I've got two big races coming up in the next 8 weeks. The Barry 40 miler on the track, which is also the Welsh Ultra Distance Championships. And the Northern Ireland Ultra Running Association 100 km race which is also the British 100 km Championships. As I'll need to be running these races at a decent pace to be competitive (~6:00/mile), carbohydrate will be an important source of fuel. With that in mind, I've been refining my fuelling strategy recently so that I can be well prepared on the day. I was eating like a 16 year old As I've always been training, I've never really seen the downside of what I've been eating. For years I was of the mindset that "fuel is fuel" and that as long as I was getting enough calories in I was doing the right thing. This all came from previous experiences with injury where I wasn't eating enough and repeatedly ended up with stress fractures. When I started eating more I stopped getting injured, so I spent many years just making sure I was putting enough fuel into my body without caring too much about what was in it. But through experiences and conversations I've had over the last year, I decided to change my diet for the better. I've basically become a plant based athlete but for a more detailed description check out my post from last week here. Looking back now, the judgemental health conscious part of me would say I had the diet of a 16-year old! Slow release carbohydrates won't cut it for high intensity running However, despite my recent change in diet, the slow release, high fibre carbohydrates that I now fill my diet with won't be able to provide me with rapid energy when I'm running at high intensities in these upcoming races. For context, during my typical training runs my average heart rate is around 122-128 bpm and I'm running entirely on fat as an energy source. In comparison, during my tempo runs on Saturdays I can average 145-150 bpm, which dips into my body's glycogen stores, and carbohydrate is needed to sustain this. This also requires some rapid release fuel. The only way I can get enough energy quickly enough is through isotonic drinks and gels. Begrudgingly, these are the only ultra processed foods I eat nowadays. However, as my gut microbiome has changed significantly, I have needed to train myself to eat them and keep them down when running at close to or faster than 6:00 mins/mile. Practicing fuelling at 6:00/mile or faster My Saturday tempo runs since Christmas have focussed on developing a fuelling strategy to serve me well in my two upcoming races. With the 100 km race being on a 4 mile loop, I figured that 4 miles is a good interval at which to feed as I'll be able to pick something up at the start of each lap. This equates to consuming carbohydrates every 22 to 24 minutes depending on how fast I'm running. For the Barry 40, which is on a 400 m track, this strategy will also give me something to focus on every 16 laps!
I've been working off this 4 mile interval in my recent tempo runs, consuming fuel on repeat over 12 miles. I decided to start fuelling early (i.e. from the first 4 miles) to make sure that the tanks stays topped up right from the off. My strategy looks something like this:
This has been working great for me in training. I ran my second fastest marathon ever (average pace = 5:50/mile) and covered 22 miles in 2 hours 5 minutes (average pace = 5:39/mile) in my most recent training runs. Both runs felt relatively comfortable which is exactly what I need in preparation for these two races. And whats more, the fuel went down well. Great! I guess I could say that things are going well so far. As I'm only 3 weeks away from the Barry 40, the distance of my tempo runs will be decreasing now but I'll continue to practice fuelling at race pace to make sure that my body is used to these fuels when the big races come. What is your fuelling strategy for an ultra marathon? Is there anything you have found that works well? Do you change your strategy depending on how fast you're planning on running? Let me know in the comments and let's share some good practice!
1 Comment
Ian Rothwell
12/2/2023 09:40:41 am
Seem to have it all in hand. Like the fact that during the race you have something to look forward too, drinks etc, makes the going less monotonous. Think you'll smash it, have confidence in your ability and go for it. Good luck
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