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Sports drink and Energy Gels (or equivalent) (Read 1213 times)

    Hi All! I'm almost through my mammoth pack of assorted Sports Jelly Belly's, and have decided that I probably won't buy them again. While I enjoy the taste and concept of them, I find I still prefer gels, especially in a race situation. I'd like to know what everyone else here uses, whether it be the Shot Blocks (I'm considering these), gels, or whatever else, as well as the reasons why you use these, be it convenience, taste, or just habit? Also, what sports drinks do you consume on your long runs, and how come? I'm using just plain gatorade right now (the powdered stuff because I'm not paying for premade bottles), but I see advertisements for new sports drinks that are "revolutionary vs. the most popular sports drinks." Opinions, comments, answers? Thanks for your help and surveyed responses!
      I drink water, and sometimes sports drink, a discount brand, occasionally V8 vegetable juice. I have not eaten food on long runs, have not found it necessary; but my longest run is 28km, not as far as you are running. simon.

      PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                          10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

       

        I alternate between water and Gatorade on any runs over an hour long. I've never used gels on any of my training runs (as long as 24 miles) because I feel that I better adapt to running long without them, but I do carb load the 2-3 days before a long run or marathon. I have used gels during a marathon but don't think they did much for me other than upset my stomach. Tom


        over 9000!!!

          I have tried gator/power/accel/heed and what i like the best is Cytomax. just ask deena castor. tired the shot blocks in a marathon once. they were ok. my stomach actually has an iron coating, but i can see how it may not agree well with others. as far a gels go... hammer stuff works good and is efficient but tastes like baby vomit... if you have stomach issues try cliffshots... they have some good flavors that seem to work easier on timid stomachs.... just dont use the caffeinated ones. a bit of caff before a run "may" be ok. one should not intake a diuretic when trying to hydrate. also, it can affect your heart muscle in a detrimental way. (oh crap here comes all the die hard caffeine users after me; well you just try to catch me with your arrhythmias...)


          jfa

            hammer stuff works good and is efficient but tastes like baby vomit... Wing Zero eats some weird stuff

             

             

             

             

             

             


            The Greatest of All Time

              During long runs I use a carb/protein drink (4:1 ratio). I highly recommend taking in some protein during long runs. I recover faster and my legs are NO WHERE near as sore compared to a carb drink only. You can make your own or you can try something like Accelerade. I have used GU and Powergels and they work fine.
              all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

              Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.


              Giants Fan

                I use GU on runs longer than 10 miles. I use them about 6 mile increments and I have also alternated in races between water and gatorade. I have to say I do like using the GU because I feel like I don't bonk when I use them. I do think its a personal thing though, works great for some, not for others. Good luck! CC

                "I think I've discovered the secret of life- you just hang around until you get used to it."

                Charles Schulz

                  on my 1/2 marathon I did. I tried the cliff shot blocks. They were gross. I had the Margarita flavor and I thought I may throw up. I was glad I had a pack of Sport Jelly Belly's with me. The race also provided GU and I tried some of that. I liked that the best. It was easy to eat and did not taste bad, although the consistency is a bit weird. I need to try something besides gatorade. It always messes with my stomach and gives me heart burn. Not sure if its from the acid nature or the sugar.


                  SMART Approach

                    Accelerade gels with 4:1 carb to protein ratio. If I want some caffeine I will get Power Gels or GU w/ caffeine. I like the gels pre race as I don't like to eat solid food before a race. Makes me feel very heavy and really need 4 hours. I take 2-4 gels depending on length of race to top off carb stores and get blood sugar up a bit but allow enough time to allow blood sugar to stabilize. I prefer 2-3 hours before race. Also , Gatorade is nice option a couple hours before race. I may drink 16 oz of Gatorade a couple hours before race and that is it. You will empty before race time.

                    Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

                    Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

                    Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

                    www.smartapproachtraining.com


                    Hawt and sexy

                      Well, let's see here. When i first started back to running I was just a Gatorade person. Just out of habit really. Then I changed my training. I move to water for the first couple of hours and then Gatorade. i had to do that gradually. I did try gels and Sport beans. I save those for races now. Although I think my gel will be watered down honey for my next marathon, if anything at all. Then the Gatorade seemed to sweet or just gross sometimes. I mix my own so I know it was just my tastebuds. So then I bought the S! caps for electrolytes and I have running candy for carbs. I want to try chicken noodle soup on the run, but I haven't yet. My candy is gummy worms/bears, Sweet Tarts, Smarties, regular and sport Jelly Bellys.....I can go on and on here. Just go to the candy aisle and look for things that are basically pure sugar and you think you could chew on the run. I have also tried Oreos, Saltines, Oranges, graham crackers, pretzels.....basically just about anything you have ever seen given out on a marathon course. As long as I have my salt pills, my carbs can come from a bunch of sources. The best resource I have found for ideas, are ultrarunners. I hear there are a few of them floating around here. I save my recovery drink for after I am done running. My 4:1 drink of choice is chocolate soy milk. It is the cheapest option I have found that I am able to stomach. I can't do regular chocolate milk. But keep in mind here that you only want to replace about 1/4 of the calories burnt up on the run. Don't drink the whole gallon of chocolate milk because you ran a 20 miler. Drink a glass of milk and have a banana. Recovery meal covered. I used to have a big old list of links for this topic, but I don't know where they went. Meh. I am sure I gave enough for someone to figure this stuff out, right?

                      I'm touching your pants.

                        Training runs: just water, plus Endurolyte capsules in hot weather for electrolyte replacement. No carbs! Race events : water + sports drink if they have it at aid stations. Gatorade is ok for me, I used ERG 30 years ago... other sport drinks I wouldn't use without testing first. In one marathon I carried a plastic medicine bottle with Gatorade powder - used it in water from the aid stations. Training runs? Why ingest carbs, you should be training the body to develop its fat metabolism. If I know I could run for 8 - 12 hours at my normal training pace with just the carbs the body has stored in it, why would taking in carbs be necessary? Ok, if you are running 18 - 25 miles or more at a pace which is close enough to your Anaerobic Threshold (AT) so that you are burning carbs at a high rate, you might need some... but isn't that called a *race*, not a training run? Just my $.02 worth of humble opinion...
                        milkbaby


                          In training, I usually don't drink or eat anything unless the run is 18 miles or longer. I do drink water when I do a group run with my peeps or if I know I did a poor job staying hydrated during the day and feel it. For long runs (18+ miles), I like to carry a 24 ounce bottle of Gatorade, simply because that's the size bottle they sell it in! Sometimes when I am not feeling lazy, I save and wash the bottle and refill it because that's cheaper. A couple of times before a marathon I will take a Gu during a 21 or 23 miler after the first 18 miles, and that's just to test that it still works okay, stays down, and doesn't do anything weird to me. One reason I use the Gu in the marathon is that I feel that I don't get enough calories in from drinking Gatorade alone. I am also usually ravenous after a marathon and could eat a horse... Blush In a marathon, I just drink whatever sports drink they offer on the course but take a Gu with water at 9, 15, and 21 miles. In a half marathon, I might drink whatever sports drink they offer at 6 and 9 miles. Anything shorter than a HM, I usually don't bother. Post-race or post-long run I like to drink water or Gatorade and eat some food. What I eat just depends on what I'm in the mood for and what's on hand. Sometimes I have a banana, a granola bar, or I might even do a milkshake from some fast food joint, whatever...
                          "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Gandhi "I have need to be all on fire, for I have mountains of ice about me to melt." -- William Lloyd Garrison "The marathon is an art; the marathoner is an artist." -- Kiyoshi Nakamura
                            Drink for short runs (<2ish> 4hrs): Clip2 / Ultra (4:1 ratio) mix. Has a better nutritional combo for long runs and is relatively tasteless (important when consuming for 10+ hrs). I'll also take chocolate Slimfast on long runs since I like the contrast with fruit drinks - seems to neutralize the acidity. Recovery drinks: Chocolate slimfast if on the road; chocolate milk at home. Electrolytes: Succeed electrolyte caps. Food: Wheat thins (carbs, salt. Doesn't freeze in winter and is light to carry, but somewhat dry in summer), trail mix, dried apricots, aplets and cotlets (for a treat), clif shot bloks (esp. maragarita flavor since it's not a fruity taste), clif bars (cut up in bite size pieces in winter, and may do that in summer also going forward), raisinets, gummi rings, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting about. I've also used baked / nuked potatoes, but they're harder to carry and think it's easier to use time-capsule-suitable food (I believe "shelf-stable" is the pc term). (Don't like gels cuz of taste and too hard to deal with in winter, esp. those little packets. Don't like Ritz crackers since they break too easily and are really dry in mouth.) Note: Because many drinks and things like gummi bears / rings have a fruity taste, I tend to look for foods without that taste for long runs, like 10+ hrs (I'm slow) - hence the preference for margarita-flavored shot bloks although I do like the cran-raz and black cherry ones. Shot bloks and aplets and cotlets seem to survive many hours of winter cold without freezing into a brick like power bars and clif bars do, and they're not as dry as wheat thins so work across a fairly broad range of conditions for me. If I'm going 12 hrs without eating (as someone suggested), I'm fasting for a physical, not running. That said, I consume far less food on the run now than I used to a couple years ago, but sometimes a shot of edible (vs drinking) carbs restores some energy even to a 2-hr run. Some days are just different than other days. Recovery foods: may be fruit or baked potato (stashed in 'frig) if at home or hoagie or cold pizza on the road if it'll be hours before I'm home. I try to get both carbs to replenish stores as well as protein for repair.</2ish>
                            "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog
                              I use acel gels. They have a 4:1 carb to protein mixture that is supposedly 'scientifically proven' to improve your recovery, etc etc etc. Whatever. All I know is I almost actually like the taste of this gel (I use the chocolate), as compared to clif shots which I think are nasty. I also occasionally use clif shot bloks (they also taste good) as a bolus 10 minutes before a long run or a race. I've found they are hard to eat when I'm running hard, though, so in long races I use gels only.