One thing that I am still learning and discovering at the moment is that I need to be careful about not having too much fiber (ie hard greens/celery/stems, etc.) in my digestive system when running a lot. It seems like the pounding of so many strides is not a good friend of the fiber mass, resulting in poor digestion, even if eaten the previous day (my food usually takes 24 hours to go from intake to elimination). It joins a bit what Michael Arnstein does: he does not eat Doug's recommended daily amount of greens. Just wondering about all the other long distance runners: what do you guys feel and do about greens/fibers?
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It does make a difference is you are a runner and eat tons of fruit. I have to find somewhere to go to the bathroom mid run. Fruit or veggies, it doesn't matter.
I'm doing my first long runs on 811rv this weekend, and I will take on board the potential greens issue! I've been trying to have them daily, but I get no where near a pound of greens! They do make me feel a bit bloated though, so perhaps I'll lay off them on Friday. I've got a 29 mile on Sat and a 25 mile on Sunday, so I'm planning on eating up on fruit Friday and running on bananas and dates. I'll stick to water for now, but may take some dateorade on the Sunday if I find I'm hungry on the Saturday!
I'm new to all this, so any/all advice is welcomed. I've got my first 100 miler in May, so I'm hoping to get a good food routine in place by then! Any good ideas for food to run with, please let me know!
how are you going with your race preparation for your 100 miler ( which one) in May. Did the dateorade work for you, and have you got the greens issue worked out.
When you say what food to run with, do you mean what to carry with you our what to use at your aid stations ?
I suggest eating greens if you crave them, that's what I do. I go through various stages of eating more, less and no greens, I seem to eat more greens in the winter, less in the summer, but I don't think it matters, just listen to your body. I don't have issues with getting the fiber out and messing up my running, although I do limit my eating volume the night before a very high intensity run or race the next morning.
Thanks Michael, I join your thoughts that eating according to our intuition/instinct/feelings, is definitely the best way to eat!
The day before a race, I eat what I normally eat. It takes me at most two minutes to go to the bathroom, and I am willing to go anywhere. Since I have no chance of winning a marathon or ultra, the extra two minutes does not really make any difference.
Michel > Eliot W. CollinsJanuary 14, 2011 at 11:34am
I see what you mean, but I was trying to say that I really feel an extra weight due to the mass of fibers and green leaves. The more empty my digestive system is while running, ie the less fiber the food ingested during the previous 24 hours had, the better I feel during the run. When I have lots of fibers and greens in my digestive tract during a long run (1 and a half or 2 hours+), the elimination I have in the following 24 hours is not perfect and shows the digestion was not optimal. I think this is regardless of the speed. So my conclusion is: better eat high-water/low-fiber content fruits while in a running streak/intense training/competing phase, and keep the large salads with fibers when in tapering/resting/recovering periods. Does this make sense?
I think in answer to your question Michel, your proposal that
(A) "large salads with fibers when in tapering/resting/recovering periods" has a certain merit but I would not put forward this idea, as being the reason to eat greens while not in a competitive training mode.
I would put forward that there is an individual component to digestion that is a factor to when and how a meal of "fibers and green leaves" is consumed.
For me if i try and eat lettuce before or after a run/race/ I am very uncomfortable to the point of wanting to void my stomach, but fibre from datorade/celery mix does not bother me
As for
(B) "high-water/low-fiber content fruits while in a running streak/intense training/competing phase"
I think it would be more about the calorie value for me, I do quite well on the heavier banana, date, mixed with kale, celery, chia seed. But watermelon, and oranges I can not handle before or after a workout/run/race.
So no apart from what I have mentioned, and adding that when i have a large amount of "greens"
it is generally a middle of the day meal, so the evening training has most likely a 5 hour window of digestion. I have very little problem with digestion or bowel movement, either with greens or without.
Over the time I have implementing a raw food life style I have noticed I have craving for certain things that i dig for awhile, then I go off them and find I do not miss them.
Because of the wide disparity of agreement of what constituents a "perfect" range of foods, I have a core fundamental principle of calories in to expenditure out, and use of seasonally available greens and other things apart from sweet fruit that I crave. I know for a race I will ensure I have "topped" up well the two days before and will not eat the morning of a race ( or long run)
> I usually throw some greens in my banana smoothies once or twice a week, after a run
That is definitely not much! Much less than the pound of greens recommended as an average by Doug. A bit like you, I like (and crave much more!) greens when I am in a recovery/resting phase, than in a very physically active phase.
Replies
I know this sounds gross but I know a few athletes that just Pee on the move, personally I do not have the problem.
I have been known to vomit while racing but I wont mention that, as that is even more gross :-)
I'm doing my first long runs on 811rv this weekend, and I will take on board the potential greens issue! I've been trying to have them daily, but I get no where near a pound of greens! They do make me feel a bit bloated though, so perhaps I'll lay off them on Friday. I've got a 29 mile on Sat and a 25 mile on Sunday, so I'm planning on eating up on fruit Friday and running on bananas and dates. I'll stick to water for now, but may take some dateorade on the Sunday if I find I'm hungry on the Saturday!
I'm new to all this, so any/all advice is welcomed. I've got my first 100 miler in May, so I'm hoping to get a good food routine in place by then! Any good ideas for food to run with, please let me know!
Thanks all!
Hey DebG
how are you going with your race preparation for your 100 miler ( which one) in May. Did the dateorade work for you, and have you got the greens issue worked out.
When you say what food to run with, do you mean what to carry with you our what to use at your aid stations ?
Russell
Just got the following reply from Michael:
I suggest eating greens if you crave them, that's what I do. I go through various stages of eating more, less and no greens, I seem to eat more greens in the winter, less in the summer, but I don't think it matters, just listen to your body. I don't have issues with getting the fiber out and messing up my running, although I do limit my eating volume the night before a very high intensity run or race the next morning.
Thanks Michael, I join your thoughts that eating according to our intuition/instinct/feelings, is definitely the best way to eat!
I think in answer to your question Michel, your proposal that
(A) "large salads with fibers when in tapering/resting/recovering periods" has a certain merit but I would not put forward this idea, as being the reason to eat greens while not in a competitive training mode.
I would put forward that there is an individual component to digestion that is a factor to when and how a meal of "fibers and green leaves" is consumed.
For me if i try and eat lettuce before or after a run/race/ I am very uncomfortable to the point of wanting to void my stomach, but fibre from datorade/celery mix does not bother me
As for
(B) "high-water/low-fiber content fruits while in a running streak/intense training/competing phase"
I think it would be more about the calorie value for me, I do quite well on the heavier banana, date, mixed with kale, celery, chia seed. But watermelon, and oranges I can not handle before or after a workout/run/race.
So no apart from what I have mentioned, and adding that when i have a large amount of "greens"
it is generally a middle of the day meal, so the evening training has most likely a 5 hour window of digestion. I have very little problem with digestion or bowel movement, either with greens or without.
Over the time I have implementing a raw food life style I have noticed I have craving for certain things that i dig for awhile, then I go off them and find I do not miss them.
Because of the wide disparity of agreement of what constituents a "perfect" range of foods, I have a core fundamental principle of calories in to expenditure out, and use of seasonally available greens and other things apart from sweet fruit that I crave. I know for a race I will ensure I have "topped" up well the two days before and will not eat the morning of a race ( or long run)
> I usually throw some greens in my banana smoothies once or twice a week, after a run
That is definitely not much! Much less than the pound of greens recommended as an average by Doug. A bit like you, I like (and crave much more!) greens when I am in a recovery/resting phase, than in a very physically active phase.
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