Marathon/long run fueling and getting hungry

[carilyn]

For long runs in the past, I usually eat two slices of peanut butter and jam toast with water about an hour before heading out.  Shorter runs I'd usually get by with a banana as I'm walking out the door.  My stomach almost never gives me trouble (thank God).  

Peanut butter toast worked well until my first 14 miler.  Despite six spaced out shot blocks, I was hungry, stomach growling, around mile 11.  My second 14, I was hungry by mile 12, same fueling.  So for my 16, I ate the peanut butter toast, then had a Gu every four miles.  I got hungry at mile 14.  

I'm wondering if I should eat the toast an hour before then a banana as I'm walking out the door?  Add more Gu's?  Or if it's a fat/protein thing I'm missing and would benefit from some actual peanut or almond butter in combination with my Gu's?  I'm a rookie, so this is all fairly new to me!  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

[cinco]

Apr 29, 2014 6:58:37 GMT -5 @vtcupcake said:

I've found through marathon training and longer distances that it's more important what you eat the day before a long run than what you scarf down a hour before you walk out the door.

Yes. A million times this. Eat more the day before.

[clseale]

I'm a fan of having actual food on me, once I get into the really long runs. It didn't matter what I ate, once I got into 18-20 mile territory, my stomach started growling, and at that point, sometimes the gels wouldn't sit right. These little things have gotten me through many training runs, and quite a few marathons. They're really easy to rip open, and shake into your mouth on the run. During races, I wouldn't even eat an entire pack, just shaking out a mouthful around mile 18, in between gels, made a huge difference. I have so many people running with these things now. lol


ETA: I should probably note, that these don't really give me energy, they just settle my stomach. I pay attention to what I eat the day before, but sometimes my stomach will actually start growling, to the point of making me nauseous/weak. If that happens, just a few calories of solid food, helped way more than a gel at that point. 

[ebeth]

Four Gus is a lot of gu for 16 miles. That's like 400cal of gu!

Are you just hungry or are you hungry and your run is suffering? If it's just hungry I wouldn't worry about it.

I do agree you should prob have a bigger dinner the night before and maybe consider upping daily cals a little bit.

[foundmylazybum]

It appears that you probably aren't eating enough leading up to your long runs. Trying to cover yourself with energy gels along the way is a poor (and clearly) ineffectual) way to get through a long run rather than having the tank full to start with.


Energy gels help CARRY you through a long run--but they don't actually refuel you because you are actively using energy. If you think about it logically your body has an EXTREMELY hard time renergizing and using energy at the same time.

You can put energy in the tank before long runs--by eating enough calories with real food--and then you can refuel afterwards..and in the middle you are basically maintaining.

[carilyn]

Thank you guys! I feel a bit silly for not thinking of that myself . I'll definitely pay closer attention to how much I'm eating the day before. I'll see if that helps. I guess it doesn't effect the way I feel energy wise, at least at this point, other than I hate feeling hungry while running. I'll play around with what I eat the day before and if that doesn't help, will try to find some solid food to carry with me.

[sadlebred]

Can you eat real food on longer runs? On rides of more than 2 hours I need a granola bar or something easy on my stomach.

[kams]

Pretty sure CheezIts needs to send clseale some dolla bills! She's such a pusher!

Hoping your adjustments work out well for you!

[katyintx]

I also need a little something more on my long runs.  I found the Honey Stinger waffles and those seem to work pretty well for me.  They're light enough that they don't just sit in my gut, but it's something solid. 

[AAM2012]

I would try eating more the day(s) leading up as people have suggested and incorporate 'real' food into your runs. I've had potato chips, bananas, etc which helps.