Once my run workouts go beyond an hour in duration, I need to do some planning. It is important to think about how to have adequate nutrition and hydration on long runs.

I am usually faced with one of two choices, when it comes to dealing with nutrition and hydration on long runs.  If my run allows me to loop back to my car at regular intervals, then I can set up a water stop on the bumper of my car.  If I cannot do this, then I need the use my hydration vest and carry stuff with me.

Today, I ran at the local park, where I can easily visit my car every 3-5 miles, depending on the route I take. I ran for a hour and 45 minutes today.  I drank a good amount of Gatorade before starting my run.  I then visited my ‘water stop’ after 40 minutes and 65 minutes of running.

This allowed me to take in plenty of fluids and also some calories.  During the run, I try to take in at least 16 ounces of liquid per hour, more if it hot.  For calories, I shoot for about 120 per hour.  I was able to do this quite easily today.

My run went very well this morning.  After my legs ‘woke up’, which took about thirty minutes, I felt very strong.  I was able to maintain a really nice pace, while keeping my heart rate quite low.  The temperature was almost perfect for running; not too hot and not too cold. It also helped that I stuck to my plan, and managed my nutrition and hydration well.