Refueling the Right Way and Why Its Important!

        I don't think I can stress enough how important proper fueling is for runners. I preach it all the time to my friends and family about how to eat and what is needed for the long runs. I sometimes don't get my daily intake of calories, carbs, and protein and it's not a good thing. We all live busy lives and sometimes we overlook eating enough to sustain our weight and maintain an active body. I went on a 10mi run this morning and bonked out at mile 8.5 I had to stop on the sidewalk and lean against a fence to catch my body from falling over. My breathing and heart rate were fine, it was just my body gave out on me (Not enough fuel). I sucked it up kept a 9:30 pace for another mile and a half.  I didn't eat properly to sustain enough energy to last  the10 miles. I carbo loaded last night with a big bowl of pasta with marinara and veggies a Greek salad and bread. I ate a 350 calorie breakfast before my run and drank plenty. Sometimes its just not enough. You have to eat the right amount of calories which is 2500 for daily living and you have to add what you burn off in your runs. This is everyday not just before your runs or the night before(which is what I did,Guilty!). I find it hard to eat a lot at one time, so for others like that out there, I feel your pain and it Sucks!. I had to learn to eat breakfast EVERY day, Its the most important meal to give you energy for the day and jump start your metabolism. Also for my training I need 3500-4000calories, 450g of carbohydrates and 75g of protein every day to maintain my training. This is all hard at first, But honestly it becomes habit and eating every 2-3 hours small portions at a time helps to keep you going all day. It does vary between every person on what your daily intake for proper fueling is. ULTRArunning.com Nutrition for the Long run. is recommended site for anyone wanting to learn more on proper nutrition.
         So I learned from today's run how important it is to fuel properly. Sometimes we must fail to succeed, and this is what happened with me. I bonked out, ran out of gas, But I didn't let that end my run so short of 10miles. This is when the running becomes more mental than physical and as becoming a runner you learn how this game really works. You must always keep going, Dean Karnazes said "Run when you can, Walk if you have to, Crawl if you must. Just never give up." This is my mantra and helps me keep going. Its a very deep meaning for runners or anyone doing something that involves them pushing themselves past their own limitations. It's a daily task pushing myself when I'm out there running and I want to quit, I must always keep my head up and keep pushing and looking forward. I hope to achieve many great things one day and the only way I can do that is to Never Stop Running!