Hi Everyone,
I browsed through this subreddit and couldn’t find a lot of answers, so I’m hoping people can provide more insights. I’m currently training for my marathon (under 4 hours target).
I’m a 165cm, 60kg male. I was a bit overweight before (72kg), so I started 16-8 IF and 10k running about 6 months ago, and I was able to complete a half marathon (under 2 hours). For the next part of the training, I wonder if I should keep IF or return to normal eating schedule? I’m a bit worried that my body cannot hold for 4 hours running.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thank you.
I think it’s possible but you should also be flexible and listen to your body.
Maybe make an exception on your long run training days once you start to enter the 25+km long runs. Your body just doesn’t have enough fuel at a certain point and will start breaking down muscle to keep going.
As you’ve shown, anything under 21km you’ll probably be fine, it’s those long runs that you need to replenish your body’s fuel.
And yeah, listen to your body. If it’s screaming out for food, eat something.
I couldn’t restrict cals while training for a triathlon. So I just focused on training through the tri.
Currently am doing a weight loss focus with no training. Plan to start up training again after reaching a specific milestone.
I am also interested in other people’s experiences!
Professional endurance athletes rarely practice IF because it doesn’t optimize performance. They eat constantly.
If you want to maintain some type of fasting routine while marathon training, what if you tried time restricted eating instead of 16:8? Just eat at 6am, noon, and 6pm. You’ll get a 12 hour fast overnight and 6 hours in between meals. Run from 7-11 or 2-5 and you’re eating pretty soon before and after your long runs but with enough time in between to digest your previous meal.
Sure. Fasting and training in a fasted state is widely used amongst some ultra endurance racers from time to time.
I suggest you visit forums specifically for this.
Afaik you time your training so you eat after training so you give your body nutrients right after the workout. And focus on eating enough in your eating window
I hope you are taking the right supplements to account for any nutrient deficiencies you may have.
Active people tend to lose more and so they need more.
And if you don’t get enough, it can cause serious problems.