You may have already noticed it’s long run season. Here in Hastings, between 30-40 of us have been sacrificing a Sunday lie in to get up early and smash out the miles. 2 hours wasn’t enough on our most recent gathering with plenty doing loops of the park to top up their time on feet.
You may have discovered by now (unless your name is Ashley Vora), that the longer you run for, the more tired you become.
Our body uses glucose as it’s main source to fuel our cells. This glucose can be stored in our livers and muscles as glycogen. This glucose comes from carbohydrates in the food we eat.
As our glycogen stores deplete we lack energy and running becomes harder. So that is why, in simplistic terms, it’s important we keep refuelling and add carbs to our body, so we can generate more glucose to power our run.
It’s widely recommended that we need 30 – 60g of carbs for every hour of our long run. If your long run is currently only 90 minutes and you’ve eaten a healthy balanced breakfast then you might find you can comfortably complete the run without having to refuel.
It’s also important to note we are all different. Some of us may require more carbs, others less, to complete those long runs. But if you’re heading out for 2 hours plus, it’s important you are taking on some form of fuel to help you finish your run.
So what can we eat to get in those all important carbs. Well gels are the most popular solution among runners with a single gel containing approximately 20g of carbs. That would mean you’d need 2-3 gels per hour of your run to hit the recommended guidelines.
For those of you lucky enough to run the Hastings Half Marathon I’m sure you’ve been offered a jelly baby or two along the route. One jelly baby contains 5 grams of carbs meaning you’d need between 6-12 per hour.
Dried fruit is an option. Cashew & Date bars which have proven popular in recent years contain around 16g of carbs. Dates are a cheap and simple alternative and my preferred choice these days with each date containing 6 grams. Meaning 5-10 an hour would be enough on your long run.
You could perhaps mix this up with some Dried Mango which has 22.1g of carbs per 30g.
It’s really about finding out what works for you. But if you are heading out for a long run of 2 hours plus without any fuel, then you’re making a mistake. It could explain why with 30 minutes to go you’re struggling and those around you are still cruising along.
Whilst on the subject just be wary of the calories you burn during your long run. Several of the team burnt as many as 1,600 calories on a recent long run. That’s almost a days worth of food! You need to make sure you replace those calories to avoid complications further down the line.
Getting back home and having your normal lunch isn’t enough and will lead to a significant calorie deficit which is not good news.
