Collecting Laps: one lap at a time to 100: Week 23, Fueling Your Engine :

Umstead100 training, collecting laps week 23 Blog post

Collecting Laps: one lap at a time to 100: Week 23, Fueling Your Engine

If last week was about mastering the little things, this week is about the most critical system of all: your engine. In ultrarunning, your fitness can write checks that your stomach can’t cash. You can have the strongest legs and the most resolute ‘Why’, but if your fueling strategy fails, your day is over. It’s that simple. Forget the myth of “running on empty”; for this kind of event, you are a furnace that requires constant, deliberate stoking.

This is part of a series of posts regarding how we prepare, plan, and train to complete the 100-mile Ultramarathon Umstead 100. Our series for this event: Collecting Laps: one lap at a time to 100. For all the ultrarunning series, here, follow the link. Training for a 100 . Alternatively, you can also follow our Podcast so you don’t miss the weekly summary post.

Our approach to fueling is governed by a simple rule of three:

Train your gut: Your stomach is a muscle. It must be trained to process calories under duress, just like your legs.
Have a plan: Go into every long run knowing what, when, and how much you will eat.
Have a backup plan: Know what you will do when your primary plan inevitably goes wrong.

This week, we move from casually eating on our runs to methodically building and testing the fueling strategy that will carry you 100 miles.

Assessment:

Your first task is to create your personal Fueling Playbook. This is not just a list of things you like to eat; it’s a dynamic document based on rigorous testing. This process is deeply individual—what works for me might be a disaster for you. Your goal is to find your answers. Start by creating three categories:

The Staples: (A List): These are your proven, go-to options. The gels, chews, or drinks that you know work for you time and time again. Note flavors, brands, and where to source them. If a favorite item is hard to find (like a specific flavor of cookie or baby food), start figuring out how to source it now.

The Flavor Savers (B List): After 12 hours of sugary gels, your palate will revolt. You need options to combat this fatigue. Think salty (pretzels, chips, broth) and savory (jerky, rice balls, quesadillas, not frozen of course). These are the items that will taste like a gourmet meal at 2 AM.

The ‘Never Again’ List (N List): This is arguably the most important list. Document everything that caused you problems. A protein bar that required a liter of water to swallow? A gel flavor that turned your stomach? Write it down. In the fog of mile 70, you need to protect yourself from your own bad decisions.

Planning:

With your initial playbook started, it’s time to put it into practice. Your fueling plan has three distinct phases for every long run, and you must practice them all.

The Pre-Long Run Ritual (Day Before): Consistency is king. The day before a long run is not the time for a spicy new dish. Identify a simple, reliable meal that sets your system up for success. For me, it’s often a basic pasta with red sauce. Whatever it is for you, make it a repeatable ritual.

The Pre-Run Protocol (Race Morning): Find what works and stick to it religiously. My go-to is oatmeal with almond butter and a latte. I’ve tested this for years, and I know it works. This is not the time to experiment too much. Your goal on the morning of a long run is to eliminate variables, not introduce them.

During the Run (The Practice): On every medium and long run from now on, you will eat on a schedule. Start with a goal of consuming calories every 45-60 minutes, whether you feel hungry or not. The first sign of hunger is the first sign you’re already behind. Use these runs to test one new item from your potential list. Take meticulous notes on how it settled and how you felt an hour later.

Post-Run Recovery (The Golden Hour): Your recovery starts the moment you stop your watch. The first 30-60 minutes are a critical window for replenishment. Have a protein shake or a recovery meal pre-made and waiting for you. Don’t leave it to chance. Your ability to recover and train well next week depends on what you do right after this week’s long run.

Diabetes Learning Notes:

For a Type 1 athlete, fueling isn’t just a strategy; it is the strategy. We are engaged in a constant, dynamic conversation between our bodies, our technology, and the fuel we consume. Every calorie is also a data point that directly influences our blood sugar.

Your Assessment playbook requires more detail. For every item on your list, add three more columns: Carb Count, Estimated BG Impact, and Insulin Strategy. A simple gel is no longer just “25g of fast energy”; it’s a tool with a predictable glycemic effect that you must account for. Your ‘Never Again’ list is a non-negotiable safety tool to prevent a food choice from causing a severe low or a stubborn high mid-run.

In your Planning, every phase is magnified.

The Pre-Run Protocol is a mission-critical sequence of setting a target BG, potentially adjusting your basal rate, and timing your breakfast and insulin with precision.
During the Run, you are not just eating for energy; you are actively steering your blood sugar. Your plan must have branches: “If my BG is 140 mg/dL and stable, I will have half a gel. If my BG is 95 mg/dL with a down-trending arrow, I will have a full gel and re-evaluate in 15 minutes.” You must practice this scenario-based fueling until it becomes second nature.
Post-Run Recovery includes monitoring for post-exercise insulin sensitivity. The run doesn’t end when you stop your watch; it ends when your blood sugar is stable hours later. Plan your recovery meal and your monitoring strategy as part of the run itself.

This week’s actual numbers: