Running... not sure on nutrition needed

Zangpakto
Zangpakto Posts: 336 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, umm I am a bad runner I guess as need to lose the winter weight as summer coming up and got a marathon and ultra marathon to train for...

I woke up saturday working... planned a surf, checked reports and was messy... then MTB... windy on top where I like to go, so went for a run, no bottle no jelly babies no nothing just drank at nature reserves, petrol stations and security complexes....

Now before that, I ate 1 egg, 1 toast for breakfast (like I ALWAYS do) then before I decided to run, had a handful of nik naks chips.... Then I decided on running.. and just went...

Ended up running 30km over VERY hilly terrain, not a problem no injuries and took it slow and as a journey view and it took 4hr 13min, however on way back over mountain, I could only think of hmm cheeseburgers... or hmm bacon sandwhich would be good right now... LOL

For running in general, what is recommend? I mean, I don't need any planning for a half marathon or less distance, but my legs were maybe a tad stiff the next day but nothing bad really...

My intake that night well I skipped the burger etc and ended up drinking beer and whisky though lol...

I just am in general never truly hungry, food bores me, and would rather have a nice tasty pretty meal than something HUGE...

Again, would be a first marathon I am doing, but I reckon I am on right track if I woke up no planning and just ran a very hilly mountain area with 30km distance lol...

Anything else you guys could suggest? Either food wise or training wise? I am running the marathon 25th Sept, if possible I want to do under 5hrs to qualify for 56km in April next year and 90km in May.

Replies

  • lildevil968
    lildevil968 Posts: 152 Member
    Iam a runner, but not a marathoner by any means. Before I go run I make sure and eat something like a sandwich, or a protein bar. For some reason I do not run well on an empty stomach. Some of my favorite things to eat are meat because it is high in protein, banana's, oranges, protein shakes, protein bars, etc. I would honestly check out www.runnersworold.com and see what they say about the right foods.
  • drgndancer
    drgndancer Posts: 426 Member
    Ehh... 30KM over 4.25 hours... ::pulls out calculator... carries the one... Pokes the buttons:: So you ran roughly 5 miles an hour for roughly 255 minutes. At minimum you burned 2500-3000 calories. Just on the run. Ignore everything else you did that day, ignore the 500-700 calories most people burn just sleeping. You burned more than the recommended daily intake for an adult male, just in those 4 hours. Long story short, if you're going to run like that you need to eat a fair amount of food. Carbs shortly before the run are generally considered a good thing, carrying some of those nutrient gels isn't a bad idea either. Realistically? A cheeseburger wouldn't have killed you either.

    On the training side I'm of two minds. Part of me is impressed that you can just up and decide to run 30km, part of me is horrified that you'd try. The recommended training period for an experienced runner (someone with a 10K or half marathon under their belt, who's been running at least a year) before a marathon is 6 months. You have nothing like that left before your race, so most "typical" training plans won't work for you. On the other hand you can already do a significant part of the distance, so maybe that's not a problem.

    My main advice is: be careful. You didn't injure yourself on your long run, which is great, but a lot of running injuries are repetitive stress type problems. You go from running nothing to running long distances and your body is suddenly dealing with a lot of strain, with no preparation. The point of slowing ramping up the miles is only partly to build the kind of direct endurance that allows you to finish the race, it's also to get your connective tissue, stabilizer muscles, and joints stronger and accustom to the strain. Jumping into big distances with no prep leaves you open to things like runner's knee, Plantar Faciitis, and shin splints that will develop over time.

    The usual training plan is running 4-5 days a week, with one day a week being your "long run". Typically one day is a short, easy run (3-4 miles is probably good given that your goal is marathon distance), one day should be speed work or hills, the long run, then fill in the rest with moderate length runs. Your long runs should get progressively longer in 10% increments, until you're close to your goal distance two week before the race. Take it easy the week before your race (so you don't go in tired), just some short and medium length runs, with a day or two off before the big day.

    Any plan you get from runnersworld.com or coolrunnings.com you're going to have to start near the end, as they're almost all 6 month plans. Good luck!
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
    Wow...what drgndancer said. Ha, his one and only post and it's a doozer :-)

    I looked at your food diary. On most days you are only eating 1200 cals and not even your exercise calories back. Some days you didnt even make the 1200 cal goal. Your body does not have the energy to maintain the work you are doing.

    You need food, my friend. No wonder you were thinking so much about cheeseburgers. Hell, eat two!

    Ps....nutrition for a runner should be good, wholesome foods like almonds, veggies, fruits and lots of protein (hmm, like anyone who is trying to eat healthy). Also, you may want to rethink your 1200 calorie goal.
  • Zangpakto
    Zangpakto Posts: 336 Member
    Thanks,

    I have not been not running...

    I run for almost 5-6yrs now constantly, have done quite a few halfs, and am part of a running club. Guess I should have mentioned that before huh?

    Anyway, I always was a big runner, so this Jan I decided to change it, and so I ate less and less, portions was the key, and training quite often into negative cals as you can imagine for distances I can just up and do....

    I am near the end of where I want to be, and want to slow down the loss, not halt, but slow down and train for healthier running once more, however I have never been a normal eater, so no idea on what to eat or anything to be honest with current weight and what am doing...

    My whole issue is I do have a problem with eating and weighing myself and other tid bits I don't really wanna say... I have gone from one scale extreme to the other, back then back again... And now want to try stay healthy at a "healthy" weight and running is kind of my motivation... Has kept me healthier than I have been... Still weaning off some issues but well yea...

    Oh as a side note, my goal of 54.5kg at 5'0 tall is reasonable right? I am male.... and 24... or should it be less?
  • drgndancer
    drgndancer Posts: 426 Member
    It's a bit difficult to be sure of whether your goal weight is healthy unless we know more about you, but 5 feet, 54.5KG is in "normal" BMI so it's probably fine unless you have a really large or really small build. Running as much as you do, you probably have a fair amount of lean muscle so I'd say it's a probably pretty good goal. Talking to a doctor might not be a bad idea just to be sure though. I agree with MtnKat that you should probably eat more, especially when you do hard workouts like you did this weekend. Those little slider bars are a bit of a pain to read accurately, but it looks like you weigh around 65kg now, at a height of 5 feet, you have a BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate, the average of how many calories you burn just by sleeping, breathing, and existing) of around 1456 calories. You should aim to hit around that number of calories minimum most days or you start making your metabolism do funny things. Days were you workout hard (Like running 30k), you should eat more. Let's just randomly throw out, maybe 500 calories per 10k run. Not very scientific, but better than nothing.

    If I was in your shoes, given the rather specialized requirements of someone simultaneously trying to lose a lot of weight and prep for an ultra, I'd talk to a nutritionist. There's a lot of variables here, and it's easy for random Internet people (myself included) to miss something on a forum like this. I'm a hobbyist training for my first half marathon myself. I've read some stuff and feel reasonably confident giving advice on basic training strategies, but I could easily be missing something.

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