Any T1 ULTRA marathoners out there?

Hi, Im starting to up my miles to get ready for a 50 miler next year…wondering if anybody has nutrition advice that runs for this long being that we cant really carbo load. Normal marathons i have to eat a gel every 5 miles or i crash.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. :slight_smile:
Suzanne

Short answer: not yet. :slight_smile:

The discussions are a little dead right now, but I know there are a bunch of Ultra runners over at the Glucomotive section of Insulindependence. Might be worth checking out!

Hi, Suzanne,
I’ve done several 50Ks and one 50 miler. (Dozens of regular marathons)
Usually for a really long run, gel can get boring and the caffeine in it can cause GI issues. But the easier pace of the longer distance makes it easier to eat more real food. Aid stations at ultras usually have a lot of different foods, pretzels, fruit, maybe chicken noodle soup. I can eat pretty much any of it, and I have.
Find out how spread out the aid stations are and what they will have on hand. Carry glucose, glucose tabs or hard candy, for emergencies,
Of course you’ll carry a meter.
If you wear a pump, it’s a good idea to have a spare infusion site in case you sweat one out.
Any questions?
There are other more experienced T1 ultra runners around if you want some connections. What race are you doing?

Yea i definitely need to find some other fuel because even gels are hard for me to handle during sorter 10mile or so runs.
Im not on a pump…yet anyway…nervous about the heat ruining the insulin.
I havent decided yet…but was thinking of the England Wall 65mile one next June.
http://www.thewallrun.com/
Which ultras have you done?

I didn’t realize you were in the UK. I probably haven’t done any races you’ve heard of.

The 50 miler I ran was the Old Pueblo 50 here is Arizona. I felt it had a lot of hills, but I’ve been told that it’s not really that tough compared to some others.

The 50K races I’ve done were the Pemberton Trail and Just Another Mad Dog.

Just Another Mad Dog has that name because it is multiple 5K laps through a park, including passing a fenced-in dog park where people can let their dogs off leash. It would be a little mad to run 10 5K loops anywhere, any time, but it is especially mad here in the Phoenix area, where this race is usually run.

The Pemberton Trail is a trail through the desert in McDowell Mountain Park. It doesn’t get up into the Mountain at all, so the ups and downs are mild.

I feel that while a 50K is a bit longer than a marathon, it isn’t really a different kind of race. A 50 miler is different from a marathon in the same way a marathon is different from a half marathon or 10 mile race.

Ahh no. I’m not in the UK…right here in AZ just like you :slight_smile: West side Avondale/Glendale area. And yes I’ve heard of those you’ve done! I love trail races. Done a ton in AZ along with a few in Cali/Washington/Oregon and soon to be Georgia and Alabama. I just prefer to travel and race than stay at home. Its my way of making sure I get a vacation :). Just completed my first trail marathon in Bend Oregon. First half was all uphill. I signed up for it before they release the course or I probably wouldn’t have signed up lol. I hate hill but since I’m such a trail junkie I cant seem to avoid them. Its all good though, nice challenge :slight_smile:
But I definitely could never do that lap deal. My attention span needs a get to point or I’d quit by lap 3 Im sure. Are you going to do any of the Xterra trail races coming up? They are great if you’ve never done them.

Yea I need to start working on that. I sometimes have to stop and walk just to down the gel which gets annoying. I guess in ultras though you aren’t suppose to run the whole way either so I’m going to need to get that into my head too. It’ll be interesting as I increase my miles to see how my body reacts. You have any races youre planning to do coming up? I see you live in Cali. Im waiting to see if I can get the time off work, but am planning to run the Xterra Pt Mugu in Oct.

Hahaha thanks…and short answer me either…yet :slight_smile:
Hopefully by this time next year though I’ll have it under my belt.
Thanks for the suggestions I’ll check them out.

Oh, now I look at your profile, I see you’re in Glendale. Cool, another type 1 ultra marathoner in the area. I better start running. :slight_smile:
I’m probably the opposite of you in some ways. I will drive a long way for a race, but most of the races I do are in driving distance. I’ve tended to do the same races over and over.
I haven’t done an XTerra event, but I would definitely consider it. I love trail running.

hmm…where on the east coast? my parents live in Georgia. And I’ll be there in Nov for 2 races haha. I like to travel and run can you tell? :slight_smile:
Doing the 11k on 11.11.11 in ATL and then xterra oak mtn in Alabama on the 13th. Thats awesome youre doing 2 of those so close together. That is amazing. It takes me like 3wks to recover from a marathon I cant imagine what i’ll feel like after twice that distance.
Ill definitely look up that race. Even if I do get to the xterra one, if I like the place I’ll def consider going back. I never run the same race twices, but dif distances is a whole other race :slight_smile:

Aww that made my heart jump you calling me an ultra marathoner haha I havent earned that title yet. Maybe in a year I can accept that with pride :slight_smile:
Yea you do sound opposite because I hardly ever do the same race twice. same race, different distance usually, but thats it. I’m also not one to “preview” a course. I enjoy the surprise…course that has also gotten me into a lot of races I would have never done had I looked first. guess that can be a good thing…lol.
Xterra Estrella Mtn is Oct 2nd. It’s still hot…the terrain sucks, a lot of river rock stuff, but its awesome :slight_smile: I did the short distance last year so this year I’m going for the 20k. You should check it out.

OK,
I will sign up for the 20K. It should be fun.
See you there!

awesome :slight_smile: youll love it!
are you on dailymile.com?

oh well…i do want to try and make northface endurance race up there in va or dc whichever it is so perhaps ill meet up w you sometime. but yea let me know abt Feb.
Do you use dailymile.com?

No. I use RunningAhead.com to log runs, but I’ll be embarrassed if you check my recent mileage. :slight_smile:

hmm. never heard of that site. ill have to check it out.
youre lucky if you can lower your mileage and stay in control. if i take more than 2 days off it gets insane for me. good thing im addicted to it :slight_smile:
well i think they have a ‘training run’ as they call it for estrella next sunday (18th?)…like a preview of the trail if you were looking for some group running to get you back into it.
I also run with a few people in a group called Holy Hell 10k (6.66) :slight_smile: Its just a once a month group fun run thing too if that interests you. Were trying for this months run to be next Saturday (17th). You can look it up on facebook.
Anyways. hope you do get to the xterra run in a few weeks, itll be nice meeting another T1 runner.
Suzanne

:slight_smile: I ran the SF one in December ! Just the 10k though…I assume you prob did the longer one? I was planning on the DC/VA one this year but had to work…lol thats cool. Well, def sounds like we’ll meet at a race eventually. Ill keep in touch.

I am also training for & hopefully completing a 50 miler this coming Feb. 2012, I ran a 50k trail run last year, didn’t fair too well, blood sugar was high the whole time and developed a never ending cramp in the calf at mile 15, so had to walk run for the next 15. So, I am doing more long run this time, have entered a 50k in Nov., we do back to back runs on the weekends (hope this will help) My Bld sugars have been great so far, I eat GU every 45 minutes and eat breakfast ( 1/2 cup of grapenuts) an hour before I run,I also take a small bolus with grapenuts, then reduce my basal by 50%–this seems to work good for me! Ran 23 this am and will attempt a 2 hour run tomorrow :slight_smile: Dee Ann