Half Marathon & food

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  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited January 2018
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    lisawilkes20 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    I used to bring a few jelly beans on my runs over 2 hours.

    Switching to a high fat very low carb diet, at least 2 months before your event, can reduce the need to snack. Once the body is fat adapted it readily uses fat for fuel, and the brain uses/prefers ketones so symptoms of food preoccupation, weakness, and low energy (hitting the wall) can be avoided.

    I just though I'd mention an alternative even though it may not be of interest to you. Good luck. :)

    Very high fat, does that mean I can lots of chips & chocolate

    LOL Chocolate maybe. :);)
  • LisaEatSleepRun
    LisaEatSleepRun Posts: 159 Member
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    Over 15k, I carry a Nathan handheld water bottle (535ml) & 30-50g of dates in a ziplock bag in the pocket of the water bottle. As others have said, start refueling before you feel weak & lethargic. If you eat carbs, you will need water with them, so find a way to hydrate. Try a few carb sources & see what suits you best :smile:
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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    I actually really like gels, but can only handle the fruity flavors and only like Gu. It's really hard for me to eat the gummies and they get stuck in my teeth and are super annoying. I normally only carry food if i'm running more than an hour so start around 6 miles, which is probably too late but i feel like a lot of it is trial and error. You probably will get an upset stomach, you just need to try a bunch of different things and see what works best for your body.
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    edited January 2018
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    When I was training for my first HM, I found most of the gels horrible no matter what flavour they were (there was one coffee molasses flavoured thing I loved though), but could handle the clif blocks.

    If you're a big sweater when you run or it's a particularly hot area where you're living, I suggest making sure you take something that has the sodium and potassium you need to replace, which some of the things like gummy bears and jelly beans don't do. If caffeine makes things...flow.... just make sure you have an energy source that doesn't contain it.

    When I was figuring out what worked for me, I went to a local health store and just bought a random assortment of gels and chews to use during training. When I found what worked, I bought enough to last my training and my race to make sure I was used to them.

    ETA: Has anyone reading this thread tried the Jelly Belly Sports Beans? I've never found them in Aus and was curious.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I have used the Jelly Belly Sport Beans! I love then because I am afraid of Hi. I tried both the caffeine and regular. Wasn't a problem to chew while running, and the caffeine ones definitely give a nice boost (especially at mile 11 of a HM).
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    nvmomketo wrote: »
    lisawilkes20 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    I used to bring a few jelly beans on my runs over 2 hours.

    Switching to a high fat very low carb diet, at least 2 months before your event, can reduce the need to snack. Once the body is fat adapted it readily uses fat for fuel, and the brain uses/prefers ketones so symptoms of food preoccupation, weakness, and low energy (hitting the wall) can be avoided.

    I just though I'd mention an alternative even though it may not be of interest to you. Good luck. :)

    Very high fat, does that mean I can lots of chips & chocolate

    LOL Chocolate maybe. :);)

    http://www.clifbar.com/products/clif/shot-energy-gel/shot-gel-chocolate

    I was super skeptical about these, since I usually don't even like gels. I actually said "Oh my God" out loud during my run when I tasted it. Best gel I've ever had.
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,492 Member
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    The 1/2 marathon?

    Yes, I always try to enjoy an entire bucket of fried chicken at the 7 mile mark.














    * This post was sponsored by your local Kentucky Fried Chicken; now offering a Extra Crispy Chicken Tender Fill-Up Special with delicious sides of a buttery biscuit, mashed potatoes with gravy, a chocolate chip cookie and a 12-ounce Pepsi, all for just five dollars. KFC... it's finger lickin' good!
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
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    dewd2 wrote: »
    lisawilkes20 wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Could it be that you were just tired? Either not sufficiently recovered, or not sufficiently trained?

    I only ask because I know it's something I tend to do... look for something to blame other than my own training/recovery. i.e. it's easier to say I should have had an extra gel with me rather than to say that I need more mileage in my training.

    Me & my running buddy upped the distance a mile a week from 6 mile that we were used to, until the 4th week which was a 10mile race we had enterd. Not fast though, its a personal achievement I'm doing it for. I think we trained correctly?

    I bet this is the biggest issue - Constantly increasing without recovery.

    Get on a good plan. You don't increase every week. You move up 2-3 times then you recover at a lower mileage week.

    Also, don't expect it to be easy (at least at first). I can remember my first couple 10 mile runs. I barely made it. Now 10 miles is easy. It takes time.

    And I'm not sure about the high fat diet nonsense but I can tell you it really doesn't work that way. If it did, every elite runner would be doing it. Today I am aware of none.

    For fuel, I would go by time on my feet over distance. If it takes more than 90 minutes to cover the distance try a gel. They're really not that bad. When I'm racing (really racing), I eat them every 30-45 minutes (overkill I know, but I tend to go all out). That usually translates to 2 gels for a half marathon.

    Hydration is also very important. Drink water. Lots of water.

    Good luck.

    Thankyou. I thought the training was done correctly but maybe not. I myself would prefer to try a distance now ( maybe 8mile) & get used to it for a few weeks, before moving, which is what we did when we moved up to 10k. I cant run on my own though, I need to talk so I'm not thinking about whats hurting or so on. I'm planning on going out 3x a week with one longer run each week, the others will be short & rest days inbetween.
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
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    mangrothian wrote: »
    When I was training for my first HM, I found most of the gels horrible no matter what flavour they were (there was one coffee molasses flavoured thing I loved though), but could handle the clif blocks.

    If you're a big sweater when you run or it's a particularly hot area where you're living, I suggest making sure you take something that has the sodium and potassium you need to replace, which some of the things like gummy bears and jelly beans don't do. If caffeine makes things...flow.... just make sure you have an energy source that doesn't contain it.

    When I was figuring out what worked for me, I went to a local health store and just bought a random assortment of gels and chews to use during training. When I found what worked, I bought enough to last my training and my race to make sure I was used to them.

    ETA: Has anyone reading this thread tried the Jelly Belly Sports Beans? I've never found them in Aus and was curious.

    I live in Manchester UK, so I'm not worried about it being too hot!
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
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    Motorsheen wrote: »
    The 1/2 marathon?

    Yes, I always try to enjoy an entire bucket of fried chicken at the 7 mile mark.














    * This post was sponsored by your local Kentucky Fried Chicken; now offering a Extra Crispy Chicken Tender Fill-Up Special with delicious sides of a buttery biscuit, mashed potatoes with gravy, a chocolate chip cookie and a 12-ounce Pepsi, all for just five dollars. KFC... it's finger lickin' good!

  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
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    Thanks everybody. I'll take onboard all the suggestions. I will make sure I start to drink more water & maybe a sports drink once I'm under way & doing longer runs.
    I'm going to buy a chocolate clif block just for the hell of it anyway, need to see what it tastes like. I'll definately take jelly beans with me, as I know I like them, but I think I'll leave the KFC til after the HM!
    I've been injured & only been doing 5k for about a monrh, so I'm going to start upping miles now & hopefully get used to a certain distance before moving up further.
    Thanks for all your suggestions, all noted. Cheers :)
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
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    LisaEatSleepRun wrote: »
    Over 15k, I carry a Nathan handheld water bottle (535ml) & 30-50g of dates in a ziplock bag in the pocket of the water bottle. As others have said, start refueling before you feel weak & lethargic. If you eat carbs, you will need water with them, so find a way to hydrate. Try a few carb sources & see what suits you best :smile:

    Thanks Lisa. I'll make sure I eat/drink something earlier on in the run, I think that will really help as I did'nt do that previously. I did eat pasta the night before & had porridge a few hours before I went out though, I'm definately going to get a snack on longer runs this time around as well though. Thankyou

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