Sharmilee Sen said:Can experts in this group share with me please or point me to proper documentation on
fluid/nutrition requirement for long runs? before and after teh run? thank you very much.
Not an expert, but to add to what the others have already said, I'd consider eating more right after
the run - within .5 to 1 hr. There's an optimum window for replacing glycogen in that time period,
and it gradually closes in about 2 hr. The glycogen will be replaced over time, but it's much easier
to do it pretty quickly. FWIW, after an evening race, which I didn't get back from until near
midnight (4-5 hr after race - and had eaten some stuff (actually a fair amount of stuff including
Arby's but mostly >2 hr after finishing - owing to time to hike back to car, construction traffic,
and then underestimating food needs), I woke up with a growling stomach a couple hours after going
to sleep and couldn't get back to sleep again. I had drunk fluids after the race (but not during
even though I had water bottle with me), but again not enough for the effort level and didn't get
enough in me fast enough. I'll use a camelbak (rather than water bottle) in the future since they're
easier to use in trail runs.
A very general guideline (translated: somewhere toward the center of a bell curve, which may have
a very wide standard error and short amplitude) is that people may need *about* 20 oz of fluid /
hr - depending on weather, effort, etc. Different people have different requirements that you need
to determine for yourself. Some can get by on 5-10 oz / hour; others may need twice that. Check
pee color.
Fluid demands will be greatest with heat, dew point (slightly different from humidity), high
intensity. Fluid needs probably decrease with temperature to a certain point (let's say 10F, for
argument's sake), then increase again as it gets colder, but probably not at the same rate as for
heat. [Note: This is my experience with colder temperatures. I've heard other people who run in cold
weather comment on same thing. I've seen some web pages allude to it, but haven't found really good
documentation for it, but haven't looked in the last year.] Staying hydrated is important in
preventing hypothermia and frostbite.
And don't forget the electrolytes if you drink fluids.
While some people minimize food/fluid intake while running, the people that run or bike for long
periods during training (= ultra runners and im), eat and drink while running to keep the system
stoked. It reduces the recovery time.
If you do a google search on the group, you'll find an assortment of discussions on fluids /
electrolytes / fuel.
YMMV.
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope