last winter i ran the Windburn 6 Hour and last weekend i ran the Sunburn 6 Hour, both races are held at the same location and are run (very well) by the same guy. my only real goal going into the race was to run the whole time and break the 50k mark. and since my longest training run leading up to the event was about 90 minutes, i figured nutrition was gona make the difference. i wanted to try a slightly modified pre-race dinner/breakfast plan to see if it would help and heres how it unfolded:
theres always some snacking between, but this is most of it
-late lunch the day before:
>bacon cheese burger (both from Dairy Hut, an Oswego, IL classic!)
>reese's cup mixer
-dinner:
>poppyseed fruit with chicken salad, from portillos
-and for race day (this list includes everything)
-breakfast (about an hour before start time)
>1 brazil nut, 1 cashew, 3 almonds
>plain water
-race
>Vespa Junior 5 mins before the start
>12ish ounces of fluid each loop*
>1 vanilla bean GU a bit after the half way point
-afterward
>tried to eat, but wasnt too hungry, maybe it was the Vespas fault... picked at the amazing buffet of ultra running fuel (BBQ and baked goods!)
*possibly the most important thing that kept my energy level up was the fact that i didnt allow my blood sugar to rise too much. i transitioned from water to gatorade over more than 5 loops. so it looked about like this:
loop 1-3: 4 ounces of water as i went through the aid station
loop 4: about 10 ounces plain water
loop 5: 12 ounces fluid, about 10% gatorade/ 90% plain water
loop 6: 12 ounces fluid, about 30% gatorade
loop 7: 12 ounces, about 50% gatorade
and so on until i would have been drinking 100% gatorade, which was around loop 9. instead of that i took the GU and moved back down to plain water, to try to avoid any excessive rise in blood sugar, but also to avoid any stomach problems. after the loop where i took the GU, i repeated the process of slowly mixing more and more gatorade in with my water each loop until the end.
there was a guy ahead of me until the last hour or so, until he had to stop due to heat related problems. and while i hate to see anyone have a bad race, it gives me confidence that my system works when i can outlast people, especially in the heat.. -i really, really hate the heat
 |
| me with the female winner |
plus i got a picture with James -the tradition for the people who cover the most ground at these events. ill have to try to come back some day and get another photo shoot with him
