Oh, a handy fueling idea: Carry a snack size ziplock with you. At aid stations throw a little mix of stuff in there. Then go. Even if you walk and eat, you are moving better than the person hanging out at the aid station. Even better, run and use uphill hikes to graze if you need to ingest "real" food.
Ok. That's a good idea. I think I will be doing the Gu thing supplemented by what else I can drag along from the aid stations.
I heard some comments about S caps. What frequency do people use these? Could you just use normal salt packets from McDonalds?
I plan to start training with a single hand water bottle. I'm not a huge fan of any of the ...ade products unless I cut them majorly with water. Too damn sweet and gooey. Its been an issue for me since I started using these in the 80's at soccer practices. Anyone remember GatorGum? Well would there be something better or is cutting the stuff a solid approach?
BTW - this thread is managing me to not geek out in the ultra running forums because I trust you people more than some anonymous post on the intrawebs.
"He conquers who endures" - Persius "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel
http://ncstake.blogspot.com/
Good Bad & The Monkey
I use salt stick caps. The frequency depends on how much I am sweating and drinking, usually 2 tabs @ every aid station, more if needed. The McD's salt packets work too, but they can be hard to get down.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
C-R, try Heed and Perpeteuum. Hard to get used to, but not sweet and very easy to drink once you do.
old woman w/hobby
I'm very much interested in this topic too.
Thanks for asking the question here, C-R!
steph
Feeling the growl again
While all that may be true, it does not undermine the fundamentathatch that running is stupid.
I'm at a loss against that argument. You win.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Kalsarikännit
(MTFix spelling)
I noticed and enjoyed your new word, fundamentaltruishisism, or whatev. The new mtfix word isn't as fun.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
C-R, try Heed
Aaarrrgh! Watch out C-R! It is an evil trap! It is known as "heave" in running circles.
I hear some people like it. I would just try it before you use it on race day.
HEED is ass, but perpetuem is not so bad.
They also make perpetuem in little solids. They hurt my crowns just thinking about them though.
I hear some people like it.
I can honestly say I haven't, until now. I haven't had the displeasure yet.
I heard the same about Heed in some other threads. I will try the other stuff. Frankly Trent's taste buds are in question - the man loves lambics. Enough said.
Like I said, it took some work to learn to drink Heed. Basically, once I could drink Perpeteuum, I could drink Heed. They had it at Lookout Mt, and it was no problem.
I think everyone pretty much hit the how often to fuel/what they like to use. One thing I've found from personal experience though is that fueling during training runs vs fueling during a race is not the same thing. I can practice all I want during training runs, but 4 1/2 hours into a 50 miler my stomach turns and I can't get anything down even though I've executed fueling exactly as I have practiced.
My point here is not that you should lose all hope of fueling working, but don't be surprised if your stomach is pissed off at you some point during the race. The most important thing is to get through it and to continue to try to get things down because your stomach issues will most likely improve at some point.
Not meaning to hijack the thread. But how do you each handle the logistics of it all.
Talking no crew etc. If taking 2-3 gels per hour + water or what ever and having say 2 or more hours
between aid stations? How are you carrying / replenishing?
Not meaning to hijack the thread. But how do you each handle the logistics of it all. Talking no crew etc. If taking 2-3 gels per hour + water or what ever and having say 2 or more hours between aid stations? How are you carrying / replenishing?
It kind of depends on if "2 or more hours" means "under 3" or "could be all day".
For 2-3 hours, I'm carrying my hydration in my hands... handheld bottle in each hand. I will, at some point, swap that out with a camelbak for when my hands get tired. Some people just do the bladder to keep their hands free the whole time.
2-3 hours means 3-4ish gels or two packs of chews for me. These go in my race ready pockets, or (preferred) my vest, or stuffed into the handhelds' pockets. Depending on how long I'm out there, I may leave the aid station with some solid food... which goes into the vest. But usually, I will leave the aid station munching on the food.
Some people will carry a little flask full of gel.... by 'flask', I mean a little bottle the size of your palm, not a booze flask. I don't do this because refilling this (with more gel from my drop bag at an aid station) is a pain in the ass, especially when tired. Much easier to grab the individually-sized packages of gel and go.
And YES, I carry little baggies with me for trash.
Race Ready shorts are great, with all the pockets. My first year when I had no crew, I crammed so much in a pair that I had issues with it pulling the shorts down (~3hr supply).
Beyond that, I personally am not a fan of stuff around my waist...aggravates the back and hip issues. I also had an Amphipod waist pack that would hold ~9-10 gels and didn't enjoy wearing that. Personally I would go to the Nathan ultra vest if I was going to have much over 2 hours between stops. The guy behind me in the last ultra had one and it looked pretty comfortable.