Nutrition: Have a Plan and Stick to It!

My kids love the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems.  And let’s be honest, I love them, too.  In the classic “Let’s Go for a Drive”, Elephant repeatedly tells Piggie “Have a plan a stick to it!”

Planning is always a critical part of success in ultras, especially when it comes to nutrition.  For more years than I care to admit, I didn’t have a nutrition plan for races or long training runs.  Sure, I brought food and fluids with me, but I didn’t have a plan.  Predictably, the results were not great.  I got lucky a few times, but nutrition was my limiting factor, leading to gut problems and too many DNFs.

I improved over the years through experience and trial and error, but I would still struggle too often.  Finally, I decided enough was enough. I have a data science background and applied it in full force to optimizing my nutrition.  I researched the topic extensively and built out a spreadsheet to take in all of my nutrition and spit out key metrics.  For almost a year, I’ve dialed the knobs to hone my nutrition to what works best for my body.

 I’ll spare you the nerdy details, but I’ve had at least two big learnings from this process.  First, I can process (and need) far more calories per hour than I previously thought.  Second, my sweat salt content is significantly lower than average, so Ia need less electrolytes than most.  

 While it is fun to just go out and run, I encourage everyone to put in some time and develop a nutrition plan.  I’m glad I finally put in the homework – better late than never.  Aside from the performance benefits, it turns out ultras are more fun when you are not nauseous, vomiting, or having diarrhea.  Who knew?!

 If you’d like some help in the process, you can also reach out to me.  As they say, ultras are eating and drinking contests, and I’d love to help you win the contest!