Oh the trials and tribulations of finding the right combination of nutrition for ultra running! This part of running I seriously despise. I find eating gluten free to already be somewhat of a bummer, a lot of the foods I used to love, live for, dream about, I can no longer eat. But, the fact that gluten is in everything makes finding food to eat while running a gigantic pain in the booty. So once I decided to run the Raccoon I knew I needed to figure out a better eating plan. I did some research and apparently someone my size can only digest around 200 calories an hour while working out. I did some trial and error and found out my body really likes food about every 30 minutes. I tried some gels and found out my body finds them to be gut bombs, explosions that go off in my gut and cause me around an hours worth of pain while running. Tried a certain brand of sports drink that is hyped up and found even at 200 calories of it an hour I wanted to gnaw my own arm off after 3hrs. The company said they recommended this drink for long races, all by itself, I am not sure I can take that level of starvation. I tried different bars and found the fiber in them is not a good thing. In fact I would just make the blanket statement that fiber while running far is not good, not good at all, soluble, not soluble, doesn't matter it all = BAD. Talked to my sister and she said make yourself some rice crispy treats, she was right, ok I have to say I was just excited to make and eat Rice Crispy(RC) treats but as it turns out they are great. No digestive issues so far with them. Tried chips, they work great. Plain old Ruffles work wonders for me. So I am beginning to get a plan but I know I have to find some sort of source with protein, so I am thinking of trying RC treats with Peanut Butter on top. Also Ensure seems to sit well in stomach but, I have read other Ultra Runners sites that say it isn't the best option. Ughhhhhh. This nutrition side of things is kicking my butt. If anyone out there has recommendations, I would love to have them. I am going to try some Honey Milk stuff that I got at The White Rock Expo tomorrow, I will let you know how that goes.
2 comments:
another one to try if you haven't already..."honey stingers". I've been using them the past couple of weeks, and they honestly haven't upset my stomach ONCE. Which as you know, rarely happens, LOL! I like the chews...haven't tried the gels... http://www.honeystinger.com/
thanks heather, will try that.
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