In my 100 mile attempt last weekend, there were a lot of things that worked really well. Some of these things I’ve used in previous ultras and I knew they’d work, but a few things were firsts for me.
At the top of my “first-time-used-in-an-ultra-and-it-worked-list” is instant potatoes. Oh my gosh; they worked wonders!
First, a few words about firsts at ultras:
It’s not recommended. Firsts, at all that is. Whether you’re talking shoes, clothing, or fuel, if you haven’t used it before, you shouldn’t be debuting it at your ultra. Much is written and podcasted about this essential rule: always practice your ultra plans ahead of time during your long runs.
So when I say that it was my first time trying in an ultra, I mean I haven’t used this particular item during one of my previous ultra races, but I have used it during the training leading up to this race.
In the case of the potatoes, during a particularly busy season during this training block, the night before a long run, I remember the evening winding down and suddenly realizing that I hadn’t planned my fuel ahead of time. Aside from Gatorade, I had zero sports-specific fuel in stock, and the only thing in the pantry that made sense to carry along were fig bars. But I needed about a gazillion calories, and Gatorade and fig bars alone were *not* going to cut it.
(I mean, technically, I had enough fig bars to fulfill the quota, but it would have been a lot of fig bars. It’s always nice to have a variety of fuel options on the trail, because palate fatigue is a real issue.)
My husband, Patrick—ever supportive of my ultra running journey—asked me if it would be helpful if he did a grocery store run in search of trail-friendly calories.
He didn’t have to ask twice.
Among the assorted items he came back with was instant potatoes. He not only bought them, but prepared them that evening and packed them into labeled plastic baggies so that I’d know exactly how many calories were in each pack!
Swoon!
They were perfect.
The only challenge, was that I needed a spoon and two hands to eat them effectively. The spoon issue was easily overcome by packing it with the potato baggie, but the two-hands-issue meant that I couldn’t consume them while running very effectively.
So I stopped.
And I even sat down.
Check out this completely random chair that I found on trail that day!
It felt like an invitation from the universe to be still a minute—which was a perfect minute in which to consume some delicious instant potatoes.
On that specific run, I’d been struggling with wanting to eat anything. Here’s what I recording in my training log after that particular 20 miles:
Fueling: Ugh. I'm just having quite the season of not feeling it with the fuel. I took so many options today, and felt like I was force feeding everything. Yuck. Stopping to eat is better, so that's good to notice. One time I *sat down* to eat my instant potatoes out of a ziplock with a plastic spoon, and that was my best eating experience today hands down! At some point I stopped requiring the calories at every 20 min bell, and would allow for a "skip," especially early in the run. In addition to not "feeling it" appetite wise, I also just felt "heavy and full," so wondering if my caloric goals are just too high? I take enough food along for 400 an hour, but haven't successfully hit that # in months. To take the pressure off eating today, adjusted my goal to around 300 an hour...and came pretty close.
This experience was a good indicator that instant potatoes were a winner for me—the fact that I enjoyed them on a “not feeling it with the fuel” day was a good sign!
I continued to prepare and pack instant potatoes for the remainder of my long runs, and they were a *must* when I made my 100 mile race plans as well.
I already knew that it was best to eat them not in motion, so I planned for my crew to have them hot and ready each time I crossed the 20 mile mark and re-entered the race hub where our pavilion was set up with my zero gravity chair. While my crew worked on changing my socks and shoes and getting me other items I needed, I leaned back in my chair and dug into those potatoes. Because I didn’t plan to carry them with me, I got to eat them out of a small insulated canister instead of a plastic baggie, which was a great efficiency move.
Also, I *never* struggled to get them down. On each of my three of my race-hub pit stops, I ate almost 300 calories worth, and *enjoyed* them! No force-feeding needed.
For an ultra, this is a HUGE win, and fantastic feedback for future race plans!
On race day, we prepared our plain instant potatoes with chicken broth (instead of water or milk), salt, pepper, and a little (vegan) butter. The broth is not only super tasty, but adds a little protein and a good bit of sodium to the mix. If you buy instant potatoes that are advertised as “garlic & herb” or “four cheese,” there’s no need for the salt, pepper, or butter. They are tasty as is.
Of note, I’m pretty sure that my DNF was due both ITBS and the compensation (and subsequent ankle injury) for the ITBS; energy-wise I was still feeling good when I pulled the plug. Obviously I was eating a lot more than instant potatoes on-course, but I think those easy calories in at each pit stop was a fantastic way to set me up for success in continued fueling along the journey.
The chronic injury wasn’t working for me on race day, but those instant potatoes sure were!
Ultras are not just mega miles; they’re about managing a heap ton of other details too. I plan to share a whole series of posts about the products and decisions that got me through my 69.6 miles—find out what else worked for me in my next post!