Runners...how many calories do you eat on a very long run day?!

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I tend to include overall weekly miles in my goal, and not eat more on days I run (although I do tend to eat more on the weekend and do my long run then anyway).

As for calories from running, I think the RW calculator is pretty accurate (I find runkeeper and even MFP worked okay for me too). Unlike some other forms of exercise, it's not that hard to estimate running reasonably accurately based on time, distance, and weight.

The RW calculator recommends .75 x weight in lbs for overall calories per mile or -- more significant -- .63 x weight in lbs for calories burned in addition to what you would have burned in that time period anyway (this is quite close to the common rule of thumb that for someone around 150 1 mile=100 calories).*

*That was always the rule I knew (without the 150 bit) and when I was fatter I probably underestimated, as a result, and when I lost enough that I burned less than 100 calories per mile it made me sad, even though I was running more at that point. ;-)

I use this calculator to estimate what I burn on my long runs, but I generally don't eat much of them until the next couple of days.

I'm training for a marathon so my long runs are up around 15 miles and increasing now. I run early on Sunday morning and then on Sunday I eat what I feel like I need to eat (eat when hungry until I'm full), but end up under eating. But then on Monday and sometimes Tuesday I'm super hungry even though Monday is a rest day and Tuesday is usually ~4 miles. I guess my body just takes some time to realize it needs more fuel

For the week total my deficit is the same as if I was not running (I'm set to lose about 0.5 lb per week) - I just eat very different amounts on different days.

The problem with most of the posts here if you are not taking into account weight, and more importantly actual intensity in the calorie burn. There is a huge difference between (using cycling) race pace (25+ MPH avg, with spurts of 30+ MPH and hard efforts), club riding (20MPH Avg, fewer spurts), and lower pace riding. The only way to get a true calorie count is to use a power meter on a bike. For running, the same thing applies, and using something like a fit fit, and eating some fraction (60 - 75%) of the total will give good results (if trying to lose weight).

To give you an idea, I am 308 pounds, and I burn about 500 calories per hour at 20MPH Avg on a bike (per my power meter), or about 1000 - 1500 on a typical club weekend ride. A friend of mine who is 190 pounds burns about 900 700 - 900 calories for the same ride. It is all relative... and you have to find out what works for you.

One last thing... you need to watch carefully how your body feels after a workout... if you feel hungry, or like crap you really need to eat more.

* Reference - 6 years as a cat 1 competitive cyclist, and 20+ years as a recreational cyclist *

I haven't run long in a year, but probably around 9-10k in calories.

15+ miles in 2hrs, gosh I wish I was that fast! I can only manage 11(at a push) in that time.

It depends on how hungry I feel, sometimes I will eat most of my calorie burn estimate on my Garmin and other times I won't.

I honestly don't count calories on my long run days, including any carb chews I use during the run itself. I try not to gorge myself afterward, not always successfully, but I don't feel too guilty afterward either for that giant apple fritter. Part of the reason I run so much is to be able to enjoy some food and quantities of that food that I couldn't if I didn't run, and it's only one day out of the week.