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Calories for run

DellerDeller
in General Training Discussions

 Hiya - 

I've been trying to find a recommendation for the appropriate number of calories to be shooting for on my IM run.  I've had  a lot of troubles with GI upset in previous races, so I'm trying to dial in the right formula to keep up hydration and nutrition with minimum feedback from downstairs.  So far, I haven't done well with continuing to drink my Infinit drink mix on the run, even when alternating with water, but I've done much better with heed.  Anybody have a though on whether 100 calories per hour from one scoop of HEED sufficient, or should I try and get more in?  FYI: I'm also not a big fan of gels.

Thanks!

Comments

  • mattsullmattsull

    I think 100 calories an hour is fine. Definitely test it in training. I tolerate Heed well myself but opted for Hammer Gel in a flask at my IM. I hate carrying too much on the run.

  • manconamancona
    Since you mentioned you have had GI issues before, always remeber less is more. I try to take in as few calories as possible during an IM run. I look at the bike as my fueling for the day and then I only take in what I have to during the run.

    The great thing about an IM is there are fully stocked aid stations ever mile so you are never more then a few minutes away from more than enough energy.
  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    Posted By Eric Voboril on 20 May 2010 10:25 AM

     Hiya - 

    I've been trying to find a recommendation for the appropriate number of calories to be shooting for on my IM run.  I've had  a lot of troubles with GI upset in previous races, so I'm trying to dial in the right formula to keep up hydration and nutrition with minimum feedback from downstairs.  So far, I haven't done well with continuing to drink my Infinit drink mix on the run, even when alternating with water, but I've done much better with heed.  Anybody have a though on whether 100 calories per hour from one scoop of HEED sufficient, or should I try and get more in?  FYI: I'm also not a big fan of gels.

    Thanks!

    Questions:

    - Have you used Heed before and had GI problems?  If so, I'd recommend switching products and see if you notice a difference. 

    - What calorie level were you at when you had GI problems?





     

  • dan_forbesdan_forbes

     Eric, I've been experimenting a bit this year with nutrition with a "bare bones" attitude towards it.  To tell you the truth, I hate the fact that I have to consider another thing in this training and food is the last think I want to think hard about.  So, my plan so far has been to eat right this year, be hydrated all the time, and take no to little calories with me when I train.  My N=1 experience thus far is less is best.  I am up to 2 hour rides (IF.90+) and 1.5 hour run workouts (IF 85+) with nothing but a bottle of water for the bike.  I feel strong, I've had the best times in running I've had in years (8+) and my bike ftp has gone from 190 to 240 since Nov.  Funny thing is, I'm eating less during the day too.  I just feel very healthy right now.  But, you are talking and IM marathon, so I haven't experimented with that, and I'm sure that soon I will start to need calories for long workouts.  Its just that I have been teaching my body (by accident and laziness) to cope with working out with what it has, and it turns out that it has a lot of FAT!!! which is tons of energy.  So, EN has pointed me to Bob Seebohar's book Metabolic Efficiency Training, I'm only on pg 21, but intuitively (very surprising for me by the way) I have been doing the right things for the most part nutrition wise.  As I said, I haven't hit long yet, but I have hit intense, and so far so good.  I went without eating before my run last night for 4.5 hours because my stomach cannot handle food in it with intense workouts, and I did 12 intervals at Z5 pace for a total of 4.5 miles (entire workout 7 miles with WU and CD under 55 minutes) and my fastest intervals where my last 4.  No water, no gel.  I feel great as I right this now.  So for what its worth, I'm becoming a firm believer in less is more, but you have to give it some time.  Ask others, there are many smarter people here than me with much more experience, but my hope is to give you something to think about.  Good luck man.

    Dan

  • mattsullmattsull

    Could be that you took in too many calories on the bike in the past.

  • jpriorejpriore

    I've been experimenting w/ Infinit this year but I'm having difficulty finding the correct requirements for longer runs -- case in point, tonight was 2:10 run and I lost 7.5lbs start to finish (needless to say, the last few miles were slow and even had to stop for GI reasons) - I took 3 8oz. Infinit Iron-distance formula for run as well as 1 8oz. water and a Hammer Gel -- not sure if I should have added more fluid and/or gel?

  • DellerDeller
    @Penny - actually I was having GI problems with trying to consume Infinit on the run at IM Arizona last year, so I was looking for something new. I'd used HEED in the past and I've been using it this year with good success on my long runs. Unfortunately I don't know precisely how many calories I drank during the run at IMAZ. I had 500 calories worth of Infinit with me to start on the run, but once I got going, I could barely choke it down, so I switched over to trying to drink the gatorade and water at the aid stations, but barely could handle that either. That brings up another reason I wanted to go with HEED - change of flavor after 6 hours (hopefully less!) of Infnit at LP this year.

    @Mancona and Dan - It's good to hear positive experiences with less is more. I think in some ways those IM aid stations are a blessing and a curse. There's a temptation to try everything when things get wonky. I think the most dangerous is the Coca-cola. Drank some on an HIM - no problem. Drank a little last IM - disaster. Still, (re: Matt Sullivans suggestion) even though I've stayed away from gel for a while, I might actually experiment with it this weekend. Anything but Gatorade, even the endurance stuff. The thing that really stunk at IMAZ was that once I didn't want to drink the Infinit around my waist, I still had to run with it for 26 miles. Ugh. Having a flask or picking up the occasional gel would be much better.
    Thanks for all the advice everybody!
  • LFBellLFBell
    I don't know exactly how many calories is best, but I did want to comment on Infinit. My husband was having GI problems with it on the run too and we called and talked to Infinit. They suggested taking all the protein out and adding caffiene (protein being the issue). If Heed is working great, but I thought you guys should have all the info about infinit. Since then he's had no issues. I use it as well and have had no issues. We also use different flavors for the bike (orange) and run (berry). I use a hand held bottle by furl belt so it's concentrated (low flavor). Hope this helps.
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