Forums >General Running>Taking gels on long run a good idea?
Derek
I've got a fever...
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
Runners run
Good Bad & The Monkey
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Trying to hammer along with nothing to draw on is like a biological grinding of gears, and the "sparks" that fly take the form of proteins and stray muscle enzymes glutting the bloodstream in unwelcome amounts.
E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com -----------------------------
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Using gels on runs longer than 1.5-2 hours or so has made a significant difference in my training. If anything, I'm starting to suspect that the opposite of the conventional wisdom is true: I think that by using gels regularly on long runs, I'm now seeing my body respond more efficiently on days when I'm not able to use gels. That said, I'm not sure you need to be taking them 3 miles apart. If I were you, I'd take one before leaving the house and one at the halfway point. One key for me was learning how to time the gel so that I took it before actually feeling hungry. The directions on the box work pretty well for me (something like 15 minutes before a run, and every 45-60 minutes after).
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
To quote one of my favorite writers on the subject: Trying to hammer along with nothing to draw on is like a biological grinding of gears, and the "sparks" that fly take the form of proteins and stray muscle enzymes glutting the bloodstream in unwelcome amounts. Bottom line: for optimum performance its always a good idea to keep your glycogen stores topped off.
I once tried to take a gel every 4 miles at a marathon. It did not help.
Also Derek, find out what brand of gel the marathon will be handing out and give it a try. I found that some gels didn't sit in my stomach as well as others and decided to carry my own on a few half-marathons. From what I have read about the Chicago Marathon, they offer PowerGels.
Prophet!
How'd that make ya feel about mile 18-20?