I don't do ultras but have done a HIM, plenty of marathons, and some DIY runs over marathon distance...... It's my understanding that you DON'T eat 12,000 calories or whatever, at least during the event and probably on the day of the event. Basically you learn in training how to continue to race effectively while running a caloric deficit, because no one's digestive system could actually handle taking in as many calories as would be needed for a long event. Then you put it back in over a couple of days of good eating.
In my case, with a HIM, I took in about 600-700 calories total on the bike/run, very much on the low side even for my size
(about 115 pounds
) but I didn't "bonk" and had a very strong finish. I recall not feeling hungry for a few hours after, then having a fairly normal lunch
(sandwich, some chips as I was craving salt after a warm race, fruit
). Dinner was also fairly normal size--pasta, salad, bread. I think we went out for Frappucinos later. Surely didn't put back all the thousands of calories I'd burned but I think I did a pretty good job the next day--woke up hungry and just kept eating. I still remember what I ate as it was just amazing how much I put into myself in one day where the only exertion consisted of driving about six hours, and how hungry I was!
*Breakfast at hotel--oatmeal, fruit, scrambled eggs, couple of bagels with PB and J
*Snacking on trail mix while driving. i thnk I ate a half pound bag of it over the course of the day.
*Stop for another breakfast late morning as I was just too hungry to continue. Giant omelette with avocados, salsa, sour cream, big side of home fried potatoes, giant biscuit.
*Stop for lunch. Veggie burger, fries, some kind of shake.
*Fruit shake later--we stopped at an outlet mall about two hours from home and already hungry again
*Half of a large veggie pizza.
I recall still being a bit hungrier than normal the following day but after that pretty much back to normal. I'm sure I managed to put the calories back! It would be interesting whether the size of the caloric deficit affects one's recovery after a long event.
Edited by Hot Runner 2015-01-16 7:39 AM