Hey, guess what? I’m the host of this week’s Take it and Run Thursday for Runner’s Lounge!
My question for the week was:
It’s the morning of your weekly long run… what do you eat and why?
Fueling for a long run has always been a challenge for me. I have a sensitive stomach and I don’t want to eat anything that will trigger any negative reactions. But I also don’t want to run out of steam midway either. The goal is to FINISH the run, not have to quit early.
I’ve tried the oatmeal avenue, which was okay but it wasn’t really easy to eat that when I’m running in 85 degree weather at 4:30 AM. As I’m sure most people realize, Las Vegas is hot during the summers and a stomach full of hot oatmeal isn’t the way I want to head out on a run.
My next option was Lucky Charms… and I loved this option. I used to eat Lucky Charms as a kid but as I grew up and became a “sensible adult” I cut out the sugary cereals. But the logic behind reintroducing this cereal was that the cereal part was made from a whole grain (oats) that would give me more lasting energy and the marshmallow part provided a burst of quick energy. The problem with this option was if I did a race away from home I found it a pain to pack cereal and milk (or soy/almond milk, since I don’t consume much dairy.)
My latest fix has been a combo of a Clif Bar and sport drink. I have been using the Blueberry Crisp flavor, simply because that was the only non-chocolate flavor at the store when I purchased it, and I’ve just stuck with it out of habit. But I didn’t want anything with chocolate for my breakfast, it just seemed like that would be asking for stomach irritation. (I wouldn’t mind trying some of their other fruit flavored bars now though. I just looked at their website and realized there are sooo many flavors that are fruit based!) Along with the bar I have been drinking CytoMax. I have a big canister of the stuff, but I don’t like using it while I’m running. I prefer less sugary options during the run. So if I shake up a bottle of water with one scoop of Cyto and sip on that while I’m getting ready in the morning, I’m getting some calories and electrolytes without something to sit like a lump in the gut.
So far, the Clif Bar and Cyto combo has been working pretty well. But I’m interested to know what other people do, that’s why I submitted the question to Runner’s Lounge for this week’s TiaRT. I think that we all have the chance to learn from one another!
And just to showcase a little of my running life and who I am, I’ve included a little slideshow that shows some of my running milestones. Enjoy!
Jill Will Run 
I love you slideshow!! I am the host in a few weeks and making the slideshow was my favorite part!
Great topic! I posted my reply.
Love the slideshow, too.
I have so been struggling with this and I’ve been covering it on my blog lately! Great topic!
Good topic – this is a tricky one! I like clif bars too, but I ran out a while ago and still haven’t picked them up! In lieu I’ve been doing toast, but that tends to fade too early. This is a good reminder to go finally get more bars!
Thanks for the great question. I hadn’t really thought about how hard it might be for people to find something to eat. It’s interesting to see what folks have come up with.
hi! thanks for the question. interesting about the cyto– never though to try something like that. i am in your boat– really sensitive stomach! however i don’t run quite so early… i posted my reply on the lounge, too 🙂
I’m not sure I’ve hit on the right solution, either. Running is hard work no matter how you look at it.
Great question – I struggle with what to eat during my long run…
good question jill 🙂 sounds like you have a pretty good pre-run fueling system set up! i wish i could say the same… some days i just go and run – hoping the gu’s and mid-run beverages will tide me over. when i do actually eat before a run i usually have some cereal (dry or with milk). sometimes (lately) i’ll have a yogurt and biscuit and then wait at least 2 hours for it to digest. to be honest i’ve never really experimented and probably need to!
love your slideshow 🙂 i need to get on the ball with my tiart topic and actually blogging the tiart! ahhh.
Yay for lucky charms!! 🙂 As you know, I had been doing cereal like you for quite awhile. I recently switched to an decent sized wheat english muffin (wheat but NOT those fiber fortified ones!) with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Its took a few runs to get my stomach used to it, but now it seems to do quite well. I haven’t done any long runs on it though, the longest I’ve gone over the last few months has been 8 mile. Fall come soon!!!