HBT runners what is your game changers?

[fluidmechanics]

Hey runners out there. What thing has made the most difference to getting you to the next level. For me 20 miles at a time was hard to break for me. I struggled over and over. Then a friend who is a triathlete and I were talking and he recommended I eat jelly beans on my run. It turns out my blood sugar was getting too low and that was all it took to get me over the 20 mile hump. What's your secret?

 

[axmdr40]

Duh...beer. Keeps me from worrying about running every time!

 

[kombat]

If you're already comfortably running over 20 miles at a time, then there's no advice I can offer you. I'm a simple 5-mile-a-day runner, and I thought THAT was doing well.

 

[AnOldUR]

I agree. Balancing calories in and calories out during a long run helped me a lot. That and proper fluid and salt replacement. Jellybeans are great, but there are other carbohydrate replacement options that absorb in a more controlled way and are easier on your stomach than simple sugars. Personally, I do best keeping my calories in liquid form. Carrying a water bottle and taking salt every hour or so on runs over a few hours, especially in heat.

I've been using Succeed! products for a very long time and trust the science behind them. I'd say they are what made the biggest improvement in my distance running. NFI

 

[broadbill]

For typical marathon training, breaking 9 miles, 14 miles and 22 miles was always the toughest for me.

I used to be all about the specialized nutrition when I was doing triathlon; I think alot of it was more of a solution in need of a problem. Any performance enhancement was probably placebo effect.

I would take salt tabs and noticed that I would just sweat more salt...to the point I would have salt stains on my clothes. I would take salt and still have muscle cramps. There is an active area of research that suggests that muscle cramps aren't even linked to dehydration; despite what Gatorade says.

I think the secret about energy drinks is that it is flavored more than it contains electrolytes; it entices you to drink when you don't feel like it (I've never really experienced "thirst" when racing).

As for nutrition/carbs, just about anything will work as long as you can keep it down, its something you want to eat, and your digestive tract is still functioning (it shuts down at high intensity levels, as your blood supply is diverted away from it and to the muscles).

Seems like triathletes/runners/cyclists are all about the specialized nutrition. If you know any ultrarunners, they are scarfing pizza, peanut butter&jelly and cookies during their races. Kind of interesting.

 

[weisj]

One of the things that made a big difference for me was changing my stride cadence. After a few marathons, I was starting to have hip/glute issues, and my physical therapist (she recently completed an Ironman) worked on getting my cadence up to 180 steps/minute (3 steps/second). At first this seemed unnaturally fast, but after doing a lot of treadmill work with a metronome and adjusting my stride (shorter strides), it began to feel natural, and put a lot less stress on my joints. I became less fatigued during my long runs, and it resulted in a faster pace, and less recovery time between runs.

Of course it's a more drastic change than jelly beans (I prefer gummy bears myself), but I thought I'd throw it out there.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I think this would be better suited in the general chit chat section. Just sayin.

 

[AnOldUR]

I think this would be better suited in the general chit chat section. Just sayin.

Rehydrating after a run with beer was my game changer . . . .




. . . is that better?

 

[passedpawn]

I think this would be better suited in the general chit chat section. Just sayin.

[right, thread moved]

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Rehydrating after a run with beer was my game changer . . . .

. . . is that better?

Lol I don't mind I'm just sayin this is the general beer discussion section.

Just to give my 2 cents to the OP..... I would try eating a good amount of casein(protein) an hour or so before the run and whey 30 mins before the run as well as mixing in some citrulline malate and agmatine. The casein is digested and burned slowly to give your body a slow steady release of energy while the whey is more readily absorbed to help in the short term. The agmatine and citrulline malate will both help with reduced fatigue, insulin response, energy, and longer endurance. As well just for good measure bring a drink high in electrolytes, which you probably already do.

 

[mrclean]

Rest,nutrition,speed work, understanding peaks and A races vs B races.

 

[passedpawn]

I used to run out of carbs on long runs. After ~ 10 miles I'd start smelling ammonia... my body had run out of carbs and was consuming protiens. Not good. So, my bit of advice is carb load before a run, and during it if you're going more than 90 minutes. Before I quit running, I used to have the best runs after eating a big plate of spaghetti!

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I used to run out of carbs on long runs. After ~ 10 miles I'd start smelling ammonia... my body had run out of carbs and was consuming protiens. Not good. So, my bit of advice is carb load before a run, and during it if you're going more than 90 minutes. Before I quit running, I used to have the best runs after eating a big plate of spaghetti!

Wouldnt you want to carb load as well as a good bit of casein for a pre-run meal? I realize the protein is just taking up more room the carbs could fill but your body burns the carbs quickly hence the OPs need for jelly beans to refuel. I figured the casein would help provide energy towards the end of the run when the wall hits. No expert or anything just using my logic here.

 

[passedpawn]

Wouldnt you want to carb load as well as a good bit of casein for a pre-run meal? I realize the protein is just taking up more room the carbs could fill but your body burns the carbs quickly hence the OPs need for jelly beans to refuel. I figured the casein would help provide energy towards the end of the run when the wall hits. No expert or anything just using my logic here.

Dunno, I'm not really knowledgeable. I'm just relating my experience.

 

[mrclean]

Wouldnt you want to carb load as well as a good bit of casein for a pre-run meal? I realize the protein is just taking up more room the carbs could fill but your body burns the carbs quickly hence the OPs need for jelly beans to refuel. I figured the casein would help provide energy towards the end of the run when the wall hits. No expert or anything just using my logic here.

It really depends on your viewpoint of nutrition as much of nutritional science is a hogwash and hard to find any sort of double blind placebo testing etc.
Some guys to research, Hal higdoen and timothy noakes.

I am a cyclist and not a runner but the ideas are the same. You want some nutrients preworkout. How far in advance depends on what your digestive system can handle. I like to eat throughout my workout if it is longer than an hour, give or take. Post workout you defiantly want some protein and other energy sources. I prefer cliff shot block to jellybeans among other lower homemade GI remedies.

 

[broadbill]

Wouldnt you want to carb load as well as a good bit of casein for a pre-run meal? I realize the protein is just taking up more room the carbs could fill but your body burns the carbs quickly hence the OPs need for jelly beans to refuel. I figured the casein would help provide energy towards the end of the run when the wall hits. No expert or anything just using my logic here.

The "wall" is thought to be carbohydrate depletion, although I would argue that it is also a mental phenomenon.

I think the jury is out on protein during exercise; the conventional wisdom was that exercise is mainly a carbohydrate/fat fueled activity. Protein requirements go up post-exercise as your muscle adapt to the exercise/stress.

 

[RhodySeth]

For me, I feel that getting in a consistent 30+ miles per week this year has really been a key to my running success in 2013. Next weekend is the NipMuck trail marathon where hopefully all my work will pay off.

Going forward I need to be more consistent with weekly speedwork.

 

[kombat]

I just signed up for the "Beer Run" here in my town. It's an 8.4 mile run that visits 5 local craft breweries. You start at a brewery, then run from one craft brewery to the next. At each stop, you get some samples, and a tour of the brewery. It finishes at a popular local brew pub where they'll have post-run food waiting for you (I pre-registered for the Montreal smoked meat on rye sandwich). I'm pretty stoked - I just hope it's not freezing cold that day!

 

[RhodySeth]

Haha, I like the sound of that run.