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Handy Little Hydration and Calorie Guidlines by Distance

As requested, here are my guidelines to hydration and calories by distance. First I’ll start with an explanation for each distance, and then you will see a handy little chart that I created. Before we start, disclaimer time: I am not a physician, I am a runner. This information is based on my experience and research that I have done for my own performance. Please be sure to remember that these are guidelines, and that you will have to experiment to see what works best for you! I do believe that this is a good place to start in regards to working on your own plan. Ok, that’s out of the way!

0 – 12 KM or 0 – 7.4 Miles

When you are a brand new runner, it’s probably a good idea to have some water, Gatorade, or Tailwind with you until you can run 5k comfortably. But once you become more advanced, I have found that I do not need any type of hydration or calories at this distance. If it is a hot day, let’s say above 70 degrees, I may decide to take some Tailwind with me as heat does change everything. But normally, I’m good at this distance just going out for a run.

12 – 15 KM or 7.4 Miles – 9.3 Miles

This is the distance where I will take along a handheld water bottle with Tailwind. Tailwind is my preference as it is has plenty of electrolytes, but a very light taste and is easy on my stomach. You may prefer water or Gatorade, you’ll have to experiment. I will take a couple of mouthfuls every 5 KM’s. At this distance, my runs last 65 minutes to 90 minutes.

15 – 42 KM or 9.3 Miles – 26 Miles

Things start to get interesting here! When your runs start to approach that 90 minute to 120 minute range, you need to start thinking electrolytes and calories. If you do not take anything this is when you will start to feel the effects of dehydration and depleted glycogen levels. The dreaded bonk! For this distance I will take an SIS Isotonic Energy Gel every 5 KM’s and then a couple of gulps of Tailwind at the following KM. So it looks like this for a 20 KM run. At KM 5 gel, KM 6 Tailwind, KM 10 gel, KM 11 Tailwind, KM 15 gel, KM 16 Tailwind, KM 20 the run ends and I finish my Tailwind and then move on to recovery nutrition. You need to start taking in electrolytes early and often to avoid hitting the wall. If you don’t take in any calories or electrolytes until 10 or 15 KM’s in, you will be behind the curve. At this distance my runs last 90 minutes to 240 minutes.

Ultra Marathon Distances

The plan is the same as above except I will start to mix in real food as a substitute for the gels. So I will have gels every 5 KM and/or food. SIS GO Energy Bars are great for me, but you will have to find what works for you. Also, I have eaten dried fruit and nuts, cookies, ham and cheese wrap, bananas, salted potatoes, and anything else that strikes my fancy at aid stations. The key thing is to regularly get in the calories and the electrolytes as at distances above 26 miles, it is a must. I have been very lucky so far and I have not had any stomach issues, but it is not unusual for runners to have issues keeping calories down, and then the fun can really start. So I try to train my stomach and eat on my long runs, I suggest you do the same. I shoot for about 300 to 500 calories per hour.

Hydration and Calorie Guidelines

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Discover the One True Key to Success

“To be successful, you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish, then resolve to pay the price to get it.” Bunker Hunt

I believe that anyone can become anything that they want. Sure there are some limitations, someone who is 5’ 6” tall will not be the most dominant center to ever play the sport of basketball, but this isn’t what I am referring to. What I am talking about is that most able bodied people can become as successful as they want within the aspects of their life that they deem important. And here is the rub; everyone has a different definition of what success is, although most people would agree that they have not fully attained it.

Ok then, what’s the one key to success? Unfortunately, I’m not sure that you are going to like it, but this is a dose of reality that most people need to hear. You have to be willing to pay the price. You’re probably thinking “That’s it! What a rip off!” Well, before you stop reading, just take the time to answer a few of these questions:

Are you at the weight that you would like to be at?

Are you as financially independent as you would like to be?

Are you working in a career that makes you happy?

Are you spending the amount of time that you want with the people you love?

The list can go on and on. Now if you answered yes to all of these questions and you are completely satisfied with where you are in your journey, then congratulations and hopefully you’ll be back for the next post. As for the rest of us, let’s dig in to this a little and see what pops up!

What does “willing to pay the price” really mean? Let’s start with something like that person that you know who seems very fit, always has energy, looks good in everything that they wear. You know the guy; you might even hate the guy! But you shouldn’t. With the exception of genetic freaks, when you see a person like this, they are paying the price to achieve that level of fitness and maintain their body weight despite the battle of growing older. What might that price look like? Watch what they eat; smaller portions, fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, and do they drink water instead of soda? What aren’t they eating? Do they skip desserts? When they have a beer, is it A beer or multiple beers?

Listen to what they do with there free time. Are they hitting the gym four or five times a week? Are they getting up early to run three or four times a week? On Monday do they talk about the 50 mile bike ride they went on with their buddies or that long run to get ready for the half marathon they are running in a couple of months?

THAT is the price they pay. Now I’m not saying that hanging out and drinking beers is no fun, it is! But what I am saying is that is a choice we all need to make. And whatever choice you make, don’t regret it, but be aware of it. Own it. This way if you ever want to change your goals, you’ll know what behaviors you need to change and what the price is to achieve them.

I love doing this exercise myself whenever I start something new. Let’s say that you want to change careers, so you need to go back to school. If you are willing to pay the price, you can do it. If you went to a local school, you might be looking at $5000 per year in tuition and books. That’s the financial cost. You will definitely need to attend classes, do homework, and study. That’s the time cost. Assuming you have kids, you’ll need to find child care or help from a family member. Possibly you can take some or all classes on-line to help as well. Regardless, it’s not going to be easy, but you can do it. There are student loans available, you can eat out less, not buy that Starbucks, or skip going to the movies. These are all ways to help fund school. You can do homework and study after the kids are asleep or before the family wakes up in the morning. Weekends may have to be used for school work as well. This is how you can create the time needed. You will have to lose sleep. This is the price that will be required, and like any purchase you make in life, once you know the price, you can decide if you want to make that purchase.

I’ve heard people say “I cannot spare a single cent.” when asked why they are not pursuing a goal, and I show them with this example how that is just an excuse. Do you remember when gasoline went up over 100% in the course of a few short months? What did you do? I’ll tell you what you did; you paid it and went to work. Yeah, we all complained, but we didn’t quit our jobs, we paid it. Thank the lord, the price of gasoline has come way down creating “found money” for us all! What have you done with that money? Are you saving it? Most people are simply just spending it. It kind of gets absorbed in to life doesn’t it? That’s just human nature.

My point is that when this type of cost is imposed on us, we pay it because we have no choice. But you will only achieve the goals that you set for yourself if you are willing to pay the self imposed price of those goals. There is no magic to it. The great news is that this means your goals are within your control and within your reach. Sit down and write down the goals that you want to achieve and then go through the cost of those goals, like we did in the example above. When you’re done, you can decide if you’re willing to pay the price and get there. If the price is more than you’re willing to pay, then the goal is not worth it to you. But at least you’ll know. Or maybe, after you see that while the price may be high, success is within your reach, you’ll go for it. You’ll pay the price and start living a better life! But that is how we grow, by putting in the work. You are capable of more than you think, do not sell yourself short.

For behind the scenes photos and comments of training and personal life “stuff” follow me on Instagram: joe_the_runner

Questions, comments, feedback? Please leave them in the comments section below and we can have a discussion!

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Dealing with the Devil: 5 Ways to Cope

I want to reach out to people who are fighting their own demons everyday. I have been through what you are going through. I have felt despair, guilt, out of control, anger, self deprecation, you name an emotion and I have felt it. I want to let you know that you can do anything that you want to do, and that you are not alone. If you would like to chat, here is my email: joe.randene@joerandene.com

I can remember the day that I almost quit. There was almost no “Joe the Runner”, or a new healthy me, or this blog. Because like so many people that battle demons everyday, I almost gave up and fell right back in to those comfortable habits that had served me so well for so long. And the trigger for this near relapse was stress.

We were having problems at one of our sites in France and I was travelling there every single week, for months. Having started my attempt at losing weight and running about four weeks before, on one exceptionally bad day, instead of running, I went out to dinner and drinks with some friends to commiserate. It was great, I was eating and drinking beer, I ordered a nice dessert at the end of the meal, and all of the stress started to melt away. I was playing my “part”. This is who I was, a jovial, overweight guy. None of my friends knew who I was trying to become and they just saw the “Old Joe”. It wasn’t their fault; you have to hold yourself accountable.

Feeling a lot less stressed and walking back to the hotel where I was staying, something odd started to happen. I started to feel a new kind of stress. The kind that comes from knowing I missed a run and I had completely blown up my nutrition. I say nutrition, because I hate the word diet. Diets do not work long term. You need to eat correctly not necessarily less to lose weight permanently. Check out this post for more: Lose Weight without Being Hungry.

I realized at this moment that if living a healthy lifestyle was going to be a permanent change, it couldn’t cause me stress, because like I said, stress is a trigger for me, and causes me to eat those comfort foods and drink! So I took a deep breath and evaluated the situation. Yes, I completely fell off the bandwagon and yes, I skipped a run. That was the damage, how bad could it be? What could I do to “fix” it? Right then and there I decided to wake up and get an extra run in before work the next morning and get back to eating the right foods immediately.

I woke up the next morning feeling a little hung over and completely full. You know that full that I am talking about when you have gorged yourself on a big dinner late at night. Deep down, I knew there was no way that I was going to run… so I walked. Instead of 30 minutes of running, I just walked, because moving was better then not moving. For breakfast I ate lightly as I was mostly full so I knew a piece of fruit would tide me over. Then I just reflected for a minute. I told myself that I was proud that I woke up this morning and did what I could, and that I wasn’t perfect. I FORGAVE myself.

That day, I ate very clean, no mishaps, and when we got back to the hotel, I went for a run and ate a light dinner. And you know what, when I didn’t order a drink or dessert, no one cared. I started to play my new “part”, and no one really seemed to notice. I was back on track and one step closer to becoming “Joe the Runner”.

This is what I learned in regards to dealing with the devil that I have to battle even to this day:

  • I know that I am not perfect, and I will make mistakes. Just don’t let them become consistent mistakes! In fact, I even plan these “mistakes” as rewards. When I completed my first ultra, I went out and celebrated! I drank beer, I ate gelato, and I ate PIZZA! It was my reward. When you run 36 miles in two days, it’s ok to take a day and go a little crazy.
  • Be kind to myself. When I make mistakes, I take a deep breath, evaluate the damage, come up with a plan to get back on track, forgive myself, and move on. Do not dwell on this stuff!
  • Know your triggers. Take time to reflect and identify the what and why behind your habits so that you are more self aware and can nip them in the bud!
  • Be flexible. Today is a great example! I was supposed to get a 15k run in and rest tomorrow, but I found out last minute that today is my daughter’s senior lunch, so today is now a rest day and tomorrow I’ll get the 15k in. Check Strava if you don’t believe me!
  • Be prepared to leave parts of the old you behind in order to become the new you. Unfortunately this means that you may lose some friends, but my experience has been not my TRUE friends. They stuck around. By the way, I’ve made a lot of great new friends too!

I hope that this post and this blog helps! If you have enjoyed the content please SUBSCRIBE!

For behind the scenes photos and comments on my training and personal life, follow me on Instagram: joe_the_runner

Questions, comments, feedback? Please leave them in the comments section and we can have a discussion!

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15 Underappreciated Work Out Songs

White Limo – Foo Fighters

What’s the Frequency Kenneth – REM

Going the Distance – Bill Conti

Take Me Out – Atomic Tom

Like I Roll – Black Stone Cherry

Black Skinhead – Kanye West

Float On – Modest Mouse

Sabotage – Beastie Boys

I Wanna Be Sedated – Ramones

Anna Sun – Walk the Moon

One Vision – Queen

I’m Shipping Up to Boston – Dropkick Murphy’s

Tick Tick Boom – The Hives

Last Breath – Future

Shining – DJ Khaled

Follow me on Instagram: joe_the_runner to see behind the scenes photos and comments on training and everyday life.

Click here to see my Guilty Pleasure Play List.

Add your underappreciated workout songs in the comments section below!

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Push Up Hack: “Drop and Give Me 20!”

Some of my followers on Instagram: joe_the_runner, see when I post my weekly totals that I may do 1500 push-ups in a week, and they have asked me to share how I do that. I was in the US Navy when I was younger, and I’ll tell you this, during boot camp, the drill sergeants did not allow us to waste a second. If we were waiting for something, like chow, or the next training session, we were guaranteed to here the infamous “Drop and give me 20!” This could happen 10 or 15 times every day. So that was a sneaky 200 to 300 extra push-ups and that added up! I never did the math, but we easily were doing 2000 push-ups a week without even a thought.

It occurred to me, as I was struggling to find time to do core work and strength conditioning due to work and all of my running, that I could apply the same concept to myself and “sneak” in that work through out the week. Being out of shape as I was, I started by building a base. Each night, I would do as many push-ups as I could, which initially was about 10, and then set a timer for one minute and do as many as I could, for five sets. It was a surprisingly quick progression, as within a week or so, I was up to 20 push-ups without stopping!

Once I got to that point, instead of doing push-ups every night, I simply do them throughout the day when the opportunity arises. I literally will “Drop and give myself 20!” Actually now I usually do 35 or 40, but you get the point.

If there is a commercial on TV “Drop!”, food in the microwave “Drop!”, waiting on the wife “Drop!” (I get a lot this way.) This all adds up without even realizing that you’re doing it. And I have seen a huge difference in my strength, my running, and my waistline! So, there you go. That is my push-up hack, and if you do it every day, you will see and feel the results!

For behind the scenes photos and comments on my training and personal life, follow me on Instagram: joe_the_runner

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3 Bullsh*t Myths Stopping Your Weight Loss

If you do not eat anything after 7pm you’ll lose weight.

I’ve heard this a thousand times, and it is simply not true! What you eat and do the rest of the day matters, there is no magic here. If you have acid reflux, this is good advice, or if you do not digest well, doing this may help you sleep better, but if all you do is stop eating at 7pm everyday without looking at your entire day of eating and activities, you will be very disappointed with the result, or lack there of.

Super foods.

This term has become all the rage recently and it is complete crap. “Kale is the new super food.” “Turmeric is the new super food.” There are foods that are good for you and there are foods that do not have a whole lot of nutritional value. Unfortunately these are the foods that usually have the most calories too! Regardless, if you were to maintain all of your unhealthy habits but eat these “super” foods, you will just gain more weight! Even “super” foods have calories. Don’t get me wrong, kale is good for you, but it is not mystical or “super”! You need a comprehensive approach to your nutrition. For a quick start read: “Lose Weight Without Being Hungry”.

My Metabolism is Slow.

If you have been diagnosed by a doctor for a condition and have been prescribed medication, you are off the hook. For the other 99.5% of us, stop lying to yourself! You do not have slow metabolism. In fact, the bigger you are, the higher your metabolism is. Coach Jose Rodriguez from APE Shape Fitness said to me during our interview “I get the genetic thing a lot. What you inherited is the lifestyle choices of your parents. Genetics does not pay as big of a role as we’d like to believe it does. Its basic physics, if you are 300 pounds it will take more energy to walk a block than someone who is 100 pounds, therefore the 300 pound person actually has a higher metabolism.”

Losing weight is very simple, NOT EASY; simple. You need to create a calorie deficit. There are two levers you can pull to do this. One is to burn more calories and the second is to eat less calories. I suggest you work them in tandem with a balanced approach. Increase your calorie burn with exercise and limit your calorie intake by eating foods that have low calorie density. We all know which foods they are: vegetables, fruits, nuts, and lean meats and fish. Coach Jose does a great job helping people with this approach and is offering a 50% discount on his introductory package for anyone who mentions my blog when they sign up for on-line coaching.

If it sounds too good to be true, it is. But you can lose weight if you make the right choices consistently. Remember, you’re not alone, we are here to help!

To see behind the scenes training photos and activities follow me on Instagram: joe_the_runner

Read Coach Jose’s incredible story: “From 120 Pounds Overweight to MMA Champion”

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10 Great Tips for Beginner Runners

  1. Google and find a couch to 5k plan. This will provide you with some structure on how to get to a point where you can run 5k (3.2 miles) without stopping. Once you can do that, you have a platform to work from.
  2. Go to a proper running store and buy the correct running shoes for your gait. This will help you avoid injury, shin splints, blisters, etc. See my post “How to Choose a Running Shoe” for a deeper dive here.
  3. Buy a decent running outfit. This will help you feel better, avoid chafing, and keep you properly cooled down or warm depending on your environment.
  4. Be patient and do not increase your weekly mileage by more then 10% each week. Injuries and pain are generally what cause people to quit. Once you build an aerobic base, running will become much more pleasant!
  5. Do not worry about speed work until you can comfortably run 5k. Your runs should be at conversational pace. In other words you should be able to carry on a discussion. At first you will probably huff and puff, lord knows I did! But if you keep at it, you will get to a point where your conditioning will allow for you to do this.
  6. Learn about proper running form. This will help avoid injuries and make you a more efficient runner which will make your experiences more enjoyable! My favorite book is “Chi Running” by Danny Dreyer and Katherine Dreyer. This technique helped me stop having knee pain during and after my runs.
  7. Sign up for a 5k and represent a charity. This will create accountability and keep you going.
  8. If you like to run with others, look for a local running club and see what types of beginner runner programs they might offer. Your local running store can probably point you in the right direction!
  9. Be flexible. If there is a day where life gets in the way, don’t sweat it. Just don’t let it become two or three days. Or try and move that session to a day that you had scheduled off. You are doing this for you, so don’t turn a positive in to a negative or add stress to your life!
  10. Finally, be kind to yourself! There will be some ups and downs, you are starting something new and challenging, but extremely rewarding. When something doesn’t go your way, reflect, or shoot me an e-mail! When you hit a goal, reward yourself!

If you follow these tips, you will be well on your way to starting a life long hobby that has all sorts of health and psychological benefits! Good luck. Remember, I am not a physician, so check with a physician before starting any physical fitness program.

Add to the list in the comments section below!

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Questions, comments, feedback? Please leave them in the comments section and we can have a discussion!