Hey everyone,
I have heard that it is good to not eat anything before or during some long comfy pace 20+ milers during training. I am iffy on this because shouldn't I be training with the gels like I would during the marathon race? Or should I leave these gels for the specific 8 miles slow + 12 miles at marathon pace runs? Should I do some long steady 20+ milers with gels and some without? thanks in advance, any tips are highly welcomed!!
Depends on the purpose
One of the main reasons for the long run is to condition your body to better utilize fat stores for energy. If your loading with gels your undermining that process.
On the other hand if your goal is to practice race conditions and make sure you can stomach the gels then go for it.
Teach your body wrote:
Depends on the purpose
One of the main reasons for the long run is to condition your body to better utilize fat stores for energy. If your loading with gels your undermining that process.
On the other hand if your goal is to practice race conditions and make sure you can stomach the gels then go for it.
so if I had these remaining long runs:
24
18
6+14 MP
18
22
17
13
race day
should I do the 24, 6+14, and 22 with Gels and the rest depleted?
Try them out in a few of your long runs. Maybe 1 every 30 minutes in one run, then maybe 1 every hour in another. See how you feel. I tolerate them fairly well, others I know cant tolerate them at all(GI issues). Try a few different flavors to see what you like best. Also, some have caffeine and others don't.
What's the likely result of doing long runs with decaf gels to make sure I can stomach them, then taking caffeinated gels during the race? I don't have a lot of caffeine in my diet. Will it give me extra pop on race day, or will it cause heart palpitations and force me to take a bathroom break?
6+14 MP seems basically impossible, if you are running your true marathon pace.