Frisco 50k: Nutrition lessons

I had really good plans and intentions on my nutrition for this race, but not the best execution!  In hindsight I see this was an area I really lacked in my training.  I trained with the nutrition products that I used on race day nearly every long run, but never in quantities near the amount I aimed to take in on race day, and...spoiler...that was a mistake!

The race had 11 aid stations, approximately every 2.5 miles.  Since I take in 4 gels (about 400 calories) during a marathon, I decided I'd aim for 900-1000 calories in the 50k, to account for the extra 5 miles.  The body will hold enough glycogen to run about 20 miles, so in a marathon you're fueling for the final 10k and in the 50k for the final 11 miles.  There are many experts much more knowledgeable than me on this, so don't take advice from anything I write here and consult a sports nutritionist if you need help with a plan for yourself, but I know what works for me in marathons and tried to extrapolate that to the 50k (actually the end of that sentence describes pretty much my approach to all aspects of this 50k).

I planned to take in 100 calories at each aid station, with the exception of the final one where it would be too late to get any benefit.  I prepared five 8 oz bottles of UCAN for the 5 stations on the way out, then five 8 oz bottles of nuun with a gel taped to each one for the turn around station plus 4 stations on the way back.  I labeled all of the bottles with aid station numbers, and gave my crew very detailed maps and instructions.  Race rules specified that you could take aid from your crew at aid stations only (as opposed to a marathon where you're not supposed to take outside aid).  My crew executed perfectly!  Jon always moved to whatever side of the trail I was on to hand me my bottle at each station.  Me, on the other hand...

I forgot to photograph my bottles when I made
them, but got a quick shot of them on the floor 
of my car on race morning!

Also on the top of my car, hah!

The first 2 bottles went down fine, at miles 2.5 and 5.  I drank each one gradually after picking it up, aiming to finish it just before picking up the next one.  I had small bottles that easily tucked into the band of my shorts or my sports bra when I wasn't drinking from them (I had done this in training many times).  I really didn't want to drink more when I got my third bottle, but I forced it down because I knew I needed to stay on top of my calorie intake.  I decided there was no way I could take bottle 4 though, so I gave it to Andrew who had dropped a gel.  I got through a little of bottle 5 but I was so full!  I thought I could drink UCAN all day without having stomach upset - and I could, my stomach was never upset - but I didn't think about having 32 oz of fluid in my stomach within less than 90 minutes, and I certainly never practiced with anywhere near that much.  I had 1-2 total bottles of UCAN during long runs, so it was pretty ludicrous that I thought I was going to take in 5 bottles within 15 miles of this race, but hindsight is 20/20!

At the turn around when I switched to gels I hoped I would stop feeling like I'd just eaten Thanksgiving dinner, but from the first swallow I was forcing them down.  I didn't drink but a sip of any of the nuun bottles, and in total I got in about 2 gels.  I was dropping bottles and gel wrappers with Jon each time I picked up a new bottle, and he saved everything I dropped so after the race I was able to determine how much I'd taken of the gels I opened.  I hate wasting food so hated dropping gels that weren't empty, but I wanted to switch to caffeinated gels when I got to them towards the end.

In total I got in 500-600 calories.  I never had any stomach or GI upset, but the fullness was just too much.  I ended up starting my period about 12 hours after the race, so I think that probably contributed, but I think my nutrition could stand a lot of improvement!  I should have just mixed the UCAN heavier - putting a serving in 4 oz of water instead of 8 oz - but I didn't think of that until after the race.  UCAN just came out with gels, so I will probably use those in the future for the first part of long races, before switching to typical gels.  I also need to take a higher quantity of nutrition in training to teach my stomach to hold that much while running.

Race morning I ate oatmeal with half a mocha gel in it along with a small glass of water at 3:30 a.m., sipped down 16 oz of water with nuun energy from 4:00-5:00 a.m., and drank 2 scoops of UCAN in 16 oz of water at 5:00 a.m. before the 6:00 a.m. race start.  All of the foods were fine, but the main issue was too much liquid!  Next time I'll do better with that and get in more calories during the race, which will hopefully help with those final 4 miles.  When I've slowed at the end of marathons, it's always been due to pace (I believe that is why 90% of marathon slow-downs happen, but people prefer to blame nutrition), but in this race I think my issue was a combination of nutrition and it being my first time to run this distance.  Next time I'll have the distance in my history and a better nutrition plan in place!  I'm thankful for the chance to learn in a low-key situation like Frisco.