Great going sir! I did my 1st Ultra earlier this year, in Tampa, Florida. To confess, I did not train as well as I should've, running a lot of "junk miles" and only half-hearted about the nutrition aspect.
I did suffer for about a month afterwards in terms of pulled muscles a persistent pains, but I got serious about rest and nutrition after and that seemed to help.
Anyway, congrats! And yes, I can confirm that nutrition is important!
Well done on your ultra ;-) It's not a small thing to do.
I'm not sold on the 'junk miles' concept. I reckon the more miles your feet clock up the better - within reason. I think they are only 'junk' if you are just going through the motions and not actually training with purpose.
I have read so many blogs where runners have said they got the nutrition wrong and it ruined their race, that I'm paying it really close attention.
You need fuel to keep going, and the best fuel will keep you going longer. so the trick is finding the best fuel for what you want to do.
I'm pretty good for pain nearly two weeks after the event. I'm dying to get back out running. but i have enforced two weeks of rest just to make sure I fully recover.
To make matters worse, we have had two really nice days that would have been perfect for a shake-down run.
Not to worry. There will be more days with sunshine (I hope) :-)