Friday, October 28, 2011

Long Run Fueling Question

My long runs will finally return to being long for real this weekend. I have a two-hour long and steady scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to this because last weekend's hour-and-45-minute effort felt so good. But I have a secret I didn't share, a factor that may have contributed to the run's niceness.

I fueled.

Now I know a lot of people fuel before every training run, or at least before every long one. And not only that, they also carry fuel with them for the "during" part. I don't usually do that. In the long-ago past, I didn't do it because, well, at first no one told me I should and later on I was afraid of what it would do to my gut. In the first three marathons I ran (Houston in 1997, Boulder and New York in 2005), I ate and drank nothing but water during the races or the training runs that preceded them (with the exception of New York, before which I did consume a bagel because the start was relatively late).

My fourth marathon, Top of Utah last month, was the first marathon where I fueled consciously before and during the race. And yeah, it made a *huge* difference in the way I felt. (Yes, I bonked, but that was due to stupid race execution, not fueling mistakes.)

So now that I know better (and know, more or less, how to handle my gut), why don't I fuel before and during my training runs? Because of an article on the marathon long run that Greg McMillan wrote. McMillan training plans like mine include two types of long runs: long steady ones and fast finish efforts, the latter being where you DO fuel before and during because you are trying to simulate race conditions and get your body used to race pace and preparations. In contrast, for the long steady ones, where time on your feet at a relatively easy pace is the only goal of the workout, McMillan advocates NOT fueling.

You avoid fueling on the long steadies, he writes, "so that the muscles will become better at sparing the carbohydrate stores, more efficient at burning fat and used to running with lowered blood glucose levels. Now, many people think I'm crazy when I say this, but it works. It takes time to get adjusted to it if you have always been carbing up before and during your long runs, but with time and practice you can do it." (He does note that it is important to drink water and electrolytes throughout these runs and he recommends carrying an energy gel with you just in case you run into problems, like taking a wrong turn that adds unexpected time and distance.)

This is what I did during Top of Utah training, and it is what I have been planning to do for Houston training too. I don't know if it made my body more efficient at fat-burning and sparing carbs, but because of my prior races where I never fueled, I knew I could at least handle it and I figured it couldn't hurt. And I found my long runs without fueling were more consistently successful than my attempts at fueled fast-finish long ones (though I think that's due more to running too fast during the week and leaving nothing in the tank for these efforts, something I'm trying to improve this time by running more conservatively during the week).

Then came last weekend's long run. Why did I eat something before the run? Because I slept in and woke up hungry. My body is used to waking up early and not eating before a run. I've gotten to the point where I don't even consider eating while I'm knocking around in the dark getting my clothing on and sucking down some water (on the fast-finish long runs last cycle, I had to put Shot Bloks etc. out with my clothing to remind myself that this time I was *supposed* to eat to practice for race day). But push me too much past my usual breakfast time and it's harder not to eat. What can I say? The sun was shining like orange juice into the kitchen. My whole family was awake. I took one look at my kids' tasty Cheerios and smelled Dan's toast....and I had to eat something. The something was a package of Cran-Razz Shot Bloks. Yum. Result? Great run.

And now, because I felt so good, I'm wondering if I shouldn't always eat before and during. After all, I'm not one of McMillan's elites, for whom changes like this to their finely-honed routines might give them a real edge. What do you think? Is making the fueling a part of the "race day" advantage worth some bonky long ones in training? Or should I just eat something already?

13 comments:

  1. I like McMillans thinking, it makes sense to me, but I am not an elite either and I like the burst of energy I get from fueling during a run.

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  2. I've done both before races and training. I've never really noticed a huge difference with either, other than when I eat too much the day before a race or long run, my stomach can take a while to get settled. I never used to use gels in a race, but lately I have started and it seems to make a pretty big difference. I know that marathoners back in the day would stick more to a McMillan type of plan and not eat hardly anything the week before a race. This carbing up thing and loading up on fuel is a relatively new thought process. I think I prefer a little something before a long run or race, but it's probably more psychological than anything.

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  3. Call it superstition or the placebo effect but I swear that my Sports Beans make all the difference during my long runs (3 beans every 2 miles - don't ask me why but I works for me). I no longer push the carb load the night before (just allow reasonable treats if the mood warrants). I also have found that my gut is far better behaved if I don't force myself to eat too much the morning of the run. As my marathon running MD pointed out - if you're pushing food down when your body isn't ready for it you can guarantee that it will come back to haunt you during the race.

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  4. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the carb depletion long run, the potential to run into problems, especially when the weather is warm, is too high ... and once you've "bonked" because of a depletion, it is next to impossible to get your full energy back and run strong again simply on a gel or pack of bloks. But it is doable, teaching your body to carb deplete....it's really a personal preference and what works best for you (but I'm going to always be a firm believer that fueling before and during will make the average running much stronger :)).

    Have a great long run this weekend...suppose to be a tad warmer than say...Wed! :)

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  5. Def not an expert (just ran my first full) but the way I look at it is this. I'm asking my body to do amazing things for me, the least I can do is treat it well and to me that means fueling properly before and during a long run.

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  6. I am the least qualified person to answer this question, so I am going to leave it to the experts above. I personally always eat because I think it helps me..and I get grumpy if I don't eat!

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  7. this is very interesting and i cannot offer much help but for me and my very picky stomach what works is not eating too much the night before and on the morning of but I do eat something. small bowl of dry cereals and water
    sports beans for me also!
    I say do what worked well...

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  8. Beautiful post, interesting topic and great question. This is my usual question since I began to run and I don't have a real answer even if I tried to fuel before and during ldr and marathons.
    However I load carbo the day before ldr (workouts, half, marathon) and I drink gatorade and eat a bit of banana after the 35° km.

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  9. reall great post! and so interesting. i like mcmillan and always learn so much from him. while i find this fascinating and believe it makes sense, it has taken me so long to figure out what works for me with fueling and i really need my long runs as practice for that - both physically and mentally. right now i know eating a simple, small and early dinner the night before i run long or race is the way to go. then morning of i have a half of a banana first thing and a bit later a half a luna bar. during my marathon and super long runs i eat an accel gel every 5 miles and also bring power gel blasts along with me just in case. i only drink water - sports drinks just don't work for me during the run. but i love nuun for hydrating before and after :o)

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  10. I have just started running a mileage where "Fueling" has even become a thought in my mind. I hit 9.5 miles and felt my tank run empty. I tried a gu chomp and I LOVED it. I don't eat the recommended amount, but just an added bump to my energy store. I would like to research McMillians ideas more in the future - when I push my mileage harder and farther. It makes sense to me, what he is thinking and saying. I wish my body was that trained!

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  11. On runs 14 miles or longer I use gels. I always use Nuun on my runs. I try to eat about 3-4 hours before a run, and feel terrible if I am not fueled for a run. I don't like what Gu does to my GI system after a marathon, so I just bought some Honey Stingers to try to move to more au naturale. First test of these is tomorrow for my 14 miler.

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  12. I lean towards they idea that we need the carbs during the run, but don't think it hurts to skip them sometimes. But I like trying new ideas during training just to see if they work.

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  13. I feel terrible if I don't fuel during long runs. But, that's me. Do what works and feels right to you!

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