Something I am focusing on the past few weeks is nutrition and hydration for training.
I have learned the hard way how important nutrition and hydration are for long runs. I did the Sea Legs Shuffle 10 mile race this past weekend and suffered an injury. I have a pulled hamstring/piriformis muscle. Everything tightened up on me in that extreme heat and humidity and I didn’t stretch enough after the race. Even though I drank water at every stop during the race, I should have also been taking in some Gatorade. I had one Gu pack around mile 5 and I think I could have benefitted with some more nutrition during the race. I did drink my recovery drink right after the race and had Gatorade once I got home, but I should have stretched a little more before I sat in my car.
I recently read on the active.com site that you need to drink 4 ounces of fluid per mile and it is recommended to switch between Gatorade and water. When not running, it is best to drink 60 ounces of water per day to stay properly hydrated. And for each cup of coffee you need to replace that with a cup of water.
I learned that a major reason why people hit the wall and bonk is because they didn’t continue to hydrate and fuel their body continuously through the 26.2 miles. So I am going to have to work on eating and drinking during my long runs to see what my body is comfortable with digesting.
I wore my camelback while running today to consider that for an alternative water source for the very long distances. At first I didn’t like the way it felt rubbing against the back of my neck while running and jumping around on my back a little bit. I have to see if I can look past that and continue to wear it. I am also going to look into a smaller pack. I used that camelback when I rode my mountain bike so I have to see if there are some made specifically for runners.
Nutrition is still something that I am lacking information on and I am going to try Chomps and Clif bars and see what will work for me to physically eat while running to provide my body the fuel it needs so I won’t cramp up or hit the wall.
Does anyone have recommendations on nutrition tips?