Running - fasted or fed?

Living in the land of fairly extreme heat, those of us who run here know that if you are going to get your run in, you better do it early! That means very early mornings for dedicated runners and outdoor exercisers. We are talking early - not 6 am early, 4 am....for some, even 3 am if they are getting a long run or ride in. This means that for me, I do all my cardio fasted. I don't value getting food into my body enough to get up earlier than I need to. Today however, was different. Due to an early morning event at school, I decided to put off my run until the afternoon (thanks to the much more pleasant temperatures we are having now). I was surprised at how much faster I ran (notice I say "faster..." not FAST. I'm a slow runner at the best of times). Running in the afternoon had me running a full minute per mile faster. The difference? I had eaten a good breakfast an hour and a half earlier, so was running fully fueled.

This had me researching about the benefits of running fasted vs fed. Although running fasted may have some metabolic benefits, it may also lead to some amount of muscle breakdown (not helpful for anyone who'd like to maintain or even build muscle). For performance purposes, training fed allows you to exercise at a more efficient and higher level, likely leading to better training adaptations. So, for the runner looking to maintain health and gain some training adaptations, it is probably worth including both types of running in your weekly running schedule.