Eat.... and run.

They say a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Now that may well be true when it comes to working with explosives or handling chemicals, but for me running is less of a science and more of an art form.

Like art it's something which we each have our own interpretation of and need for.

Like art it can be a beautiful experience or plain hideous, it's in the eye of the beholder.

And like art, there are loads of people that will tell you its all about technique and ability, but for me running has to come from within and be something you enjoy doing. It's something you can experiment with, without risking harm to others. You have to find your own way of making it work for you and make sure its sustainable.

While I've been studying physiology and anatomy as part of my personal trainers course, I've been looking at body energy systems and about how muscles are fuelled. This along with Scott JUREK'S book Eat & Run got me thinking about how I fuel my running.

I've aquiesced into the use of energy gels in running. I've seen the adverts and the articles that tell you how good they are and never looked for an alternative. I've run ultras, marathons and halfmarathons on nothing but foil-wrapped sugar, flavoured with god-knows-what.
But with a huge challenge on the horizon I started thinking that I'm going to need to try new things out if I'm going to be successful.

The challenge is a 100km (approximately) run along a canal from Central London to Leighton Buzzard. Not satisfied with that being difficult enough, this is a small 4-man event with no official support or organisation. This is just 4 like-minded (read odd) guys who want to run 62 miles in the middle of winter.

So I started looking at the nutritional content of gels and also the energy cycles used in Ultramarathon running, especially at relatively slow pace. From a calorific point of view, the human body contains sufficient energy stores to run that distance. A lb of fat contains about 3500 k/cals and that's a lot of running, I've calculated that 62 miles will take about 8,300 k/cals. But what the body needs is carbs to metabolise (burn) the body fat. It also needs accessible proteins, fats and salts to maintain a healthy aerobic cycle. The gels started to look like an easy solution, but not perhaps the best.

From a psychological point of view I've also learnt that  its important on ultras to like what you're eating. 10 hours of eating gels will leave you sick to your stomach and hugging a toilet bowl. Knowing there is something tasty waiting for you at the next checkpoint is a huge incentive to keep moving forward.

 

On my training week this run I made up wraps with houmous and olives, peanut butter and nutella sandwiches, peanuts and a snickers. I never even got as far as the Snickers as the rest of the food easily sustained me on the way round.

 

I ran 26.2 miles with a mate at a very sedate pace and fuelled every 30 minutes, taking in a total of 300 calories per hour, mostly in carbohydrate form, plus proteins and fats from the nuts and houmous. Not a gel or energy drink in sight, I hydrated with water, helped by the fact it was a relatively cool day.

 

 

What did I learn?

• You don't need gels to fuel you on longer runs, they're calorie dense and handy to use, but not the healthiest source of nutrition.
• Real food is great on the trails, there's less waste, it needn't be messy and it's a lot easier for the stomach to digest.
• By eating well on the go, you've already given your body the right components to begin the recovery and repair process of your training.
• Food tastes better when you're outdoors, cold and tired.

 

I'm not saying don't use gels or energy supplements, if I did I'd be sued by Lucozade or ZipVit. They have a place in exercise and for some people they are a perfect solution to a problem. They contain easily processed energy to fuel you through exercise. But sometimes the easy solution is not the best for everyone.

 

As usual, I'm not even saying that everything I learnt is to do with running.

 

What I'm saying is that you need to experiment within an art form or a skill to find your own style and what works for you. If running is an art form then everyone has their individual style, needs and interpretation. Likewise the way to maintain it needs to be personal and tailored to suit.

 

I've found a style that works for me and a way to sustain myself when I do it.

 

Make sure you do the same.

 

 

 

This run was aimed for 10 min/mile running. This was continuous for the first two hours then we started a regime of 30 minute runs:5 minute walk. This allowed us to refuel on the walk. It was my first paired run and we talked the whole way which kept the pace down too. A great day and a great run.