So Sunday I walked 41 miles but only consumed my average calorie load. Yesterday I also only consumed my average calorie load despite a revenous hunger because when I consume a whole lot of calories, the next day I am hungry regardless. Only it’s a different type of hunger, the type you get after having too much sugar (even if I only eat, say, a whole pizza in addition to my normal meals.)
So, I’m still hungry as in wanting calories. How can I fulfill this without having rebound hunger tomorrow? Is it as simple as just eating more, but not TOO much?
Since you were walking, you probably did not totally deplete your glycogen stores but you still used a substantial portion.
Refuel with a mix of complex carbs and protein. The protein helps the carbs be absorbed more efficiently, smooths out the blood sugar response and rebuilds muscle damage/wear.
During the first two hours after finishing, your system is far more responsive to carb intake and storage, Some simple carbs during this time is fine but you still need the complex/protein mix.
It’s basically because I am lazy and do not want to run in the morning, and running in the night makes me not be able to sleep at night. So I try to get in as much exercise as I can in the weekend, which only partly makes up for not regularly exercising in the week.
I sometimes just try to walk as much as I can in a day, which usually works out to 40-something miles (I started off only at around 20.) But I usually jog-walk 20 to 30. Ideally, I’d enter a 50 mile ultramarathon eventually, but I haven’t gotten up to 50 yet in my walks, and when I’ve broken 40 my pace is such that I wouldn’t even be able to finish an ultramarathon at the presribed pace (i.e. 15 hours for 50 miles.) On Sunday it took me 13.5 hours to do 41 miles, which seems pretty slow except for the exhaustion at the end which slows your pace quite a bit. ETA: come to think of it Runner is right in that my short term stores were not totally exhausted but only partly: a lot of the slowness came from soreness.
I definitely have less than 200-300 calories per hour in carbs. Maybe it’s just me personally, or psychosomatic, but it seems to make rebound hunger even worse at that level. I might have 200-300 total calories per hour (maybe) but it’s not all carbs.
I do think I will try having a small protein/carb mix afterward and see how that works though.
If you’d like to do an ultra, have you considered one of the timed events? A 24-hour race would give you ample time and you can just go as far as you can go. Look at the results of a local 24-hr. You’ll find folks logging between 10 and 110 miles.
Some 100 milers have a 50 mile option but retain the 100 mile cut off time (check before hand though! Rules vary.)
Consider a 50K too. Most have cut offs in the 8-10 hour range depending on the terrain.
Oh, and most folks I know don’t run the distance before the race. My longest distance before my first 50 miler was a 50K race a few months prior.
Regarding hunger, I know the feeling. Mine usually spikes after a big day like that and can last a few days. I stick with lean protein, beans, and veggies. (Though I really desire gallons and gallons of ice cream the day after a race.)
Frankly, I think your goals and methods are at odds here. Training for these distances and efforts simply can’t be done effectively on weekends only. I understand the limitations of work and family life, but obviously you have some commitment to your walking and you should be able to do something during the week.
“The protein helps the carbs be absorbed more efficiently, smooths out the blood sugar response”
Do you have a cite for this?
Protein is essential to mix with a quickly absorbed carbohydrate after exercise not because of either of these reasons but because the carb spikes the blood sugar, and that makes the body release insulin, which in turn pushes the quickly-absorbed protein out of the bloodstream into the muscle cells; beginning recovery and repair as quickly as possible. I’ve never heard of what you say here before.
