Question:
long runs to turn on fat burning ability, or went out too fast and built up lactic acid. No, I ran at HR about 7 beats below the lactic threshold, and it dropped to 40 beats lower after 20km (plus or minus 5km). Are you saying you are doing your long runs at 7 beats below your LT?
The long runs I was referring to, yes (only two until now!) If so, well then I’d say you ARE running too fast. WAY to fast. That is almost your marathon pace (fit runners’ marathon pace is 94% of LT usually according to Janssen).
Would that be Peter G.J.M. Janssen? He actually claims that the precise number is 94.3% (in a footnote, which appears to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, however 
Nevertheless, if this is marathon pace, then it would have to be suitable for running 42.2km (and I only wanted to do 30km!) Your LSD runs should be just above your recovery pace, at what many books call "Zone 2", or "Aerobic 1". Janssen says this is 70-80% of LT
Maybe, but in his book the examples of advice he gave to runners are showing higher values (I’m talking about the Dutch version: "Het nieuwe basisboek training", ISBN 90 215 8902 8). Friel says this is 85-90% of LT
OK, I’ll try LT-20 to LT-15 next time! — Jos
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Jos, I can’t remember where I read it (maybe on one of the ultra running sites) but there may be some benefit to you in waiting until you’ve been running for about 30 minutes before starting to eat, whatever you decide to eat after that.
It came up on the ultra list with someone, maybe Karl, suggesting one warm up first. I prefer a big meal and full stomach before I take a step. Works for me… First off, I love to east before an endurance event and second, I’m worried that the 30 minute aid station will only offer goat snot and vinegar chips. I always start out slow regardless of full or empty stomach. Experiment during training as see how it works. — Caveat Lector "the further you go outside, the further you go inside" – B. McKibben Doug Freese
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Jos, I can’t remember where I read it (maybe on one of the ultra running sites) but there may be some benefit to you in waiting until you’ve been running for about 30 minutes before starting to eat, whatever you decide to eat after that. It came up on the ultra list with someone, maybe Karl, suggesting one warm up first. I prefer a big meal and full stomach before I take a step. Works for me… First off, I love to east before an endurance event and second, I’m worried that the 30 minute aid station will only offer goat snot and vinegar chips.
Now you probably understand my REAL motivation for running the 50-miler at Umstead as my first ultra: with the 10-mile loop format, I could do my usual light pre-race breakfast routine, and then if the food at the two main aid tables wasn’t good I could just get in my car at the next 10-mile marker and go to a nearby restaurant, eat the breakfast buffet and toast the people still running. Turned out the food was great, at least good enough to keep me running in a lumpy circle for 10+ hours. I later thought about how odd it was to worry very much about how my stomach would fare the first 30 minutes, which turned out to be less than 1/20th of my race. Yikes. Chris
Response:
long runs to turn on fat burning ability, or went out too fast and built up lactic acid. No, I ran at HR about 7 beats below the lactic threshold, and it dropped to 40 beats lower after 20km (plus or minus 5km).
—My LT is about 165-170 bpm…That’s about 5:15-5:20/mile for me. A fastish long run is about 150 bpm, or about 6:20 pace. If I were to be running at 158-163, I would be about 5:40-5:45 pace, or very close to marathon pace. I’d have to say your long run is too fast…especially since the only way I do long runs that fast is because I am very conditioned for the marathon distance. Andy Hass
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No, I ran at HR about 7 beats below the lactic threshold, and it dropped to 40 beats lower after 20km (plus or minus 5km). —My LT is about 165-170 bpm…That’s about 5:15-5:20/mile for me. A fastish long run is about 150 bpm, or about 6:20 pace. If I were to be running at 158-163, I would be about 5:40-5:45 pace, or very close to marathon pace. I’d have to say your long run is too fast…especially since the only way I do long runs that fast is because I am very conditioned for the marathon distance.
Yes, you’re in a different leage! For me, the HRs would all have to be 10bpm lower, and paces would all be 1 minute more (but fortunately we work with minutes/km here, which reduces the numbers quite nicely. — Jos
Response:
long runs to turn on fat burning ability, or went out too fast and built up lactic acid. No, I ran at HR about 7 beats below the lactic threshold, and it dropped to 40 beats lower after 20km (plus or minus 5km).
Are you saying you are doing your long runs at 7 beats below your LT? If so, well then I’d say you ARE running too fast. WAY to fast. That is almost your marathon pace (fit runners’ marathon pace is 94% of LT usually according to Janssen). Your LSD runs should be just above your recovery pace, at what many books call "Zone 2", or "Aerobic 1". Janssen says this is 70-80% of LT Friel says this is 85-90% of LT Burke says this is 60-70% of MHR or HRR Carmichael says this is 65-70% of MHR or HRR My LT is about 175, and my LSD runs are at about 155. If I were to run them at 167, I also would not be able to make 20k. (though even I need Gus or I just feel too tired so maybe I need to slow down as well). You will feel very slow, almost painfully slow, but they say that is the only way to increase endurance. It was very hard for me to run slow, I had to learn to increase my cadence since it seemed like I would get injured easier when running so slow (I was practically bounding at that speed).
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Jos – I ran my first marathon this month and finished it successfully in close to 5 hours. What I did (or just happened) in relation to food/drinks is quite strange. For all my long run training workouts that included few 20 milers, I always ate 1 or 2 Cliff/Powerbar. Never more. Sometimes just one. Also except my last long run, I never drank Gatorade or any other sports drinks. I would just drink plenty of water during my run and after the run. On the marathon day, I didn’t have proper breakfast! I didn’t carry any water bottles and neither gu/gel/energy bars! I totally relied on what the aid stations were offering – so essentially I ate lots of oranges, water and some sports drink. But I made sure that I drank some water and/or sports drink (a small glass or two) and oranges (if there were any left) at most of aid station. I didn’t feel out of energy or fatigued due to not eating power bar and/or gel. Or maybe I did; I don’t remember. But I was never dizzy or out of fuel during entire race. At least I didn’t feel like it. So there you go. Until the race day I heard and practiced eating and dirking something consistently on the long runs, but on the race, my whole plan got changed; but I managed alright. So my advice will be – do eat and drink as you feel comfortable and necessary. – Satish
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored. I’m thinking about running a marathon, but I know that I always run out of fuel after about 20km (or even 15km if I don’t eat enough in advance). A half-marathon is no big deal for me. But I never tried a full one. Without solving the fuel problem, my speed suddenly drops to 2/3 of normal after the carbs are consumed. Haert rate does about the same (from 150 to 115, give or take a few). If I try to get faster anyway, I’m forced to stop quite soon. I assume this indicates that pure fat burning has set in. What can we do about this? Some 1500 Cal. are required to run the second half of a marathon, which means 350g carbohydrates. Should I: 1) Drink 10 liters (more than 2 gallons) of "sport-drink" during the race? (They make the stuf hypotonic, containing almost no Cals!) 2) Eat 12 bananas during the race? (Also 1500 Cal., also difficult!) 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested? 4) Just run the second half on "fat burning" (assuming 1:30h for the first half-marathon, so 2:15h for the second half, so 3:45h total? 5) Run the first half slower, to improve the total time? Would it help much compared to the previous possibility? 6) Improve my speed in the "fat burning" mode? Is that possible? 7) Try "carb-loading" before the race? But isn’t it true that even experienced runners have problems achieving enough of it? Thanks in advance for any other ideas! — Jos
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eating and dirking
Sounds like fun. Bill R. OO
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OK, but If I start eating right from the start I would only have to absorb them at half the rate I’m burning them, to reach the full marathon distance.
Jos, What you’re bumping up against is what makes the marathon such an intriguing challenge for most folks. Simply put – it’s about 6 miles too long. Seriously, most folks can make it to 20 without undue difficulty and only moderate attention to fueling. It’s that last 6.2 that makes it hard. Somewhere in that 6.2 you start to run out of your glycogen stores and have to start burning fat efficiently. That’s where training makes a difference – particularly the LSD training, as others have elaborated. Mike Tennent "IronPenguin"
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#1, get your long runs in to condition your body to handle its fuel more efficiently. I can’t see you running out of glycogen in 15-20km, that’s awfully fast.
It’s not fast, it’s ridiculous. He’s running too fast, because in 20 minutes you aren’t even warmed up yet. Bill R. OO
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#1, get your long runs in to condition your body to handle its fuel more efficiently. I can’t see you running out of glycogen in 15-20km, that’s awfully fast. But I don’t know what pace you’re running either. Most people who decently train for the marathon don’t start to run out until 16-20 miles. If you bonk before that, more likely you weren’t conditioned, didn’t do your
You could say I’m not conditioned for runs longer than 20km. I am just starting to introduce them into my training. long runs to turn on fat burning ability, or went out too fast and built up lactic acid.
No, I ran at HR about 7 beats below the lactic threshold, and it dropped to 40 beats lower after 20km (plus or minus 5km). #3, your body CANNOT absorb calories as fast as you are burning them in a marathon.
OK, but If I start eating right from the start I would only have to absorb them at half the rate I’m burning them, to reach the full marathon distance. If, however, I take the recommended value of, say 45g carbs per hour, then that’s more like 1/4th the rate they’re used up. So I think that as an experiment I’ll try to find out if I can stand twice the recommended carb intake rate (after all, it’s only a recommendation!) and start eating right from the start of a long run, to see if I can get anywhere near the desired 42km. I’ll keep you informed! — Jos
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… So I think that as an experiment I’ll try to find out if I can stand twice the recommended carb intake rate (after all, it’s only a recommendation!) and start eating right from the start of a long run, to see if I can get anywhere near the desired 42km.
Jos, I can’t remember where I read it (maybe on one of the ultra running sites) but there may be some benefit to you in waiting until you’ve been running for about 30 minutes before starting to eat, whatever you decide to eat after that. Somebody here will probably know the digestion/running science reason for this but I can say from my experiment of one that it seems to help me run more comfortably in the easy-going first few miles of a long run. Maybe something to do with blood not being suddenly sent to aid in digestion when your body is first adapting to the running state. Chris
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See below… It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored.
A more correct general statement is that to run a marathon requires more energy than can be supplied solely by stored carbohydrates. Proper training (more in a minute) lets you run on stored fats as well. 1 lb of fat represents more than enough energy to run the entire marathon. [snip -- I second what Sam says and see no need for further elaboration] 6) Improve my speed in the "fat burning" mode? Is that possible? Yes. It is called training properly.
Ok, here some elaboration might be useful. It is in training runs of greater than, approximately, 2 hours that you train your body to burn fats for part of the energy. Not that you do no fat burning earlier, but here is where it starts becoming major — you have been out for too long for the body to keep cheating and using the ‘easy’ source of your carb stores. By running for long enough (pace doesn’t matter _per se_, just ‘long enough’) to significantly deplete your carb stores, which is about 2 hours for most people, your body responds by developing/releasing more enzymes suitable for burning fat. It learns and remembers that lesson for a couple of weeks, so that if you continue doing long runs of 2 hours+ every couple of weeks, you continue to improve this aspect of your biochemistry. — Robert Grumbine http://www.radix.net/~bobg/ Science faqs and amateur activities notes and links. Sagredo (Galileo Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less appreciated than they would be had they been presented in a more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – See below… It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored. I’m thinking about running a marathon, but I know that I always run out of fuel after about 20km (or even 15km if I don’t eat enough in advance). A half-marathon is no big deal for me. But I never tried a full one. Without solving the fuel problem, my speed suddenly drops to 2/3 of normal after the carbs are consumed. Haert rate does about the same (from 150 to 115, give or take a few). If I try to get faster anyway, I’m forced to stop quite soon. I assume this indicates that pure fat burning has set in. What can we do about this? Some 1500 Cal. are required to run the second half of a marathon, which means 350g carbohydrates. Should I: 1) Drink 10 liters (more than 2 gallons) of "sport-drink" during the race? (They make the stuf hypotonic, containing almost no Cals!) That would be way too much. The limit on fluid transit from the gut is about 1 liter/hr (give or take based on individual factors of course). Gatorade and Powerade provide good fuel source. Gels are more energy dense. 2) Eat 12 bananas during the race? (Also 1500 Cal., also difficult!) I would not recommend that. 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested? Gels are better than bars. The recommended intake of carbs is 30 to 60 g/hr. One gel falls nicely in that range. Start early. Drink water with the gel. 4) Just run the second half on "fat burning" (assuming 1:30h for the first half-marathon, so 2:15h for the second half, so 3:45h total? You still need carbs to fuel fatty acid oxidation. 5) Run the first half slower, to improve the total time? Would it help much compared to the previous possibility? Generally a good strategy. 6) Improve my speed in the "fat burning" mode? Is that possible? Yes. It is called training properly. 7) Try "carb-loading" before the race? But isn’t it true that even experienced runners have problems achieving enough of it? Yes. Starting out with a full tank is a great idea. Eat something when you get up in the morning to get some sugar in your blood stream and (depending on when you eat) get more glycogen stored in the liver. Your liver glycogen supplies sugar for the bloodstream and the brain and an overnight fast can use up most of the glycogen in the liver. Thanks in advance for any other ideas! — Jos
Sam’s coments are really good. I would just suggest that the question misses the important aspect of training. Putting in the longer runs will have more impact on improving your result thanjust trying to pick "what to eat". Time for some LSD runs. — Ed Prochak running http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/ netiquette http://www.psg.com/emily.html — "Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference." robert frost
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My son, eating sausage can help improve your race. It’ll keep you hard, firm, and pumped up. I have some Italian sausage, if you like to try. Fr. G
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It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored.
Yes typically you’ll reach 18-20 miles before needing a refuel. I’m thinking about running a marathon, but I know that I always run out of fuel after about 20km (or even 15km if I don’t eat enough in advance).
Take a long hard look at what you are eating. Carbohydrates come in many varieties. Some will be digested very quickly and others will be digested slower. Do a search for glycemic index and you’ll learn more. Or look up diabetes. Diabetics are acutely aware of the kinds of carbohydrates and how they work in the body. A half-marathon is no big deal for me. But I never tried a full one. Without solving the fuel problem, my speed suddenly drops to 2/3 of normal after the carbs are consumed. Haert rate does about the same (from 150 to 115, give or take a few). If I try to get faster anyway, I’m forced to stop quite soon. I assume this indicates that pure fat burning has set in. What can we do about this? Some 1500 Cal. are required to run the second half of a marathon, which means 350g carbohydrates. Should I: 1) Drink 10 liters (more than 2 gallons) of "sport-drink" during the race? (They make the stuf hypotonic, containing almost no Cals!)
No, you’ll never make it to the finish line without running into the portajohns 20 times. 2) Eat 12 bananas during the race? (Also 1500 Cal., also difficult!)
Where you going to carry 12 bananas? 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested?
10 power bars would be somewhere around 3000 to 4000 calories. Thanks in advance for any other ideas!
From the questions you’ve asked it appears you have either a very unusual digestive system or not a lot of knowledge of foods. What are you doing when you run out of fuel at 15-20 k? Are you running on an empty stomach? What you describe sounds unusual to me. I’ve made it through my marathons on one powerbar from 13 miles to the finish. So I don’t understand why you or anyone else would need one per mile in order to finish. Learning about food and how a runner’s body uses it are very important things to learn while you train for a marathon. Experiment with different products and methods now before you ask this question a week before the marathon. While you have the opportunity contact a registered dietician or nutritionist. Explain what you are experiencing and then work out solutions. Andy
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… 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested? Gels are better than bars. The recommended intake of carbs is 30 to 60 g/hr. One gel falls nicely in that range. Start early. Drink water with the gel.
I know that is the "recommended" intake, but since it is about 10 times less than what is needed, it is a recommendation of limited value. 7) Try "carb-loading" before the race? But isn’t it true that even experienced runners have problems achieving enough of it? Yes. Starting out with a full tank is a great idea. Eat something when you get up in the morning to get some sugar in your blood
Well, actually I wouldn’t run the Marathon without eating in advance, but I doubt whether many human beings can successfully store a carb- loading of 1500 Cal (unless they use illegitimate insulin intake!) To make things clearer, let’s take a triathlon! In that case 5000 Cal. of carbohydrates (assuming 50/50 carb/fat burning) are necessary. Carb-loading won’t give you that. So what do these athletes eat? — Jos
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#1, get your long runs in to condition your body to handle its fuel more efficiently. I can’t see you running out of glycogen in 15-20km, that’s awfully fast. But I don’t know what pace you’re running either. Most people who decently train for the marathon don’t start to run out until 16-20 miles. If you bonk before that, more likely you weren’t conditioned, didn’t do your long runs to turn on fat burning ability, or went out too fast and built up lactic acid. #2, use gels and take sports drink at the aid stations. Those are most quickly absorbed. #3, your body CANNOT absorb calories as fast as you are burning them in a marathon. This is why the top people in the world run sub-5 min pace for a marathon (only 30-40 sec/mile off 10k record pace), yet it slows to I believe 6+ min/mile for a 50-miler…they have to slow down to the point where they can absorb calories as fast as they are burning them. Such events become fuel/efficiency limited rather than aerobic ability limited. Because of this, any attempt to replace all of the calories you are burning is in vain. Instead you should aim to prolong the wall until 1 meter past the finish line. In other words, if you hit the wall at 18 miles, you are wiser to try and replace the calories you will need for miles 19-26 during the beginning of the race, hence prolnging the wall that extra 8 miles and getting you to the line. Andy Hass
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It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored. I’m thinking about running a marathon, but I know that I always run out of fuel after about 20km (or even 15km if I don’t eat enough in advance). A half-marathon is no big deal for me. But I never tried a full one. Without solving the fuel problem, my speed suddenly drops to 2/3 of normal after the carbs are consumed. Haert rate does about the same (from 150 to 115, give or take a few). If I try to get faster anyway, I’m forced to stop quite soon. I assume this indicates that pure fat burning has set in. What can we do about this? Some 1500 Cal. are required to run the second half of a marathon, which means 350g carbohydrates. Should I: 1) Drink 10 liters (more than 2 gallons) of "sport-drink" during the race? (They make the stuf hypotonic, containing almost no Cals!) 2) Eat 12 bananas during the race? (Also 1500 Cal., also difficult!) 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested? 4) Just run the second half on "fat burning" (assuming 1:30h for the first half-marathon, so 2:15h for the second half, so 3:45h total? 5) Run the first half slower, to improve the total time? Would it help much compared to the previous possibility? 6) Improve my speed in the "fat burning" mode? Is that possible? 7) Try "carb-loading" before the race? But isn’t it true that even experienced runners have problems achieving enough of it? Thanks in advance for any other ideas! — Jos
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I don’t know what everyone does, and you may well be different, but I generally go through about a half a dozen gel packs and I make about half of what I drink the sport drinks. I also generally find something along the way that someone is handing out, generally some kind of candy. — Joseph E. Meehan 26 + 6 = 1 It’s Irish Math
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored. I’m thinking about running a marathon, but I know that I always run out of fuel after about 20km (or even 15km if I don’t eat enough in advance). A half-marathon is no big deal for me. But I never tried a full one. Without solving the fuel problem, my speed suddenly drops to 2/3 of normal after the carbs are consumed. Haert rate does about the same (from 150 to 115, give or take a few). If I try to get faster anyway, I’m forced to stop quite soon. I assume this indicates that pure fat burning has set in. What can we do about this? Some 1500 Cal. are required to run the second half of a marathon, which means 350g carbohydrates. Should I: 1) Drink 10 liters (more than 2 gallons) of "sport-drink" during the race? (They make the stuf hypotonic, containing almost no Cals!) 2) Eat 12 bananas during the race? (Also 1500 Cal., also difficult!) 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested? 4) Just run the second half on "fat burning" (assuming 1:30h for the first half-marathon, so 2:15h for the second half, so 3:45h total? 5) Run the first half slower, to improve the total time? Would it help much compared to the previous possibility? 6) Improve my speed in the "fat burning" mode? Is that possible? 7) Try "carb-loading" before the race? But isn’t it true that even experienced runners have problems achieving enough of it? Thanks in advance for any other ideas! — Jos
Response:
Of the possible answers you listed, Nos. 5 and 7 have some merit. The others regarding bananas, sport drink and gels/bars include extreme quantities but certainly moderate consumption of those items will help some–there are limits on what the stomach can empty and the body can use per hour. In addition, your statement that you always run out of fuel after about 20km suggests that you may not be approaching long training runs properly in order to build endurance and improve "fuel economy" for the marathon. For most people, it is possible to train the body to get better at storing and using glycogen while running. Sounds like you may be running too fast during long runs or at least during the first few miles, although you didn’t specify your pace during these depletion-inducing runs. Perhaps you already do this, but you should be doing some of your long running at 10 to 20% slower than marathon goal pace, all the while experimenting with food and drink before and during those runs to see what works for you. Advanced Marathoning (Pfitzinger/Douglas) includes a long section worth reading on your topic. chris – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored. I’m thinking about running a marathon, but I know that I always run out of fuel after about 20km (or even 15km if I don’t eat enough in advance). A half-marathon is no big deal for me. But I never tried a full one. Without solving the fuel problem, my speed suddenly drops to 2/3 of normal after the carbs are consumed. Haert rate does about the same (from 150 to 115, give or take a few). If I try to get faster anyway, I’m forced to stop quite soon. I assume this indicates that pure fat burning has set in. What can we do about this? Some 1500 Cal. are required to run the second half of a marathon, which means 350g carbohydrates. Should I: 1) Drink 10 liters (more than 2 gallons) of "sport-drink" during the race? (They make the stuf hypotonic, containing almost no Cals!) 2) Eat 12 bananas during the race? (Also 1500 Cal., also difficult!) 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested? 4) Just run the second half on "fat burning" (assuming 1:30h for the first half-marathon, so 2:15h for the second half, so 3:45h total? 5) Run the first half slower, to improve the total time? Would it help much compared to the previous possibility? 6) Improve my speed in the "fat burning" mode? Is that possible? 7) Try "carb-loading" before the race? But isn’t it true that even experienced runners have problems achieving enough of it? Thanks in advance for any other ideas! — Jos
Response:
See below…
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s often stated that on a marathon we consume more carbohydrates than the body has stored. I’m thinking about running a marathon, but I know that I always run out of fuel after about 20km (or even 15km if I don’t eat enough in advance). A half-marathon is no big deal for me. But I never tried a full one. Without solving the fuel problem, my speed suddenly drops to 2/3 of normal after the carbs are consumed. Haert rate does about the same (from 150 to 115, give or take a few). If I try to get faster anyway, I’m forced to stop quite soon. I assume this indicates that pure fat burning has set in. What can we do about this? Some 1500 Cal. are required to run the second half of a marathon, which means 350g carbohydrates. Should I: 1) Drink 10 liters (more than 2 gallons) of "sport-drink" during the race? (They make the stuf hypotonic, containing almost no Cals!)
That would be way too much. The limit on fluid transit from the gut is about 1 liter/hr (give or take based on individual factors of course). Gatorade and Powerade provide good fuel source. Gels are more energy dense. 2) Eat 12 bananas during the race? (Also 1500 Cal., also difficult!)
I would not recommend that. 3) Eat about 10 energy bars or gels while running? Will they really be digested?
Gels are better than bars. The recommended intake of carbs is 30 to 60 g/hr. One gel falls nicely in that range. Start early. Drink water with the gel. 4) Just run the second half on "fat burning" (assuming 1:30h for the first half-marathon, so 2:15h for the second half, so 3:45h total?
You still need carbs to fuel fatty acid oxidation. 5) Run the first half slower, to improve the total time? Would it help much compared to the previous possibility?
Generally a good strategy. 6) Improve my speed in the "fat burning" mode? Is that possible?
Yes. It is called training properly. 7) Try "carb-loading" before the race? But isn’t it true that even experienced runners have problems achieving enough of it?
Yes. Starting out with a full tank is a great idea. Eat something when you get up in the morning to get some sugar in your blood stream and (depending on when you eat) get more glycogen stored in the liver. Your liver glycogen supplies sugar for the bloodstream and the brain and an overnight fast can use up most of the glycogen in the liver. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks in advance for any other ideas! — Jos