February 2020 Monthly Running Challenge

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Replies

  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
    To address fuel, for the others upthread. I played with some calculators yesterday, and It seems that I could have tried harder to fuel. I was shooting for replacing 25% of the calories I burn per mile, but I may have underestimated. The rule of thumb seems to be 30% of the calories. Translated to per hour, I SHOULD have been aiming for 160-180 calories. I was on target to hit 127 calories per hour. They were Hazelnut M&M's, and those 21 candies counted for 180 calories. Yes, a whole bottle of Gatorade. 32 ounces. 200 calories. Another 30-50 calories per hour should have made the magic happen? It's a small enough experiment. I can try again.

    Make sure those calories are from simple carbs though. Try something like gummy bears maybe? Nuts are not the best food for quick energy replacement.

    I'm thinking of just replacing all fluids with Gatorade. 32 oz per hour. I know I already mentioned that gummy bears little arms and legs are a choking hazard for me. The M&M's really hammered home the point that I breathe differently when I'm eating - I prefer to TASTE my food, and trying to hurry up and chew the suckers well enough to swallow them before I accidentally breathed chocolate actually kind of SUCKED.

    Are you running while eating? Maybe slow down or take a walk break. I was fueling my 16 milers with pretzels at about the 10 mile mark. I would usually take a walk break at this point. Before and after pretzels I used gu and chews. I plan to use pretzels and granola for the trails when I start building my miles back up with the gu and chews.

    Maybe look into something other than gatorade? I used to drink that but I find some other stuff works better for me. There's so many options now.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    To address fuel, for the others upthread. I played with some calculators yesterday, and It seems that I could have tried harder to fuel. I was shooting for replacing 25% of the calories I burn per mile, but I may have underestimated. The rule of thumb seems to be 30% of the calories. Translated to per hour, I SHOULD have been aiming for 160-180 calories. I was on target to hit 127 calories per hour. They were Hazelnut M&M's, and those 21 candies counted for 180 calories. Yes, a whole bottle of Gatorade. 32 ounces. 200 calories. Another 30-50 calories per hour should have made the magic happen? It's a small enough experiment. I can try again.

    Make sure those calories are from simple carbs though. Try something like gummy bears maybe? Nuts are not the best food for quick energy replacement.

    I'm thinking of just replacing all fluids with Gatorade. 32 oz per hour. I know I already mentioned that gummy bears little arms and legs are a choking hazard for me. The M&M's really hammered home the point that I breathe differently when I'm eating - I prefer to TASTE my food, and trying to hurry up and chew the suckers well enough to swallow them before I accidentally breathed chocolate actually kind of SUCKED.

    Would something like Swedish Fish (maybe torn in half) work? Or Skittles?

  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    To address fuel, for the others upthread. I played with some calculators yesterday, and It seems that I could have tried harder to fuel. I was shooting for replacing 25% of the calories I burn per mile, but I may have underestimated. The rule of thumb seems to be 30% of the calories. Translated to per hour, I SHOULD have been aiming for 160-180 calories. I was on target to hit 127 calories per hour. They were Hazelnut M&M's, and those 21 candies counted for 180 calories. Yes, a whole bottle of Gatorade. 32 ounces. 200 calories. Another 30-50 calories per hour should have made the magic happen? It's a small enough experiment. I can try again.

    Make sure those calories are from simple carbs though. Try something like gummy bears maybe? Nuts are not the best food for quick energy replacement.

    I'm thinking of just replacing all fluids with Gatorade. 32 oz per hour. I know I already mentioned that gummy bears little arms and legs are a choking hazard for me. The M&M's really hammered home the point that I breathe differently when I'm eating - I prefer to TASTE my food, and trying to hurry up and chew the suckers well enough to swallow them before I accidentally breathed chocolate actually kind of SUCKED.

    Would something like Swedish Fish (maybe torn in half) work? Or Skittles?

    My wife uses mini-Swedishfish. Have to eat like 12 of them or something to get 1 serving, but they are much smaller.
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    To address fuel, for the others upthread. I played with some calculators yesterday, and It seems that I could have tried harder to fuel. I was shooting for replacing 25% of the calories I burn per mile, but I may have underestimated. The rule of thumb seems to be 30% of the calories. Translated to per hour, I SHOULD have been aiming for 160-180 calories. I was on target to hit 127 calories per hour. They were Hazelnut M&M's, and those 21 candies counted for 180 calories. Yes, a whole bottle of Gatorade. 32 ounces. 200 calories. Another 30-50 calories per hour should have made the magic happen? It's a small enough experiment. I can try again.

    Make sure those calories are from simple carbs though. Try something like gummy bears maybe? Nuts are not the best food for quick energy replacement.

    I'm thinking of just replacing all fluids with Gatorade. 32 oz per hour. I know I already mentioned that gummy bears little arms and legs are a choking hazard for me. The M&M's really hammered home the point that I breathe differently when I'm eating - I prefer to TASTE my food, and trying to hurry up and chew the suckers well enough to swallow them before I accidentally breathed chocolate actually kind of SUCKED.

    Are you running while eating? Maybe slow down or take a walk break. I was fueling my 16 milers with pretzels at about the 10 mile mark. I would usually take a walk break at this point. Before and after pretzels I used gu and chews. I plan to use pretzels and granola for the trails when I start building my miles back up with the gu and chews.

    Maybe look into something other than gatorade? I used to drink that but I find some other stuff works better for me. There's so many options now.

    TailWind is highly recommended and many Marathon runners drink it as both all their fuel AND water AND electrolytes. Might be worth trying instead of trying to eat and run.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    To address fuel, for the others upthread. I played with some calculators yesterday, and It seems that I could have tried harder to fuel. I was shooting for replacing 25% of the calories I burn per mile, but I may have underestimated. The rule of thumb seems to be 30% of the calories. Translated to per hour, I SHOULD have been aiming for 160-180 calories. I was on target to hit 127 calories per hour. They were Hazelnut M&M's, and those 21 candies counted for 180 calories. Yes, a whole bottle of Gatorade. 32 ounces. 200 calories. Another 30-50 calories per hour should have made the magic happen? It's a small enough experiment. I can try again.

    Make sure those calories are from simple carbs though. Try something like gummy bears maybe? Nuts are not the best food for quick energy replacement.

    I'm thinking of just replacing all fluids with Gatorade. 32 oz per hour. I know I already mentioned that gummy bears little arms and legs are a choking hazard for me. The M&M's really hammered home the point that I breathe differently when I'm eating - I prefer to TASTE my food, and trying to hurry up and chew the suckers well enough to swallow them before I accidentally breathed chocolate actually kind of SUCKED.

    Would something like Swedish Fish (maybe torn in half) work? Or Skittles?

    My wife uses mini-Swedishfish. Have to eat like 12 of them or something to get 1 serving, but they are much smaller.

    Oh, I forgot about the minis. Yeah, I think those are a perfect size for running (for me, anyway).
  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    As expected it was raining this morning (still is), so hopped on the dreadmill. Plan was for 4.5 miles/ Had a warmup walk then set it at 10 min mile and Garmin says I'm doing 7 ish min/miles lol.
    That is way off even with the "treadmill" setting on the watch. I finished at 4.62 miles per the treadmill, but my watch had me at 5.77! in 50 minutes! Hooray for my PR! Sigh. If only it were true.

    If it is a Garmin you can calibrate the watch to be closer to your dreadmill, but without a footpod it will always have some variation off of the real value. Especially if you use the arm that has the watch on it to do stuff like drink from a water bottle, use a towel, or control your phone/dreadmill, and so on. It can only go by your arm swing, so anything that changes that, changes what it thinks you are doing.
  • hamsterwheel6
    hamsterwheel6 Posts: 544 Member
    As expected it was raining this morning (still is), so hopped on the dreadmill. Plan was for 4.5 miles/ Had a warmup walk then set it at 10 min mile and Garmin says I'm doing 7 ish min/miles lol.
    That is way off even with the "treadmill" setting on the watch. I finished at 4.62 miles per the treadmill, but my watch had me at 5.77! in 50 minutes! Hooray for my PR! Sigh. If only it were true.

    If it is a Garmin you can calibrate the watch to be closer to your dreadmill, but without a footpod it will always have some variation off of the real value. Especially if you use the arm that has the watch on it to do stuff like drink from a water bottle, use a towel, or control your phone/dreadmill, and so on. It can only go by your arm swing, so anything that changes that, changes what it thinks you are doing.

    I'm really thinking of getting a footpod. I did calibrate the watch before I saved it, but all it does is take your time and distance and divides the final outcome. It doesn't change the lap times and or speeds.
    I have it on my left wrist, but yes, the arm swings are what counts - I must be really swinging! :D
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,508 Member
    edited February 2020
    This morning they announced on the radio, "Finally a break in the weather, there will be no snow or rain today," and it has been snowing for a good hour or two since they said that. :) Gotta love them trying to predict the future. :smiley:

    I hope our can be just as wrong. The got storm Ciara right at the weekend and they are giving us storm Douglas for the upcoming weekend! The joys :smiley:
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,373 Member
    Tramboman wrote: »
    I'm old and retired, with few responsibilities. During golf season, I play Mondays and Thursdays, so they become my running rest days. During winter, my running rest days are Tuesdays and Fridays. I get to go to bed early, so I get plenty of sleep. So I just get up, drink a cup of black coffee, check my email, and run. It is a luxury to be able to do what I do, and I'm very grateful for that luxury.
    Yup this! Retirement is awesome and I love having little stress and actually sleeping well for 8 hours!

  • PastorVincent
    PastorVincent Posts: 6,668 Member
    edited February 2020
    As expected it was raining this morning (still is), so hopped on the dreadmill. Plan was for 4.5 miles/ Had a warmup walk then set it at 10 min mile and Garmin says I'm doing 7 ish min/miles lol.
    That is way off even with the "treadmill" setting on the watch. I finished at 4.62 miles per the treadmill, but my watch had me at 5.77! in 50 minutes! Hooray for my PR! Sigh. If only it were true.

    If it is a Garmin you can calibrate the watch to be closer to your dreadmill, but without a footpod it will always have some variation off of the real value. Especially if you use the arm that has the watch on it to do stuff like drink from a water bottle, use a towel, or control your phone/dreadmill, and so on. It can only go by your arm swing, so anything that changes that, changes what it thinks you are doing.

    I'm really thinking of getting a footpod. I did calibrate the watch before I saved it, but all it does is take your time and distance and divides the final outcome. It doesn't change the lap times and or speeds.
    I have it on my left wrist, but yes, the arm swings are what counts - I must be really swinging! :D

    If you do, it will need to be calibrated despite Garmin's claims. DC Rainmaker has a page on his site on how to do it, it is pretty easy. You essentially run a known distance and use the result you get to get a number to feed into it. And once set it seems to say correct (assuming you turn off the auto-calibrate which is trash). I recently rechecked mine and it was still good.
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,373 Member
    edited February 2020
    To address fuel, for the others upthread. I played with some calculators yesterday, and It seems that I could have tried harder to fuel. I was shooting for replacing 25% of the calories I burn per mile, but I may have underestimated. The rule of thumb seems to be 30% of the calories. Translated to per hour, I SHOULD have been aiming for 160-180 calories. I was on target to hit 127 calories per hour. They were Hazelnut M&M's, and those 21 candies counted for 180 calories. Yes, a whole bottle of Gatorade. 32 ounces. 200 calories. Another 30-50 calories per hour should have made the magic happen? It's a small enough experiment. I can try again.

    Make sure those calories are from simple carbs though. Try something like gummy bears maybe? Nuts are not the best food for quick energy replacement.

    I'm thinking of just replacing all fluids with Gatorade. 32 oz per hour. I know I already mentioned that gummy bears little arms and legs are a choking hazard for me. The M&M's really hammered home the point that I breathe differently when I'm eating - I prefer to TASTE my food, and trying to hurry up and chew the suckers well enough to swallow them before I accidentally breathed chocolate actually kind of SUCKED.

    Would something like Swedish Fish (maybe torn in half) work? Or Skittles?

    @autumnblade75 - Here is a pretty good article on fueling long runs with some examples of what you can use. Basically 45–90 grams of carbohydrates per hour or 80-100 calories every 20 minutes.

    Like @RunsOnEspresso said there are so many options. Personally I can't stand GUs but I like the Shot Bloks and things like that. My favorite is SKRATCH Labs fruit chews as they are not as big or sticky gummy as the Shot Bloks. I also like their energy drink powders. I have tried several kinds and they are easier on my stomach. The key is to find what works for you and gives you enough fuel over the entire run.
  • hamsterwheel6
    hamsterwheel6 Posts: 544 Member
    As expected it was raining this morning (still is), so hopped on the dreadmill. Plan was for 4.5 miles/ Had a warmup walk then set it at 10 min mile and Garmin says I'm doing 7 ish min/miles lol.
    That is way off even with the "treadmill" setting on the watch. I finished at 4.62 miles per the treadmill, but my watch had me at 5.77! in 50 minutes! Hooray for my PR! Sigh. If only it were true.

    If it is a Garmin you can calibrate the watch to be closer to your dreadmill, but without a footpod it will always have some variation off of the real value. Especially if you use the arm that has the watch on it to do stuff like drink from a water bottle, use a towel, or control your phone/dreadmill, and so on. It can only go by your arm swing, so anything that changes that, changes what it thinks you are doing.

    I'm really thinking of getting a footpod. I did calibrate the watch before I saved it, but all it does is take your time and distance and divides the final outcome. It doesn't change the lap times and or speeds.
    I have it on my left wrist, but yes, the arm swings are what counts - I must be really swinging! :D

    If you do, it will need to be calibrated despite Garmin's claims. DC Rainmaker has a page on his site on how to do it, it is pretty easy. You essentially run a known distance and use the result you get to get a number to feed into it. And once set it seems to say correct (assuming you turn off the auto-calibrate which is trash). I recently rechecked mine and it was still good.

    Thanks!