2 hour run without fuel.

[Barefoot Gentile]

I ran 2 hours, barefoot, this morning without bringing any fuel with me, this was a first. On a two hour run I would usually bring one or two GU's with me. Before I left the house, I ate a small box of raisins, and that was it. I did feel a moment of hunger but as always that passes. It was extremely humid, even at 6am. I brought my hand held with my trusty fluid of choice, water. I don't mess with Gatorade or any other energy/sports drink on the market, it's all garbage.

The outcome was great, I was definitely taking is slow and easy but I felt relaxed and had no experiences of crashing. In a few weeks I will be ramping up my long to run to 3 hours, a few more long runs without fuel I think I will be ready to run the 3 hour without anything as well. I think the fuel is a mental crutch that can easily be broken.

 

[Lomad]

nice! my longest runs have been at 90 minutes so far and I used 1 gu on each run + water. i could have gotten by on one of them without fueling for sure, but the most recent I think i really needed it; it was the last leg of a 216 mile relay during which I had slept little and eaten in a grazing fashion (very few calories) over 33 hours prior to the leg. I agree that gu's, etc. are a bit of a crutch if used frequently for shorter durations (2-ish hours or less), but could be handy as runs extend beyond 4-5 hours. Train to go without and you won't be hurting if you forget/lose them come race day, right?

 

[Sid]

I ran 2 hours, barefoot, this morning without bringing any fuel with me

I'm just wondering, do you usually have a good amount of carbs in your diet? For those of us who limit carbs, for any number of reasons, I'm wondering if that can be a hindrance. I read somewhere that the body uaually runs out of glycogen at around 20 miles, so that's where most people hit the wall.

 

[spoonerweb]

I have heard it is at 2hrs that most people hit the wall.

 

[barefootandagile]

I ran 2 hours, barefoot, this morning without bringing any fuel with me, this was a first. On a two hour run I would usually bring one or two GU's with me. Before I left the house, I ate a small box of raisins, and that was it. I did feel a moment of hunger but as always that passes. It was extremely humid, even at 6am. I brought my hand held with my trusty fluid of choice, water. I don't mess with Gatorade or any other energy/sports drink on the market, it's all garbage.

The outcome was great, I was definitely taking is slow and easy but I felt relaxed and had no experiences of crashing. In a few weeks I will be ramping up my long to run to 3 hours, a few more long runs without fuel I think I will be ready to run the 3 hour without anything as well. I think the fuel is a mental crutch that can easily be broken.

Did you use tap water?? I hope not that stuff is crap!!

 

[barefootandagile]

Couple of yrs back I decided to go for 26mi run without fluids or food as I don't think it is all that necessary if one is going appropriate pace and conditioned. Total run ended up being 25mi in about 3hr 15min. I did bring along 2$ just in case. Made it to 21mi before some slight cramping and abut of thirst creeping in. Had a convenient store on the route and I stopped in. Downed a vitamin water and kept going. I was not barefoot but in minimal puma hstreet footwear.

 

[scedastic]

Um, that's if you're working hard, I assume. As a very slow runner, I've found that anything over 9 miles gets me close to the 2hr mark, with no trouble at all, and I ain't all that.
My one 16 miler went over 2 hrs, and I drank 8oz of water towards the end, but would have been fine w/ nothing.
So you hit a wall at 2 hours of FOR REAL running, or does that go without saying????

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

I'm just wondering, do you usually have a good amount of carbs in your diet? For those of us who limit carbs, for any number of reasons, I'm wondering if that can be a hindrance. I read somewhere that the body uaually runs out of glycogen at around 20 miles, so that's where most people hit the wall.

I am actually decreasing my carb intake, I have been eating primal as of lately, but not 100% dedicated to it. I have been gradually cutting out bread and grains from my diet, and honestly I have more energy and feel less tired.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

Couple of yrs back I decided to go for 26mi run without fluids or food as I don't think it is all that necessary if one is going appropriate pace and conditioned. Total run ended up being 25mi in about 3hr 15min. I did bring along 2$ just in case. Made it to 21mi before some slight cramping and abut of thirst creeping in. Had a convenient store on the route and I stopped in. Downed a vitamin water and kept going. I was not barefoot but in minimal puma hstreet footwear.

That's awesome, the body is truly a fat-glycogen burning machine. Americans eat to much carbs. The whole carbo-loading before a race, marathon, or ultra is complete bullshit. Everytime I eat pasta for dinner I wake up starving, the reason is because pasta spikes our insulin and our natural glycogen storage works over-time to try to break down the sugar and grains. I will never eat pasta the night before a run or race, in fact I am trying to eliminate from diet but it's hard, I am half italian....

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

Did you use tap water?? I hope not that stuff is crap!!

I drink tap water all the time, and that is the truth. We never buy bottled water. Connecticut has the best tap water. Bottled water is very dangerous to consume, no matter what the brand is.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

Train to go without and you won't be hurting if you forget/lose them come race day, right?

Correct, on race day I will bring, and use GU's. I am depriving myself on training runs on purpose, then race day I will make sure the body will be ready to rock and roll!

 

[Neil_D]

Hi Gentile,
I never carry any carb gel when I run and I do a 2 hour run every Saturday. I think they are a bit of a fad, like running shoes. They didn't exist 30 years ago when I went running but all of a sudden the marketing companies convince us that we need them and then we end up with a psychological dependence. I was under the impression that when we are running aerobically we are burning fat predominantly with a small amount of carbs, when we push our hear rates up we start to switch to carbs. In the marathons I ran in the '80's I only ever drank water and don't recall feeling starving at the end, I'd just have my normal meal. Too many carbs make us fat.

 

[BFwillie_g]

I think the fuel is a mental crutch that can easily be broken.

+1 to that, especially at easy paces. I tried it at a marathon race and crashed around the usual distance of 20-22 miles, but the pace was a lot faster than a casual training run.

The 3 hours should be no big thing for you, either, Adam! It's probably irrelevant but, my little dog goes all day w/o food, and can run six hours on nothing but puddle water, no problem. And she lives 100% carb-free.

 

[Bare Lee]

When I was traveling by bicycle, I would often go whole days with little to eat. As long as you're aerobic, you should be able to go a long ways. You may hit a wall, but your metabolism will switch-over at some point to fat-burning. Of course, if you're racing and very anaerobic it's different.

I've heard filtered tap water is the best. That's what we drink anyway, if nothing else, to get the fluoride out.

 

[Sid]

I've heard filtered tap water is the best. That's what we drink anyway, if nothing else, to get the fluoride out.

Definitely agree. We have a 2 stage filter for a tap at the kitchen sink and another in the garage which goes to the fridge. Cheap and easy!

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

Hi Gentile,
I never carry any carb gel when I run and I do a 2 hour run every Saturday. I think they are a bit of a fad, like running shoes. They didn't exist 30 years ago when I went running but all of a sudden the marketing companies convince us that we need them and then we end up with a psychological dependence. I was under the impression that when we are running aerobically we are burning fat predominantly with a small amount of carbs, when we push our hear rates up we start to switch to carbs. In the marathons I ran in the '80's I only ever drank water and don't recall feeling starving at the end, I'd just have my normal meal. Too many carbs make us fat.

I agree with you on the fad part! Thanks for the info, I like hearing stories about running back in the day, like your marathons in the 80's. I want to keep my running that way, everything seemed so simple back then. To many bells and whistles come with running in the modern world.

 

[rickwhitelaw]

Another Gentile post that I agree with, although I am still experimenting with fueling and recovery. At my current level and extremely slow pace, I can easily go over 2 hours with water and a few electrolyte capsules. On my longer runs I do prefer to eat something and lately I have been trying a few gels. Can't tell if they work or not, but they are convenient. My prior gel consumption before this last month was two. Never even heard of them until I did my first race, a half marathon, 2 years ago. I wondered what all those sticky packets covering the road after an aid station were. I do think they are overrated and overused. At one half marathon I saw a guy with at least 6 stuck into his visor. Everyone is scared of hitting the wall? All the marathon forums - take this, do that, you don't want to hit the wall. About the same feelings with sports drinks also, but there again, I do use them occasionally.

 

[NickW]

I've never use anything but water on my runs. My longest run is only a little over two hours though. I do believe the way you eat for your general life pays a huge part in how you feel when you run. The more fruits and veggies I eat on a daily basis and the less meat and fake food the better I feel on my runs. Not sure why that is exactly, because I've always been a meat eater, but I seem to have more energy and less crashes cutting out manufactured carbs (sorry brain is killing me, just spent 9 hours between studying Anthropology and writing a big speech for a public speaking class) and eating less meat. Scary to think I am slowly working towards a vegetarian or whatever it's called diet. I sure feel a heck of a lot better though.

 

[skedaddle]

2 hours of moderate exercise won't deplete glycogen stores. You might start to metabolise fat more but won't really hit the wall.
Just listen to your body, eat if you feel hungry, eat proper food.

 

[Zetti]

This thread makes total sense. I too had never considered the need to re-replenish while running and frankly it seemed unnatural to me to try and eat anything while running (granted I've never run much over 1.5 hours).
On a different point.....I'm still really not sure how eating ANYTHING would help you avoid something like this!?!?!

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&h...=115&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:137

I think your best bet would be running around the wall....