Liquids only for long runs/marathons/ultras (Read 251 times)

Now I just drink water and take in about 50 calories/hour (gels and/or food), and use S! caps (which I've used pretty much since they were first invented.) 

I'm curious -- how far have you gone on just 50 cal / hour? That's pretty low. After months of low-carb, ketogenic training to boost my fat burning, I can get by on < 100 / hour, maybe less, but I haven't tried to go as low as 50. I took 1500 over 18:30 at my last 100.

Thank you everyone. Many suggestions here. Other than the sweetness of the gels/chews, what also happens is that I forget to eat them at any sort of regular frequency. If I have a handheld, or hiking poles, the logistics of freeing up hands to grab a gel, rip it up, put it away etc becomes too much to deal with once I get tired. But water - I drink throughout however long I might be out there.

 

Another question about liquid fuel - with gels, chews etc it's easier to track calories. With fluids only, are you able to be as diligent about tracking your intake?

What Bob said back there.

To that, I'll add that... yeah I get it about keeping hands free.  For me, it helps with flashlight at night and also since my little brain injury (what? yeah), I sometimes need/want both hands free to help me stay upright.  Especially along cliffs where my vertigo kicks in.

SOOOO... I started using a hydration pack instead of a handheld.  This compounds the issue of tracking caloric intake with another one about tracking fluid intake in general.  So much harder for me to tell how much I'm drinking until I get to an aid station and pull it off.  I've learned to do the squeeze/weight test when it is on my back, but that's merely a wild guess.

Hi mamaofthree, I'm trying to find a solution for sweetness as well as being hands free if possible.I love salted boiled sweet potatoes, boiled eggs, ham and cheese sandwiches etc. But nothing beats sugar for that quick energy. But then it gets too sweet. And when I'm tired I forget to eat. So, I'm trying to find a not-too-sweet liquid only solution.

I tried a mix of trailwind and perpeteum just for the taste , the perpeteum did seem to cut down the cloying sweetness. I was even finding naked trailwind to be too sweet. All the 50 miler plans I've seen so far have many many long runs in the upper 20s, low 30s - I'll have plenty of opportunities to experiment.