Protein in my Fuel
Posted by Steve Carton on Sep 26, 2008 11:16:03 AM
Sep 28, 2008 6:48 PM
Steve Carton
says
in response to DCtoPgh:
Steve Carton
says
in response to DCtoPgh:
You're welcome. I started writing mostly as a way of consolidating my experiences and then cementing them in my fairly weak brain. But I also enjoy just writing.
As I understand it, and this is a very "lay" understanding, there are two competing thoughts on the physiology fuel and of long distances. I
think
the experts agree that after a period of time (a couple of hours, varying on one's individuality?) the body begins to metabolize proteins (as well as carbs and maybe fats too). One school of thought seems to be "ingest more carbs to curb the body's need for this". The other is "this is an unavoidable process, so feed the body some easy-to-digest proteins so the body will digest them instead of my muscle tissue." I tend to believe the latter. But not for any real reason except that after a long run when I use protein-enhanced fuels, I never feel or smell ammonia, which is the byproduct of amino-acid consumption? But I can't say that I've observed any lower energy or increased muscle exhaustion that I can directly attribute to fuel. And the occasions when I've "felt" amonia are very rare and at least partly attributable to other factors, like no other food before running. I have good runs and bad runs, irrespective of the fuel I use. So the annoyance factors became the overriding determinant.As an aside, I also use Succeed electrolyte caps (one per hour, more in warmer conditions). They are terrific. I think my favorite late-run fuel though are orange sllices. They're a perfect combination of taste and fuel, and a terrific late-run psych boost. I stopped at the 26 mile water-stop in the B&A marathon, badly fatigued, had some orange slices, and literally sprinted to the finish.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'm coming up on marathon #2 and I keep learning a lot (thankfully mostly from others and not much on my own the hard way!)... I haven't tried the protein and carb mixture, but as a scientist I can appreciate the theory behind it. However, theory and function need to intersect for something to work well. One thing that has worked phenomenally well for me are Succeed electrolyte caps (recommended to me by someone who has run 5 100-milers and every Marine Corps marathon)... and no, I don't have any affiliation with them (unless they want to sponsor a mid-packer!), I just think it's a good product. Good luck on your continued training