Calling all marathoners and runners!

I am training to run my first marathon [through the National AIDS Marathon Training Program, Jeff Galloway method] and I am curious to know if you can give me any tips for eating low carb, especially during the marathon itself. What kinds of things do you eat for energy? Do you have any resources to share? I am on Atkins and have been for several months. Thanks for any help you can provide!!

Jay
jay~jaylarson.com

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http://rwforums.rodale.com/

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Hi jayl! I too run the Galloway way and am training for my third marathon right now...
I started lc'ing for Boston and never felt better (or at least better than I did for Marine Corps). Basically, I kept up my lc wol right up until the day of the event.
As you have probably seen, people have different reactions to carbs and training and you should figure out what you feel most comfortable with now, during your training.
To give you an idea of what I do:
I eat lc, like I said, for my daily food intake right up until the event. The day of the marathon, I have a shake made up of coconut milk (full fat kind) with strawberries and a banana. This keeps me full and helps with the energy.
Then during the run, I snack on Odwalla Super Protein Bars every five miles, regardless of how I feel. This keeps me going for the long hall and allows me to avoid hitting the wall.
I also make sure I take a small sip of a watered down gatorade mix or of straight water from my camleback at every walk break (I do a 5 and 1).
Try not to drink TOO much water though as that can cause problems.
Note: I also eat this way for my training runs...
Regardless of what YOU decide, make sure that you TEST TEST TEST your foods and drinks during training runs. That is the only way to make sure things work or don't work for you.
Good luck!

Hi Jay,
Good job on the training for your first marathon! What a goal to have. I follow the Schwarzbein Principle, a whole foods approach to low carbing. The formula for carbs is vased on your activity level. I run anywhere form 30-60 miles a week so I need to up my carbs to account for my activity level. Without them I bonk/hit the wall. My last 50 mile race I dropped at mile 34 as I just didn't have the energy. My last 50K (last weekend/report on this board) I felt pretty good but I did up my carbs the day or two before the race, not the typical carbo stuffing/loading though just a bit more than I usually eat.
I agree with Pug4Life about drinking a shake the morning of the race. I drink soy milk (unsweetened) strawberries, heavy cream, flax seeds, protein powder and glutamine. It fillls me up and gives me a good start. During the race I eat 200 calories an hour in the form of gels or powder (Sustained Energy). This provides enough for me.
On my shorter training runs I don't eat before. On longer runs (over two hours) I do. I'm sure you'll find out what works for you. Please keep us posted on your training and we expect a full report on how well you do!!!!!!!!!!!
Take care,
Maureen

I think the Galloway method emphasizes walking breaks. That would be a good time to eat something. If you've been lowcarbing that long and training all along then you probably won't have any problems during the run. Maureen suggests 200 cals per hour. I think that's about one oatmeal cookie per hour.

What I think is the point of Atkins is to suppress insulin production. But while you are running the glucose in the blood gets a free ride into the muscles. No insulin required. That means you can eat what you want while you're running.

Congratulations and welcome to the world of marathoning! This is going to be one of the most amazing experiences of your life

For me, I really had to get into running long distances before I settled on an eating plan. I tried Atkins for about 6 months or so but never got to the point where I could metabolize fat quickly enough to be able to run more than 10 miles or so before completely bonking out. Since January, I've been training while on the Zone diet and have found for me that this is much better - enough carbs to being able to run well but still eliminating all of the high-GI nasties and dropping weight slowly but in a way that's sustainable when training.

The nice thing with the AIDS marathon program is that you have six months of training time to figure out what's best for you. As you start doing your long runs, treat them as full dress-rehearsals for the big day. Try it with low-carb - you could very well be fine. If you're struggling, modify. You'll be expending plenty of energy on your long runs (I know I burn about 4000-5000 calories when doing a marathon) so it won't derail you if you need to adjust.

Good luck! I'd love to hear how it goes!

i sure do miss jogging......damn these knees of mine

anyways, good luck on your marathon jay!

Hey Gang

Glad I found this thread. I have been on Atkins for over 9 months and have lost 53 pounds. I am also training for a marathon in the fall. I am up to 12 miles on my Saturday long runs with no energy loss. All I have is water. I run about 8:45 pace. I completed 2 half marathons in the spring. As I get closer to marathon distance, I'm wondering if I'm going to need to take in some carbs. I only have about 25-40 a day but I'm not sure if that will be enough for 18 miles and above.
If so.....what type of foods has everybody eaten before, during and after long runs.

Thanks
Mike

http://hometown.aol.com/mrabinow/myhomepage/index.html

has anyone read that top triathletes fat-load instead of carbo-load for their races? I believe I got this from Atkins, though could be from another LC source. Also, have you looked into MCTs? If you are not familiar, these are Medium Chain Triglycerides, oils that your body, apparently, metabolizes at a similar rate to carbohydrates. Thus, in theory, you would be able to get the same immediate influx of energy that carbs give you if you were to take MCTs b/f and durring the race.

OK, here is the Atkins link on the "myth of carbo-loading." I would be interested to hear what you guys think.

http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/11/28-742445.html

And this from an ironman who seems to eat Atkins bars durring the race:

http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/5/28-99286.html

Hi Jay,
Good luck with your marathon! It's an awesome experience.
Up until this year I was on a fairly high carbohydrate diet for my training.
This year I'm trying an LC approach.
I have found that for my longer or more intense training sessions that energy gels work well. I use GU or Powergel.
I don't like clif shot or hammergel as they seem way too sweet.
If you use the gels while or before running, all of the carbs will be used up and shouldn't cause any problems.

Judy

I read those reports on the Atkins list. I saw Atkins and that ironman guy on TV. The reports say the guy lost a lot of weight and did well in the ironman competition. But he doesn't mention specifics of his diet or what he eats during the events. I wonder if that's because he uses Atkins to control his weight but for competition he uses a lot of carbs.