The Physical - The end of Pain and the start of Nutrition

Enough has been said about pain. Let's admit it, we just include it to look tough. Really, we're not getting any sympathy for self inflicted pain. If it was really so bad, we'd back off on the ultra-running. Right?

Ok, maybe it's not that simple, but the point is you're going to have some well developed pain management techniques by the time you're done your first ultra-marathon. (The less it relies on pharmaceuticals, the better.)

Now that we've got that out of the way, we can get to the important stuff.

Physically speaking, regardless of training and pain management, your body is not going anywhere without the proper nutrition. And I'm talking about the nutrition you bring on your run, not whether you have snacks in your cupboard with refined flour or you're a little light on your fruits and vegetables.

Sure you might be able to run for a while with little thought to in-flight nutrition, but at what cost? And what about the rest of your training plan when you inevitably burn out? That burn out is your body telling you to smarten up. Better listen to it.

Unfortunately it's not quite as simple as just replacing lost calories and water. Just like pain management, when it comes to nutrition, there is no one size fits all, magic bullet. Gatorade will not keep you moving for more than a couple hours.

Yes, its true that your body will switch from burning glycogen (ready store of carbs) somewhere around 20-22 miles of flatland running. But this is not necessarily a smooth transition. Especially at first. When you hit the wall on a long run and you are not dehydrated, chances are you are feeling the effect of this switch. Better get used to it. Make it your friend. It's going to become an important milestone in each of your long runs 'cause after that point in your run you are training your body to run on the nearly endless supply of fat stores currently keeping your six-pack warm. That is what is going to carry you beyond about the 22 mile mark.

To regularly get out to these distances and beyond you need to figure out 2 things:
1) how much and what type of calories can you stomach while running?
2) how much water and electrolytes do you need while running?

For number one, the typical range for most runners seems to be 275 calories per hour give or take 25. And the default method for calorie intake seems to be the "Gel" aka "Gu" This is to food as GatorAde is to Hydration... Try it, and see how much you can handle, but be prepared for the fact that it may not be the complete solution for you. Most people I know have a tolerance of maybe a half dozen of these before they stop going down so use them sparingly. To me they are like spraying a squeaky wheel with WD-40. Works great, and it works right away - but lasts for a really short time.