I only fuel for my long runs. I do my mid-week long runs totally fasted. Before Sunday long runs of 14+ miles, I drink a cup of coffee beforehand and eat a piece of bread with jam and butter. On the run, I drink water and eat dried pineapple and cranberries, and add a gel or two for 18-20 mile runs. I don't eat anything til 5.5-6 miles into the run (~45-55 minutes). I'll eat the dried fruit every 2 or 2.5 miles because it's only about 25-50 calories at a time. I'll take a gel after 1:30 or 1:45 and another around 2:30 (still eating fruit in between). It sounds complicated, but the fruit is yummy so I never forget to eat it, and it's nice not to lug a bunch of gels around anymore. So over the course of, say, 20 miles (because I did 20 today), I'll eat ~400 calories but eating them in smaller amounts throughout the run (rather than in 100 cal chunks every ~45 mins) helps keep me from bonking after 2.5 hours.0 -
Totally depends - on heat, distance, and time of day.
Unless it's super hot and/or humid I generally don't take water unless I'm running more than 10 miles. And even then, I often bring it but don't drink it. But I guess I feel like I should have it just in case.
Morning runs I typically just get out of bed and run unless I'm going more than 6 miles, especially on a weekday. If it's a weekend I might have a cup of coffee first. If I feel hungry when I wake up I'll eat a banana or a nutrigrain bar. If I'm running 10 miles or more I will try to get up early enough for a small breakfast a couple of hours before running. If time doesn't allow that, I'll eat a banana and plan a gu for around mile 5-6.
During runs 12 miles or more, I'll plan for a gu around mile 9 or 10. I'm not sure I really need it, but I think it's a mental pick-me-up. This is usually the only time I drink, unless it's wicked hot.0 -
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Just curious what the average seems to be. I had a conversation with a running friend and we are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
She carries water for every run (even a 1 miler), eats before each run and fuels every 20 minutes regardless of the length of the run.
I don't carry water with me for anything under 5 miles. I also don't fuel mid run. If I'm running less than 4 miles, I go out in the morning fasted. If its more than 4 miles I generally eat a granola bar or banana before I leave.
I know everyone will differ - just wondering how other people do it!
I generally don't carry water for anything under 6 - 8 miles even in the summer when it's 82 - 84 degrees in the morning. When it's cool outside ( 55 and lower) I probably won't carry water unless it's over 13 miles. I have a fuel belt that has two 6 oz water bottles and that's generally enough.
I always start my runs fasted and I typically only have fuel mid run if it's 16 miles or more. Even then I wait till mile 8 - 10 to have a gel. I only take a gel occasionally on longer runs just to practice for a race and make sure it still feels good while running. Half the time I'll only take one for the caffeine kick. My favorite has 100 mg of caffeine and I can tell a real difference about 15 minutes after taking one.0 -
Just curious what the average seems to be. I had a conversation with a running friend and we are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
She carries water for every run (even a 1 miler), eats before each run and fuels every 20 minutes regardless of the length of the run.
I don't carry water with me for anything under 5 miles. I also don't fuel mid run. If I'm running less than 4 miles, I go out in the morning fasted. If its more than 4 miles I generally eat a granola bar or banana before I leave.
I know everyone will differ - just wondering how other people do it!
I generally don't carry water for anything under 6 - 8 miles even in the summer when it's 82 - 84 degrees in the morning. When it's cool outside ( 55 and lower) I probably won't carry water unless it's over 13 miles. I have a fuel belt that has two 6 oz water bottles and that's generally enough.
I always start my runs fasted and I typically only have fuel mid run if it's 16 miles or more. Even then I wait till mile 8 - 10 to have a gel. I only take a gel occasionally on longer runs just to practice for a race and make sure it still feels good while running. Half the time I'll only take one for the caffeine kick. My favorite has 100 mg of caffeine and I can tell a real difference about 15 minutes after taking one.
Word for word, I could have made this post.0 -
I'm a noob atthe this running business (less than 5 months) so I'm still figuring it out. When I started I would bring water on every run until I read runners say they did bring water until it was a 10 miler or more. I tried that and realized I could also go without on the short runs.
Assuming no heat issues I won't bring water unless it's a 9 or 10 mile run or more. Actually what I do is take a 20 bottle of ice and I generally get cold water until it's gone. I love that! I go as long as I can without then sips every so often. When I run with my dog I bring water on every run for him and he always drinks first.
For food, if I remember, I start bringing something starting at 10 miles as well, mostly as practice for my upcoming half. Start with something around the 6 to 8 mile mark then every 3 or 4 miles after that. If found I don't like the chews but I do like the goo.
For some reason I can't explain, I also eat 5 whoppers (malted milk balls) before every run. Probably just a excuse to eat them.
Sunday I'll be doing 15 miles and taking 3 goo's.0 -
