I have signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon! I know, I am insane! At the informational meeting last night for the group I am training with they were talking about gu and nutrition when on long runs. Besides the marathon, my longest training run should be about 20 miles/4 or so hours. I am still pretty well padded with energy reserves (fat) although I don't know where I will be in 6 months when I am actually doing these long runs. I suspect that I will need something to keep from bonking both on long runs and at the actual marathon.

Gu's ingredients include:

INGREDIENTS: Maltodextrin, Water, Fructose, Leucine, Sea Salt, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Calcium Carbonate, Valine, Natural Flavor, Green Tea (Leaf) Extract (Contains Caffeine), Gellan Gum, Isoleucine, Sunflower Oil, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative).

To me that does not seem like a good choice for me post-op. Any other runners who run distances have any suggestions for long training runs?

Also, I am going to talk to my NUT, but at the informational meeting they also talked about nutrition in general. About how many calories does one consume when training for something like this? I just upped my calories from 800 to 1000 because I had stalled while training 6 days a week for a 5k. I almost immediately started to lose again! How does one get enough calories on the small amount we can eat a meal? They also talked about eating carbs. I am on a low carb program and carbs were triggers for me. Thoughts?

I have seen people on here talk about running long distances so I am pretty sure there is a way. Thanks for any and all experience and advice.

pam

I'm training for a half marathon right now and trust and believe that GU is EXACTLY what you need on long runs. I have one every 3 miles on my long runs. It metabolizes VERY fast, which is what you will need to keep going. You don't want anything that is challenging or slow to digest. You want an instant jolt of calories and caffeine. I experimented with several other options in the beginning and the GU energy gels definitely worked best for me. The texture is disgusting, but there are a lot of different flavors. I finally settled on Jet Blackberry and Tastefully Nude as the flavors I could tolerate.

PS: I have to eat probably 7-10 times a day now to eat back my calories from my half marathon training. I am averaging a burn of about 2400 calories a day and struggling to get up over 2000 calories a day. It's like a full time job eating enough.

You are in maintenance right? I am still in my honeymoon period so I don't want to eat too much so that I stop losing. I also am concerned about getting enough Water if I eat more often and still follow the 30/30 rule with water.

Thanks for the info. I will add that to my knowledge and see what the NUT says.

pam

PS. I am glad to hear that gu works. It doesn't upset your stomach or cause dumping?

I can't stand Gu, truthfully it makes me want to hurl. I use Clif Shot Bloks (which were recommended by my surgeon, who is a runner). On any run over 4 miles, I eat one blok every 2-2.5 miles. They have the consistency of gummy bears and I can either chew them or let them dissolve slowly in my mouth (followed up with water/gatorade in both instances, which helps to break them down). I really don't vary my eating on long run days. I start my morning with overnight oats, including a half container of greek yogurt, a tablespoon of Peanut Butter, and a 1/3 cup of milk. The oats give me some sustained energy. My surgeon recommended a bonk bar or Quest bar for mid run energy, but they land in my stomach like lead, so I carry a single serving of Teddy Grahams (while I stay away from most processed foods, when discussing training with my NUT and surgeon, they both agreed it was a good option. They have some Protein and are mostly carbs that converts easily into energy, mid run). I also carry a pack of Justin's nut butters. They're easy to get open and suck down on the run. Finally, the week of a long run (actually, not when I'm doing training runs, but only for the race itself) I tend to increase carbs. I usually keep my carbs between 40-50g a day, on a race week, I double that (closer to race day) by eating extra servings of oats, bananas, nut butters, etc. When I stick to that plan, it works for me. I will say, that I've never run a marathon (but have run a handful of 1/2s) so maybe someone with more distance experience can give you a clearer picture. Good luck!

Oh, and my surgeon and NUT both told me on long run/race day I don't have to wait 30 minutes after eating anything to drink. The key is to keep hydrated and you can't do that by following that rule. I follow it religiously at all other times but not during races.

My program never required me to stop drinking before eating, just for 20-30 minutes after. I don't count GU as "eating" since it's such a small amount and not solid. I tried gummies instead of the gel, but found it hard to chew and get them down while running. The GU is a really gross texture... like swallowing toothpaste, but I can get the whole thing down in about 2 swallows.

My strategy for long runs is to eat a piece of whole grain toast with 2 whole tablespoons of peanut butter on it about 30-40 minutes before, so I can comfortable be drinking again to start my run. I drink G2 most of the run, but plain water to wash down the GU, which I eat at every third mile. I have a protein bar as soon as my run is over while I ice my knees. Then I try to eat pretty normally the rest of that day, but maybe fit in an extra snack after dinner.

@@JamieLogical

Thanks so much. That all makes lots of sense. I will try to incorporate your suggestions as I get to higher mileage. We start building our foundation on Monday so for the next month we run for time not distance, leading up to an hour by the end of May.

I am super excited. Thanks for all your wisdom!

pam

You'll definitely have to do some experimenting to figure out what works for you. If your training is anything like mine, you'll have a "long" run every week. That's your chance to start incorporating all the things you will eventually need to wear/eat/drink/carry. You'll figure out which clothes chafe you, where, and how to deal with it. You'd decide between a hydration belt, hand bottle, camel back, etc. You'll hopefully have great shoes early on in the process. Just make little tweaks and improvements every long run. That's your chance to simulate what the race will be like. You do NOT want to be making any changes to your gear, hydration, or food the day of the race. Need to have that all ironed out well in advance and have practiced it many times.

Honestly I run first thing in the morning, so 9 times out of 10 I haven't eaten anything or I'll have a quick protein shake. On my long runs I will eat 2-3 gummy bears every 3 miles ! Just don't eat the sugar free ones ....lol ! Everyone is different, just experiment with different things to find out what works for you ! As far as your eating, I'm sure that will be hard seeings you're still in the honeymoon phase! My nut just had me up my calories by 200 on the days I was doing my long runs, my suggestion to you is don't just run, do some strength training too! I'm running the Pittsburgh half next month, this will be my second half and I can't wait! Enjoy and keep going, you got this, good luck and be strong !