According to The Plan, this week will culminate in a total of 26 miles being run......I have my doubts about whether that will be achieved!!
It is still brass monkey weather and really slippy underfoot and I have a real aversion to ice, like a REAL aversion.
Once I managed to turn my van over on black ice - ironic because I was only travelling at about -0 miles an hour at the time but I hit the ice, spun around, hit the side of the verge and BOOM, I ended up on the side with the dogs on my head looking rather confused. Then walking back from the garage with the aforementioned dogs, they wreaked their revenge by pulling so I slipped on the ice, smashed my head on the pavement and cracked my elbow.....so I'm not a fan, shall we say.
The Lurgy however, seems to be exiting the building; my chest is still a little tight but I'm feeling 100% better so softly, softly, catchy monkey and I should, in a couple of weeks, be back on the schedule. (a couple of references to monkeys in the post, let's see if I can't squeeze another one in before the end!)
What have I been doing this week?
I'm glad you asked! This week I have been reading up on something very dear to my heart - food!
Specifically:
How to fuel for an Ultra Marathon
Researching anything to do with food has to be one of my favourite pastimes, well, other than actually eating the food!
Whether you are training for an event or just enjoy running, to keep your muscles healthy and maintain energy levels, it's important to take care of what you eat.
What should I be eating?
Your nutritional needs will alter according to how many miles you are doing and what your goals are in terms of performance and your body composition. Eating natural, unprocessed foods is the best way forward for anyone, be you a runner or not. Go for unrefined foods like:
whole grains
oats
wholemeal bread
brown rice
whole-wheat pasta
lentils
pulses
Starchy fruit and vegetables, like bananas and dried fruit, butternut squash, sweet potato and corn.
Keep energy levels up by combining your unrefined carbohydrates with proteins and healthy fats:
Porridge made with soya milk, toasted nuts and banana
Tofu Pad Thai with wholewheat noodles and peanuts
Beans on wholemeal toast with avocado
Vegetable tagine made with Quorn and brown rice with some olives thrown in
These foods can help reduce hunger pangs by keeping you fuller for longer and help you maintain a healthy weight. They also help stamina, endurance and focus.
When should I eat before a run?
Again, this depends on the distance you are going to do and what works best for your body - you may have to experiment.
If it is just a 30-minute stretch out of your legs then you don't have to do any special preparation. If you plan on doing a long run then it is again, a matter of trial and error. Some people prefer to run fasted, and some like porridge or a banana before their run. The thing to do is to fuel up with carbs the night before so as to avoid any digestion issues or stitch from having a big breakfast.
Should I eat during a run?
If you are running less than 10k then it shouldn't be necessary to eat on the move.
Anything over that and you need to think about fueling on the run to keep you going.
As I'm looking at doing a 50k, I asked Dr Google what Ultra Runners ate during a race and was delighted to find out I should eat at least every 20 minutes.
Nothing new there then, I have obviously been in training all my life!!
Ultra runners eat things like:
Salted peanuts or pretzels
Sweet potato wedges (in a sandwich bag with salt)
CLIF Bar
Rice Cakes
Gels/Blocks
Baby food pouches (you can buy refillable ones of these online) - yuk
Sports/energy drinks
Crisps.....YES CRISPS (does a happy dance)
sandwich bags of mashed potato (?)
peanut butter and jam sandwiches, hummus and avocado sandwiches - on white bread - you don't want too much fibre on a run!
cooked rice in a bag
trail mix
jelly beans
chocolate
pickles (good to replenish salt lost)
cold pizza
applesauce
jam tarts
doughnuts (I know right, I can see you considering running an Ultra just to eat all this gear!)
Carbs are king!
An absolute smorgasbord of delights, more fun than a barrel of monkeys...count me in!
(from www.nutritionforrunning.com)
There is a way to work out how many grams of carbs you should eat during an Ultra:
Weight in kilos = grams of carbohydrates per hour you need to consume
What about drinking?
Make mine a gin 'n tonic, please.
No, not that sort of drinking, although many Ultra runners say that a swift half (not of gin) along the way keeps them motivated. I mean what should you drink to help avoid dehydration on the run?
It's generally accepted that if you are running for longer than 90 minutes you should aim to drink 300 to 800ml of fluid per hour depending on your size and your sweat rate. Ideally, this will include some electrolytes to aid fluid absorption.
However, this has to be adjusted for weather conditions, how much you generally sweat and how big you are. Again, trial and error and using your training runs to experiment is the best way forward.
It's a good idea to include isotonic drinks (these have electrolytes (they help your body retain fluid during heavy exercise when you are sweating as they help draw fluid into working muscles) and carbohydrates in them) as they help you take on some of the energy you will need in liquid form, which is typically easier to absorb.
What do I eat afterwards?
"No matter what, take your recovery drink within 30 minutes after finishing and be sure and eat well to replenish your energy." advises the Marathon Handbook.
Whilst it is not a licence to gorge on tons of junk food (although a little is ok) when you finish a long-distance race you need not restrict calories because you need adequate energy intake to ensure recovery.
Concentrate on a good diet with plenty of nutrients to get you ready for your next run!
OK, I'm off then to continue to practise eating - it's a hard job but I think I'm up to the challenge.
Stay safe, more soon xx
NB - This is a rough guide as to how to fuel an Ultra Marathon, please do not follow all I have said to the letter, I personally will be trying out different foods and drinks in training - a dehydrated or underfed Tina will not get through those miles in comfort......comfort? 50k? I will be lucky to stagger around!!
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