I just have listened to the podcast : The real science of sport podcast from Ross Tucker and Mike Finch.
Of course, the subject was the Sub 2 marathon. They always talk about shoes, shoes and shoes, but if I pulled the info well, they accord maximum 0.5% to nutrition and sports nutrition. 0.5% of performance increase from the high carb intake.
I really believe that it is much more. Maybe we can say, 0.5% performance increase on the day itself, but solid 5% increase in case of training. And, and, and maybe an overall 10 to 15% increase in general fitness. Like training for the marathon, but not loosing high end speed.
Because as they state in the podcast, you cannot think to have a V12 engine and make it consume 5litres of gas an hour. They believe still that VO2max is contradictory to economy. You just cannot get efficient and fast in case of long distance endurance, if you got high VO2max.
Except that now, with the ideas and science behind fuelling has changed so drastically, the what we gotto imagine is more likely a powerful Turbocharged V6 engine, with a little and light 20L fuel tank, that is topped up each 20 minutes on the go !
Also the thing is that the same thing is done during training. There is way less chance of getting injured, when your muscles are fuelled. There is way less chance of getting hormonal and nutritional issues, when, you are always powered up. Guess what, that equals to less muscle damage after each workout and on the long haul too. Meaning, you need less protein to recover. What ? Sugar replaces protein ? Actually yes ! What a stupid idea ? Well, simply put, using the car analogy, if you ran with your tank topped up, you won't blow your engine.
But guess what again, to absorb and take in that much of sugar, like 115 to 150g an hour, you need water and if you went long enough, you need electrolytes too. Just like your car, need cooling liquids and oil too. So if you got your fuel going on, you got your cooling liquid and oil always fresh, tyres pumped up to correct pressure and miles checked on them, you don't need to go as often to your garage, what represents the protein !
Also, in a previous episode but also in another podcast of SWAP, they mentioned studies that one of the coolest effects of this high carb intake, is not only muscular and energetic, but mental. Motivation. Drive. Determination. I can just brutally account to that. The only time, when you should quit your workout, if it has a neuromuscular goal and you cannot complete it. You can turn a VO2max workout into a threshold session. You can turn a long run into a short run and do 10 x 10sec uphill sprinting and get back later. However, if you want to run sub 2 for 800m as a master, the moment your 200s go over 28sec and you cannot come back under, what you do is worsening the result of the actual workout and imprinting bad habits.
Derailed a bit. What I am saying, that when you just feel down and tired and don't want to finish a workout. Take a gel or even 2. When you don't want to finish your long run, take a gel or two, take some salt and water. When your workout splits are dropping and still have an hour to go, take a gel or two and use energy drinks.
Guess what. When your workouts are fuelled properly like this, even as an amateur athlete, your life is better. Post hard run days or nights are not smoked anymore.
Is it good for you ? Are there health consequences of all that sugar ? Can there be some issues down the line ? How to fuel like a pro to get the benefit ?
There are tons of people talking about diabetes and insulin, etc etc. Well, there is nothing to worry about.
First of all, fuelling is not about chugging down carbs. It is fuelling strategically, to support an effort. Running in Zone 1 or low Zone 2 for 3hours and you try to take in 145g of carbs an hour, you might run into issues, yes. Your insulin production is already lot lower than normal, but still there is, but your GLUT transporter activation is not yet at peak either. You are in a weird MAF style fat burning zone. Those are efficiency runs and can be beneficial either by microdosing sugar of 15 to 40g an hour or just not taking in anything. I mean, a 35min 35 yo 10k runner, jog around @ 115bpm heart rate, he can be there for 3 hours with only water and salt.
On the other hand, when there is power in need, sugar is your friend indeed. So when he cranks up his intensity to 145 to 190 heart rate, in case of intervals, long runs, threshold sessions and long runs, this is when you can train your system, but also your system can train you too ! Back in the day, people were preaching salted potatoes, orange slices and some clif bars on an ultra running race course, while cruising around 115 to 125average heart rate with some probable peaks to 135 to 145. It was believed that if you peaked your HR too high too often you either won't finish or blow up and add 5 to 10hours to your suffer time. They were also training like that. Go out empty stomach in the morning. Not to take anything to any runs. Keep it steady, make that motor go efficient by the trial of miles. Increase speed at the low heart rates.
In 2026 ? Low heart rate ? Nahhh. Keep that heart pumping, your muscles need blood, lymph, water, sugar, amino acids and more. How to keep it pumping ? Fuel it ! Keep the sugar going on !
Well, sports nutritional products are not yet so great. They are not bad, but they are not organic broccoli either. In that regard I cannot tell you, that they are healthy or not, to take 10 to 15 gels a week, for your runs. The only thing that is for sure important, that you can measure what you take in extremely easily. You can dial in your nutrition of pre packaged sports nutritional products.
I can take 2 gels for a 90min training session, with a Maurten 180, during activation in the beginning. That comes back to 135g of sugar total for a 20 x 1minute workout.
If I wanted to do that with natural products. I could use organic Maltodextrine, with Agave syrup. Around 50g of Agave and 35g of Malto. All organic. Use some natural flaworing like grape juice or so. The thing is, that all of that needs mixing, measing nad adjustments to start with and that is only the drink.
First of all, that is going to be so sweet, that you won't be able to jug it down. Not happening. I would rather use like 35g of Malto with 10g of Agave, 1dl of grape juice and 500ml of water with a pinch of salt. Tried, tested, it works as a preworkout preload. On the other hand, on a hot day, you don't want that in your bottle. It will ferment an rott, stain and stink your bottle.
A 5kg bucket of all organic malto is 35 euros and all organic malto from manioca is 49€ for 5kg. 350g of Agave organic is 1.39€.
Then there is the on the run. Instead of gels I could use one 250ml bottle filled up with special liquid. Mapple syrup has around 50 50 ratio, what is good. Maybe if you went over 100g an hour, that 20% difference might cause an issue, but I race a lot with mapple syrup and for under 2hour races, it works just fine.
250g/190ml is 650kcals => 162.5 grams of sugar. So one bottle would fuel me for around 2 hours.
The cheapest I have found was around 2.99€ for 250g, but regulary @ 4€ more likely for the non organic or buying in bulk 19€ for the litre what is 1.32kg.
If I used my equation right, that would set me back to 1€ for 45g of sugar, that I have control right and dose right !
Right now I bought some experimental gels from a brand I highly rate for 2 years now. It also sets me back to 1euro per gel or the normal ones for 19.99 for 16 x 45g of carb gels.
So, actually money wise, it is kif kif. Except that with my gels I never ever ever ever ran into any issues. In mapple syrup, yes I did get low and did get fatigue favor.
In case of the Sis Beta, what is the gold standard still, I blow my mind it with it. It happened 5 times. At first I thought of some infection or something from mountain water. Full body pain, especially chest and gut. Not particualrly anywhere. With microfever. Then again and again and again. I bought one batch from a shop, then also had some ordered online. Same ! It smokes me. Not sure what it does, but sis beta is a nono. I also used it as a last resort during a race as the final caffein boost. It contains 200mg of caff. It gave a so deep hypo, that I lost 1h in the final 10k, like from 10th place I dropped midpack. Dead. Sis is not for me.
Anyways. Hope these ideas helped, but let's do a final check up:
- You must practice loading your stomach with the products, water and salt
- You must use high heart rates like Z2 high Z3 and 24, if not there is no demand for the sugar !
- Start slow @ 60, work it up. It takes little time. In a month and the half you can be at 115 an hour.
- Use gels that are tested by athlets. Sis, PF, Nduranz, 226, Maurten....etc
- You need to keep practicing it with fluid and with salt
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