Expedition Diet: Developments
“We have to add more calories to your diet. You need to 30-60 calories per hour when you workout more than an hour. Yesterday you ran for 5 and a half hour. That´s a lot of calories needed. And you used 2311 calories during that time. I never train as much time as that. Or those distances.”
Now that statement surprised me. Marta Naczyk is one of Polands best ultra runners competing in distances over 100 km:s. She is also my dietist. She helps athletes, explorers, mountaineers to find the right diet to perform at their best. During training and “competition”. She has helped me since November last year. First with a diet to loose fat and weight. Once that was done over 6 months, she added on more calories and food to my diet. I have kept to that diet for 8 months. But lately I have been very hungry and extremely tired -for days- after the long runs. After every training session really. And I don´t want to be cranky with my daughters. Yesterday Marta and I had a new discussion what would be best for me.
“First of all, you don´t eat and fill up with enough calories when running. So afterwards your motor is completely empty. This is the reason it takes days for you to recover.”
She was right. Once running, I don´t want to stop. I loose my concentration every time I stop.
“Secondly, your body now looks the way it should. Now we need to get it ready for that hard work on Expeditions that is waiting. So more nuts, seeds and solids for you for now on. Adding on a kg is not a problem.”
The tiredness I have felt after every long run is just…exhausting. I have cut down to one long run a week, not two as earlier. Running is by far the hardest! But I have become to love it. But Marta also made me think this:
Maybe I should concentrate more on pulling tires and cut down on the really long runs, since my Expeditions are not about running? It is just that pulling tires in Sibbarp is among the most boring in life. Same stretch, same distance.
And, obviously, my tiredness is also due to age. So the diet, rest, recovery, sleep is more important than ever.
Why do I write about this? First of all, it is part of my life, my work and my next project. Read documentary. Secondly, I get a lot of questions about it from other aging explorers, athletes!
Marta has made a huge difference to me!
Marta Naczyk https://www.instagram.com/martanaczyk/
Follow my training https://www.strava.com/athletes/23404606
