Training for your first 100K: nutrition, illness & injury
- Andy Hood
- Aug 5, 2023
- 14 min read
Welcome back, thanks for joining me for Part #2. In Part #1 I spoke to you about my journey to the 100K decision, the ups and downs of a training programme, and why I made the decision to introduce strength and conditioning to my training.
As we run toward Part #2 I’ll talk about nutrition, what I love, hate and what made me throw up. We’ll also look at that tetchy subject of Injury and Illness, something we know will likely strike us all at some time. Sit tight and lets nibble away at Nutrition.
Nutrition
The fact my spell check corrects me constantly on the spelling of nutrition should give me an indication of just how difficult this topic can be. It’s a mine field. I have tried product from so many companies, and new one’s spring up daily, offering the runner a magic bar, chew or gel that will propel them to greatness. Thankfully for you I like to try out new products and have tasted everything from the delicious to the stomach churning, what I’ll share with you is what I currently use on long distance runs, what works for me may not work for you, our taste buds and our stomachs are all different.
On race day you must have your nutrition dialled in, know what works for you. Introducing something new on the day could result in you rushing to the nearest bush and throwing it up, I have seen and read about this so many times and it can end your day. I would break this rule on the 100K, I did eat a banana at one of the rest stops, not something I usually eat when running, but I do eat bananas every day at home so with trepidation I tried one and pleased to report there were no bushes needed in the miles ahead.
Let’s look at fluids and solids. Both for me change hugely as distance changes, what I feel like consuming when running 13.1, 26.2 or a 50K changes dramatically. The body wants different things, needs different things and palate fatigue kicks in. You get bored of eating the same product or same food group, I also find my mouth just can’t be bothered to chew anymore, it becomes and effort. On the 100K I also found that normal food on offer, such as filled rolls, didn’t appeal to me. I did try a bite or two from a ham roll but the brain and mouth were having none of it.
I start with a baseline, 60 – 90g of carbs an hour. I came up with this figure from reading many articles, these numbers seemed to crop up time and again so I took this as my baseline. I had no doubt on the 100K that even at this number I would be in what I now term ‘carb-deficit’ after a few hours, and was conscious to push in a little more at each rest stop. The day was hot, the distance longer than I’d run before, so I expected my body to be consuming more than the 60 – 90g p/hr, and I think it was.
Interestingly on the run to Land’s End, which I did over a few days and as a reminder of the stats was 170 miles with over 25,000ft of elevation gain on rough, often single-track trails, my body started to crave certain foods. By day 3 all I could think about was a cooked full English breakfast, something I never eat. But I was consumed by the thought of trying to find one, and at every turn was unsuccessful. It was usually around mid morning that craving kicked in, each village or town or beachside café I passed I eagerly glanced up with eyes of hunger to see if a dirty full English was on offer. I was close in Perranporth where I chanced upon a wonderful looking café, saw plenty of dinners tucking into plates of sausage, beans, bacon, hash browns and all the associated works, upon entry I was told they had stopped serving 20 minutes ago! I never did get my full English.
So, expect the body to do the unexpected over the longer distance of a 100K.
Fluids. Water alone is not enough, you will sweat out salts and all manner of other goodies your body needs to function well, so an electrolyte product is needed. I have two go to brands, High 5 and Precision Hydration, they both give me something different. High 5 I will usually have their Berry Zero tablet which is diluted in water, on the 100K in my 2-litre hydration pack. These I find easy to drink with a pleasant taste up to about marathon distance, after that I’ve had enough of the taste, it starts to feel heavy. A couple of years back I stumbled across the UK based Precision Hydration and their 500, 1000, 1500 tablets. They offer a varying degree of essential electrolytes to the body in increasing strengths, the flavour is much more neutral and I find refreshing. This was my go-to on the 100K.
But here I would learn that taking spare tablets with me in a tube in my pack was not the wise choice. More on that later.
Drinking pure water is also important to balance the electrolyte intake, at rest stops I would consumer a cup or two of water. And in the later stages I also drank a cup of flat coke, it refreshed the palate, gave a sugar hit and when hot tasted good. London 2 Brighton was hot, mid 20’s with a clear blue sky and a hot late May sun all day. I stick to a firm routine, carbs and fluids in every 30 minutes, without fail and top up at the rest stops along the way. The strategy seems to work for me, and I have never got into the zone of feeling as if there is a desperate need for drink.
In training I would sometimes suffer from a mild headache the day following a run, this I concluded was due to a lack of fluids. I adjusted my fluid intake on long runs and on warmer days, and the headaches never appeared again.
Experiment with different brands and flavours within the brands, and test over various distances. You may find the taste of a product changes over the hours and something at the start may become a real dislike in the later miles.
Tip top! I carried a spare tube of electrolyte tablets in my pack so I could drop in when I filled up with water at rest stops. By the 50K mark they had shaken about so much they had turned into a white powder, I watched as fellow runners eyes widened as this power got all over my fingers, surrounding area and around my nose as I wiped away the inevitable dribbly runners nose – we both knew what we were thinking! On my next 100K I ran with sachets of the power, single shot, easy to open and no mess.
Solids
On my run to Land’s End I carried way too much, way too much. At the end of each day, I had spare food left over and had carried that weight with me all the way, extra weight is not what you want to be carrying on a run of any significant distance. There were a few reasons for this, I didn’t have the multi-day experience so had calculated how much I needed based upon to 60-90g per hour and them added some over and above to ensure there was no deficit. I did stop each day and eat some real food, this was much easier to stomach as the daily distances were shorter than a 100K.
I also found that as delicious as Cliff Bars are after about 4, I just cannot be bothered to chew them anymore, the effort is too much.
I carry two main types of fuel with me, gels and solids.
On the 100K I carried two small bottles filled with gels, each one holds about 5 individual gels, a single gel gives around 25g carbs, so the bottles alone had around 250g carbs between them. I have been using High 5 Berry, I buy the refill bottles, it’s cheaper than individual packets and kinder to the environment on waste. I will start to use two different flavours next time, berry in one and probably citrus in the other, to help with preventing palate fatigue which I experienced on the first 100.
On the London 2 Brighton the organisers will transport a bag from the start to the half-way and then onto the finish for you. I can’t tell you just how valuable this is, it enabled me to put spare gels etc…in the bag and access this half-way. I didn’t have to carry that weight for the first 50K or rely upon a gel I was not familiar with provided at the rest stops. On my next 100K, Race to the Stones in early July that bag drop facility was not available, this meant a rethink of strategy for fuel. I carried a bit more solids and I did top up using their gels at the rest stops, their brand partner was High 5 so I was used to the product, although not the flavour, all they has was blackcurrant and it was not great, but it settled ok and did the job.
Science tells us that gels take about 7 minutes to enter the system and kick in, I take one around this time before I start to give an extra carb boost, I also have one with breakfast on the morning too. In addition, I carry solids, here are a few I have tried over the years;
Cliff Bars – taste good, quite heavy to carry and after about 4 the chewing is tiring.
Veloforte Bars – the worst thing I have ever tasted. I tried two flavours, both were heavy on the stomach and both took a lot of effort to chew and tasted burnt. I threw them all away.
Kendal Mint Cake, NRG bars – these are very sweet, and they do crumble after being bounced around in your pack. In small quantity I found them ok, the minty taste refreshes the mouth, and the sugar hit is quick to get to work. I use them occasionally.
Kellogg’s Nutrigrain bars – you don’t need to always resort to products that are specifically for active lifestyles, Nutrigrain bars are tasty, soft, moist and are packed with around 30g of carbs. I will also take these for 50K + runs. And the bonus, they are cheap compared to many of the specialist products.
Precision Hydration Chews – these are amazing. The texture of Turkish delight, they are compact and easy to carry, they digest well, are super easy to eat, they almost melt in the mouth and a 2 pack delivers 30g of carbs. I am never without these.
Muscle Moose Protein Flapjack – these are quite a large bar to carry and being flapjack pack some weight too, you probably wouldn’t want to carry too many. I enjoy an oat-based product, my breakfast is real porridge and flapjack is something I digest well.
Protein Bars – there is a school of thought that you should put some protein in every 3 hours, it aids the recovery of muscle which is undoubtably taking a pounding. I’ve tried lots of product and the market in protein products has been expanding in recent years, just take a look on your supermarket shelf. Today I tend to use the Grenade range of bars, they come in several flavours, are easy to eat and taste great too. Oreo is a particular favorite.
Your ultra will have rest stops/aid stations and these will be packed full of product, although they may not be the brand you are used to or the taste you like. I ensure I carry a good supply of my own nutrition and will top up when I find something I like at a rest stop.
Money Saving Tips
To keep costs down I employ a couple of money saving tricks, sign up for marketing emails from your primary product manufacturers, for example I am on the mailing list for High 5 and recently they sent a 35% off email out, I jumped on a purchased some of the bottles of their gel, these bottles are cheaper than buying individually wrapped gels and with a hefty discount they were a good deal, shelf life is measured in months so having 3 or 4 in the cupboard is ok.
Amazon is another place to keep an eye on deals, I have the product added to my shopping list and keep an eye on the price frequently you can often find a very big discount popping up that disappears a day or two later. I try to avoid buying when I need it as the law of averages tells me it will always be at its highest price when I have run out and have to order. All the products have a long shelf life so buy when the price is low and pop away for when you need them.
In conclusion the market is flooded with product aimed at the active lifestyle before you embark upon your 100K dial in the products you will eat. Experiment with various brands and flavours, remember to do this on your long training runs too, what you like in hour 1 you may really hate in hour 5 of an ultra. Once you’ve found the product you like you will spend quite a bit of money on nutrition products, 60 – 90g of carbs an hour does not come cheap.
Oh and there is always a place in my pack for Haribo Tangfastic.
Not quite nutrition
Whilst we are on the topic of things you put in your mouth its worth me telling you about other products I take or carry, a list of the essential ones is below.
Caffeine Bullets – a small chew that packs around 100mg of caffeine, individually wrapped and available in two flavours, chocolate orange and mint, I find the chocolate orange one has a bit of a burnt flavour so now use the mint. Caffeine works for me, it keeps me alert and feeling fresh, I take one every 3 hours.
Optimum Nutrition Pre-workout shot – packing 175mg of caffeine in a compact 60ml bottle I take one of these in the 30 mins before a long run and on the ultra had another about 6 hours in. They give me quite a tingle!
Precision Hydration Salt Tablets – I sweat an average amount and if you have ever looked at your t shirt when it’s dried after a sweaty run there are likely to be white marks on it, that is your salt. I carry these easy to swallow capsules and take one every 2/3 hours depending on the weather, it will help to prevent cramp and balances the body’s natural state.
On my first ever 50K run, which was a training run and came a few months after I’d finished my chemotherapy, I got cramp in my right leg at around 28 miles. Salt tablets have meant I’ve never suffered again. I recall this run and are smiling whilst writing this, it was the first time I had ever ran that distance and when I got to the 50K point, which came a mile or so before I got back home on the looped run, I stopped, raised both arms in the air, gave a double one finger salute skywards and shouted so loud ‘fuck you cancer’ – thankfully it was a rural run and I was in the middle of nowhere surrounded only by fields of corn and the occasional rabbit!
Injury and Illness
It’s going to happen and you just have to accept that. In a training programme spanning many months the chances of picking up a niggle in the body of becoming ill is quite likely. I’ve had both.
At the extreme end of this scale, and mid training for my run to Land’s End in 2021 I was diagnosed with cancer, an operation and chemo would take me out the running shoes for a few months, I got quite down about this to start with. Lying in bed recovering one day I realised that I would not lose all I had built, yes my fitness would take a hit and yes the body would take some time to recover but before my first 2 mile run many many years ago I had never run before, unless it was age 9 legging it from my Mum who was inviting me for some punishment or other after I been ‘a bit of a pickle’ – Mum could never catch me as I ran round the garden. So I knew I could rebuild and regain the running pace.
I managed to reframe what I was going through, decided I could rebuild and I would enter the world of ultra-distances, talk about my cancer, and support others through fundraising, I had a focus and that helped me to get where I am today.
Injury has visited my door more than once too, problems in the Achilles, tight left calf muscle, a piriformis injury that would stop me in my tracks are just a couple of them. My left leg has often been the area where I experienced most issues, including the dreaded IT Band. After the Land’s End run I undertook a full bio-mechanical assessment which a professional running coach at a facility that had equipment usually only found in the top universities. One of the main take aways was a graphic demonstration of a problem with my left foot, I wasn’t rolling on it property, it was acting more like a rocker, landing on my heal and then within a microsecond pivoting to my fore foot without rolling through the mid foot. If I remember when posting this, I will put in the computer graphic of this. That started to explain why the left leg was getting more injuries than the right. My stretching I do each week works on this as does the programme I have in the gym with Steve.
With my piriformis I went to see the sports therapist who works from a room at the gym, we looked at my body and found some tweaks to make including introducing to my stretching programme some hip work. Running is bloody hard on the body; you must remember this. When injury strikes seek out some advice, listen to it and act on it.
Illness will also get you, sick bugs, colds etc…will visit at some point in the programme, take the days to rest, I get annoyed if I miss a training day or two but in the grand scheme it makes little to no difference and those days are quickly forgotten. Listen to your body, if it is telling you to slow down or dial back the mileage then do so. You will thank yourself.
And what of injury whilst running the 100K, I saw plenty of it on both the 100’s I have run in recent months, more so on Race to the Stones as it was raining, feet were soaked, and blisters were a plenty. Similar happened on London 2 Brighton, although the weather was significantly better with hardly a cloud in the sky.
Thankfully I have not suffered from blisters, perhaps there is a little luck or anatomical makeup in this, but I also put is down to a very strict foot routine. I pumice away dry skin that tends to form on the heals, big toe and the underside of the foot just below the big toes, impact points. I use a high-quality foot cream after every shower, a product from O’Keefe. My socks, which we’ll look at more in the gear section, are carefully chosen for the distance, and I use a chamois cream applied liberally to the feet before I start and at the halfway point too. Looking after your feet is vital, they are your only contact with the ground, so treat them with respect.
If you experience an injury of any type, a small muscle pain perhaps, or a hot spot on the feet which could be an early sign of a blister then don’t wait to treat it. If you are close to a rest stop there will likely be a medics tent, most of the organised ultras have these, they are excellent in their care. If running becomes painful then stop, stretch and/or walk for a while. Do whatever you can in that moment and don’t do more damage, there are no medals awarded for most impressive injury.
In conclusion there is much more that can be said about injury and illness, but I wanted to keep it brief here and give you the key take aways of listen to your body, seek advice when you need to it’s a good investment, and remember these are tiny bumps in a long, long road.
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