For Distance Runners

[sleeved080212 46]

A while back I posted about 5-hour energy and Gels....well, I'm here to report that I am now up to 9 miles and using 2 gels during my long runs. The gel that works the best for me (since I dump) are the Cliffs brand...they are 90% organic and do not kill my stomach. So happy that these still work for me as I have a few half marathons planned and now I don't have to worry about losing fuel.

[danyelleb 386]

Hi! Do those have caffeine in them? I'm glad u found something that works for u. I did 20 miles on Sat in 3:25. I started with powerbar energy chews 30 min into the run and then ate one chew every 10-15 minutes until I finished. I upped my carbs the day before and got up extra early to eat a PB and j before running.

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[Fiddleman 4,376]

A while back I posted about 5-hour energy and Gels....well' date=' I'm here to report that I am now up to 9 miles and using 2 gels during my long runs. The gel that works the best for me (since I dump) are the Cliffs brand...they are 90% organic and do not kill my stomach. So happy that these still work for me as I have a few half marathons planned and now I don't have to worry about losing fuel.[/quote']

How do these gels work and when should you take them in, say, a 15 mile run?

[renee5d 13]

any run over 90 minutes I use GU energy gels...they work well for me

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Hi! Do those have caffeine in them? I'm glad u found something that works for u. I did 20 miles on Sat in 3:25. I started with powerbar energy chews 30 min into the run and then ate one chew every 10-15 minutes until I finished. I upped my carbs the day before and got up extra early to eat a PB and j before running.

Sent from my iPhone using VST

20 miles? I wanna be you.

On a side note, have any of you ever read any of the stuff by Stu Mittleton? He's the guy who ran 1000 miles in 12 days. Anyway, his whole shtick is to train your body to burn fat not glucose (sugar). You have way more fat reserves than glycogen. Even when ou carb load. According to him the way to train your body to do this is by never eating sugar (starches) and slowing down to stay below the aerobic threshold. Obviously this is not something that can be done in one day. It would take some time to train the body to be more efficient at burning fat.

I only ran across this because I would like to run farther than the 3 miles I'm up to but can't without eating some sort of simple carbs right before a run. Any of you runners have any thoughts on this?

[danyelleb 386]

20 miles? I wanna be you.

On a side note' date=' have any of you ever read any of the stuff by Stu Mittleton? He's the guy who ran 1000 miles in 12 days. Anyway, his whole shtick is to train your body to burn fat not glucose (sugar). You have way more fat reserves than glycogen. Even when ou carb load. According to him the way to train your body to do this is by never eating sugar (starches) and slowing down to stay below the aerobic threshold. Obviously this is not something that can be done in one day. It would take some time to train the body to be more efficient at burning fat.

I only ran across this because I would like to run farther than the 3 miles I'm up to but can't without eating some sort of simple carbs right before a run. Any of you runners have any thoughts on this?[/quote']

u will be eventually if u want to (assuming that u don't have any physical injuries or limitations). Besides- 3 miles?! I remember when u just started c25k. It wasn't that long ago.

1000 miles in 12 days is insane! The ultra marathoners boggle my mind. Is he the same guy that ran across the US?

The whole nutrition aspect of running is a work in progress for me. This is an area that I struggle with. Thanks for giving me something to consider reading. I would love any other recommendations for books about nutrition. I have a lot to learn.

Sent from my iPhone using VST

[Fiddleman 4,376]

20 miles? I wanna be you.

On a side note' date=' have any of you ever read any of the stuff by Stu Mittleton? He's the guy who ran 1000 miles in 12 days. Anyway, his whole shtick is to train your body to burn fat not glucose (sugar). You have way more fat reserves than glycogen. Even when ou carb load. According to him the way to train your body to do this is by never eating sugar (starches) and slowing down to stay below the aerobic threshold. Obviously this is not something that can be done in one day. It would take some time to train the body to be more efficient at burning fat.

I only ran across this because I would like to run farther than the 3 miles I'm up to but can't without eating some sort of simple carbs right before a run. Any of you runners have any thoughts on this?[/quote']

Thanks for the reference. I'll have to see if I can find some downloads for my kindle. Learning how to run without injury and for Long distances is definitely a learning experience for me with lots of trial and error. I am going to try eating the GU gels when running next week to see if I can go for longer then an hour (will slow down a bit, perhaps 5.4 mph). I love being able to run without injury so far and thank my sleeve every day for it. Running definitely requires just as much mental focus as it does physical fitness.

I do find myself wanting to stop if I lose focus even though I have not reached a desirable goal during a running session. Does anyone know of some good books that help with improving mental focus when running.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Y'all should read Scott Jurek's book. He runs and wins all those ultra marathons on a vegan diet. "Born to Run" is another great book about running. I loved it. Yes, it's the book that got people talking about barefoot running, but the whole book is not really about barefoot running. It's actually a great story and has some good info about learning to run to prevent injuries. It made me rethink my running form. Now I run mostly in my vibrams and I have zero knee pain. Before I had to wear neoprene sleeves on both knees or I would hurt like crazy.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

u will be eventually if u want to (assuming that u don't have any physical injuries or limitations). Besides- 3 miles?! I remember when u just started c25k. It wasn't that long ago.

1000 miles in 12 days is insane! The ultra marathoners boggle my mind. Is he the same guy that ran across the US?

The whole nutrition aspect of running is a work in progress for me. This is an area that I struggle with. Thanks for giving me something to consider reading. I would love any other recommendations for books about nutrition. I have a lot to learn.

Sent from my iPhone using VST

Yeah I think he did run across the US. But have you seen that documentary "running the Sahara"? Three guys run 4300 miles across the Sahara desert. Pretty amazing. The equivalent of 165 marathons in 111 days.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I need some help from runners who have the WLS experience behind them. I just started running a weeks ago after walking and using an ellyptical for the last 4 months. I am currently 5.5 months out and have 10 lb to personal goal.

The post is a little long winded, but please read through my notes until the questions at the end for proper context.

Read today that running longer than an hour requires a 4 to 1 ratio between carbs and Protein in order to replenish muscles properly and better than before.

I am currently running about 45 minutes (additional 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down) during a session and eat a chicken patty or some other meaningful 3-5 oz of Protein afterwards. I desire to run more than an hour to push towards my personal running goals or running a 10k a 1/2 marathon and a marathon.

No carbs because in general my eating plan does not allow for it. Dropped 10 lb since starting to run seriously last week. What an excellent slow loss and stall buster. As I am in pretty good shape now, I feel that my body is physically ready to start pushing towards the running goals that I listed above.

My running pattern during a session generally looks like warm up fast walk/ jog 5 minutes, 5.4 MPH for 5 minutes, 5.6 MPH for 5 minutes, 5.8 MPH for 5 minutes and 6 MPH for remainder of 45 minute run. Then 3.6 MPH, 3.6 MPH and 3.0 MPH cool down over 5 minutes. Total is about 55 minutes on the treadmill. In fact, I did this today. I am running 3 times a week in order to get in the proper recovery.

Have to ramp it up during a running session if I am going longer than 30 min so as to not lose steam at 30. I try to really be focused on balance and perfect relaxation while running, until I am able to enter "the zone" where it feels like I am not running any longer and can keep going and going without stress, effort or injury. Love it. No injury so far and my legs feel great afterwards. The points in the "Chai Running" book are really helpful in order to run long distances without injury or getting tired too early.

Questions:

What does 4 carb to 1 protein look like in practical food choices or in something i can buy (shake, gel, bar etc) online or from a local store? My wife is already telling me I am getting expensive, so prefer to find something economical or at least something that I can try before spending alot.

How can i transition from eating no to low carbs for last 6 months (includes pre diet) to healthy carbs that will help me optimize both my health and my running?

I have been hitting a fatigue (boredom? Energy issue?) around 40 minutes and then stop. How can I bust through this physically and mentally to hit my running goals above?

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Fiddleman, while I am still 2 levels below a novice and know next to nothing, I'm going to throw out a couple of ideas. Firstly, if you're hitting a wall at 40 minutes that could be your glycogen stores being depleted. From what I've read the average person has between 30-90 minutes of glycogen stores available to use, which is your body's primary fuel source for fight or flight response. I can't speak from running but I've experienced this many times from cycling. A hard effort forces you to burn glycogen. When it runs out your body will send you signals to quit or eat something. This is where many distance athletes would eat an energy gel or something. When it gets real serious you bonk, but you could be getting the pre-bonk signals....just a guess here based on the way you described it.

Also, I know most runners run above the aerobic threshold which forces you to burn glycogen (I certainly cycled that way...always pushing yourself). I've been reading stuff about the ultrarunners who run such long distances. Many of them say they run below the aerobic threshold, so instead of burning glycogen they burn fat. It allows them to go much longer because you have way more fat reserves than glycogen. I've read in a couple of different books that these extreme distance athletes train at a ridiculously slow pace in order to get proficient at staying in this zone and out of the glycogen zone. I believe I mentioned Stu Mittleman earlier. That's what his whole training approach is. Basically running slow enough that you are not laboring and keeping your heart rate in a lower target zone. Gradually you get more efficient at this and can go faster while still keeping the heart rate low.

I am still learning but here lately I can't get enough of books about distance running, especially the ultras. I will say this about the food, I was eating some simple carbs and PB2 before all of my runs. Just maybe 150 calories, but if I didn't I would feel like crap 30 minutes in. After reading Mittlemans website I cut out the carbs and ate some fats instead (almonds) and I feel just as good but without eating any sugar. I always ran super slow so I really didn't need to change anything there. My speed has not progressed much at all since I started running but the ease at which I can run has improved big time, along with the distance.

If you learn anything new please share because I'm very interested in this topic as well.

[alliecat1095 128]

Active.com has some good articles.

Today's topic was : 3 must know facts about treadmills

Recent topics

5 race-day mistakes to avoid

20 reasons to run at any age

I am sure there is more topics once you long on to the. Website...

Author my son suggested for me to read: books by Dean Karnazes,

Also books by Christopher McDougall.

I just received my first issue of RUNNER'S magazine

I started with the C25k about 3 months ago, my 1st 5 k was on Nov 10th time 46:50, 2nd one was 12/8 time 40:02.

I run 5 days out of the week, on 3 days I trail run and the other 2 days on sidewalk/street, I walk 15 minutes 2xs a day x 5 days ...

In the new year I will be adding body sculpting, toning and resistance training.

I have two local 5ks paid for 12/30, 1/26th and 02/17 the Livestrong in Austin, Tx

BTB I like reading your post. Very informative.. Thank you...

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Active.com has some good articles.

Today's topic was : 3 must know facts about treadmills

Recent topics

5 race-day mistakes to avoid

20 reasons to run at any age

I am sure there is more topics once you long on to the. Website...

Author my son suggested for me to read: books by Dean Karnazes' date='

Also books by Christopher McDougall.

I just received my first issue of RUNNER'S magazine

I started with the C25k about 3 months ago, my 1st 5 k was on Nov 10th time 46:50, 2nd one was 12/8 time 40:02.

I run 5 days out of the week, on 3 days I trail run and the other 2 days on sidewalk/street, I walk 15 minutes 2xs a day x 5 days ...

In the new year I will be adding body sculpting, toning and resistance training.

I have two local 5ks paid for 12/30, 1/26th and 02/17 the Livestrong in Austin, Tx

BTB I like reading your post. Very informative.. Thank you...

[/quote']

Allie, that Christopher McDougall book is great. "Born to Run". Highly entertaining but also informative about running to prevent injuries.

I need to do like you and sign up for some races.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Fiddleman' date=' while I am still 2 levels below a novice and know next to nothing, I'm going to throw out a couple of ideas. Firstly, if you're hitting a wall at 40 minutes that could be your glycogen stores being depleted. From what I've read the average person has between 30-90 minutes of glycogen stores available to use, which is your body's primary fuel source for fight or flight response. I can't speak from running but I've experienced this many times from cycling. A hard effort forces you to burn glycogen. When it runs out your body will send you signals to quit or eat something. This is where many distance athletes would eat an energy gel or something. When it gets real serious you bonk, but you could be getting the pre-bonk signals....just a guess here based on the way you described it.

Also, I know most runners run above the aerobic threshold which forces you to burn glycogen (I certainly cycled that way...always pushing yourself). I've been reading stuff about the ultrarunners who run such long distances. Many of them say they run below the aerobic threshold, so instead of burning glycogen they burn fat. It allows them to go much longer because you have way more fat reserves than glycogen. I've read in a couple of different books that these extreme distance athletes train at a ridiculously slow pace in order to get proficient at staying in this zone and out of the glycogen zone. I believe I mentioned Stu Mittleman earlier. That's what his whole training approach is. Basically running slow enough that you are not laboring and keeping your heart rate in a lower target zone. Gradually you get more efficient at this and can go faster while still keeping the heart rate low.

I am still learning but here lately I can't get enough of books about distance running, especially the ultras. I will say this about the food, I was eating some simple carbs and PB2 before all of my runs. Just maybe 150 calories, but if I didn't I would feel like crap 30 minutes in. After reading Mittlemans website I cut out the carbs and ate some fats instead (almonds) and I feel just as good but without eating any sugar. I always ran super slow so I really didn't need to change anything there. My speed has not progressed much at all since I started running but the ease at which I can run has improved big time, along with the distance.

If you learn anything new please share because I'm very interested in this topic as well.[/quote']

As usual, you provide very good information. I have downloaded Stu Mittleman's book and will see where that takes me.

[alliecat1095 128]

Allie' date=' that Christopher McDougall book is great. "Born to Run". Highly entertaining but also informative about running to prevent injuries.

I need to do like you and sign up for some races.[/quote']

Knowing that I signed up for races keep my motivated to run. My son has been a runner since he was in elementary, he is now is in the AF and training for his 1st marathon. he is stationed in Okinawa Japan and I told him I wanted to run a marathon with him when he gets back to the states in 3 1/2 years.

So I have to build up slowly to 26.2 miles and stay motivated...

I will look up that book.

Thank you......