race fuel
theglencoegirl
Posts: 69 Member
i have been experimenting with different things during my long runs- getting ready for my 3rd half. i didn't use fuel during the other races. hoping the extra energy gives me a bit of a boost to hit a PB. i have tried jelly beans and dates. i felt both took way to much for to eat. this week i want to try some gels. what are peoples favorites. or other fuel you use!
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It's a personal preference, some love one thing, others swear by another.
I too find the sport beans a bit too cumbersome to chew. I like the GU Chomps as I find them softer and quicker to chew to the point of swallowing. I can also carry the empty packet with me to the nearest trash can (or to the finish in my pocket) without any sticky issues like with gels. Although I see a lot of gel packets on the ground in races...I assume because people don't want to get sticky. So there is always that option if you choose gels (no chewing really necessary with those). I just prefer not to leave anything behind like that. Like I said, it's all personal preference.0 -
I used GU for half marathons but found it upsets my stomach for anything longer. I'm now a Clif Shot fan -- they go down super easy and taste less chemical. They're made with rice syrup, which is easily digested. Shot blocks are good too but I find they take longer to kick in.
I've heard both good and bad things about Honey Stingers -- good because they're natural and lots of energy, bad because they are very high sugar and some people have cramping issues with them. I've also been known to take some watered-down Gatorade with me on long runs when it's hot out.0 -
I eat a lot of different things, but I seem to have a cast iron gut. For marathons I will carry a gel with some caffeine to give me a little boost towards the end. Outside of that I will eat whatever they provide at the aid stations to include bananas, oranges, cookies. During the Des Moines Marathon I even stopped to enjoy a 4oz cup of Sam Adams. My only problem with the GU Chomps and jelly beans is they get stuck in my teeth and it is an annoyance. During cold weather runs these things can become difficult to chew as they get very hard.0
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A half marathon is a distance where you probably can go the distance without any supplemental nourishment. I've done them both ways. And really the only reason I used any during a half is to test out my body response at the faster pace in prepping for a full marathon. I have settled in on a fueling plan for full marathons that seems to work.
I use Gu Gels because they don't seem to cause me any problems. My favorites are vanilla bean and salted caramel.0 -
The "boost" is mental during a half. You don't need nutrition unless you have some kind of medical condition or are going to be out there for 2.5hrs +0
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45 minutes into a race effort is the rule of thumb from nutrionist. I like Hammer gel, the consistency and flavors work for me. I can tolerate Clif shots but they are a bit thicker than Hammer. I think Gu taste is revolting but I can keep them down in a pinch.0
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Could pull a @SonicDeathMonkey80 and eat McDonald's during a half =P
My one half (2012), I ate half of a Chewy bar and that was it.
And this past summer, I started running with water for things over 8mi.
So I'm not helpful lol
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I agree with this. I don't generally fuel or hydrate during a half. I just keep moving. I think if I took the time to fuel, it would actually hurt my performance, but again, that's probably personal preference.SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »The "boost" is mental during a half. You don't need nutrition unless you have some kind of medical condition or are going to be out there for 2.5hrs +
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SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »The "boost" is mental during a half. You don't need nutrition unless you have some kind of medical condition or are going to be out there for 2.5hrs +
This. Although I like to carry a caffeinated gel and usually suck it down around mile 9-10 for the caffeine boost. Regardless, it is not required. My most recent half I ran in 1:35 only taking water from aid stations. No in-race calories (I don't like taking cups of Gatorade from the aid stations as they inevitably splash my hands and I get all sticky)
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I like the cliff shot blocks. I am not a fan of the GU gel however I did by accident find gel packs that were made by power bar. They didn't seem at thick as the GU gel. I will typically have one around miles 6-7 depending on how I am feeling. Some races I don't take anything at all and other races I feel like I need a little extra something. For me it took trying different things to find what works but as I just said sometimes even that is not 100%.
For example, I just did the SoCal RAGNAR. One of my legs was in the middle of the night. It was only 4.5ish miles but since I was running on little sleep I felt like I needed a little caffeine so I had one of those power bar gels with caffeine. Normally I would never use it for that few miles but I needed a little pick me up and coffee was not going to happen.0 -
I like the Powerbar gels (strawberry banana, yummmm) with caffeine. I find them to be really tasty and palatable. Though if you've done two HMs without fuel, you probably don't need anything for this 3rd one. I don't find that gels do very much unless I'm actually depleting myself in a 16+ mile effort/marathon. I ran a HM yesterday and took a gel at 8 miles and mini-bonked afterward (for separate non-gel/race reasons).
I've also tried GU and Honey Stinger gels. I used to eat GUs when HM training in high school, but tried them again last summer and it did not sit well with me at all. I liked the honey stinger acai pomegranate when I tried it a couple weeks ago on an 18 miler, but it did sit a bit heavier than the powerbar gel and I felt a bit weird for .5 mile or so (but it was so yummy!).
SOOOOOO.... if you want to try gels, go to a running store, get a bunch that appeal to you and try them out knowing full well that they may have adverse effects. But you never know until you try! And you might end up trying something that works really well for you right off the bat!0 -
I've liked the Honey Stinger chews. I tend to get easily and extremely nauseous during races of HM or longer, so I take something 4-5 miles in, then again around mile 8 or 9 (I split one packet of the chews). I normally don't eat or drink anything during training runs up to 12 miles, but found I can't do that during the races. I'm a slow poke, though, so my HM is still about 2.5 hours. I ran a 25km this weekend that took me just over 3 hours and the same fueling plan worked. As I start pushing past the 16 mile distance, I suspect I'll have to make adjustments.0
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I use Gu gels. I use Roctaine during a race (they taste icky but they are bionic) get a few and try them on your long runs prior to a race.0
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Oh, also I've liked Honey Stinger chews in the past -- much easier to chew than the shot blox, I think. I stopped using them mostly because they didn't fit well in my gear (rear shorts pocket or water bottle pocket) and I had a nightmare vision on a run of me choking on one
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lishie_rebooted wrote: »Could pull a @SonicDeathMonkey80 and eat McDonald's during a half =P
My one half (2012), I ate half of a Chewy bar and that was it.
And this past summer, I started running with water for things over 8mi.
So I'm not helpful lol
I wanted an ice cream cone, but the machine was off at 8am, so I settled for the breakfast biscuit
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I know I don't need it, I do get a mental boost from it (and maybe some caffeine depending on what I use) so I do it anyway.
I don't mind Gu gels. I haven't tried other brands. I mostly stick with the fruity flavours but I have tried the salted caramel which I liked. Like I mentioned, I like the roctane ones.
I've also done chews. I found the Cliff Shot Blox were too hard for me to chew and kept getting stuck to my teeth. I love the Gu Chomps, the blueberry/something flavour. I have also tried teh Honey Stingers which I liked as well.
Nothing bothered my stomach at this point.0 -
kristinegift wrote: »SOOOOOO.... if you want to try gels, go to a running store, get a bunch that appeal to you and try them out knowing full well that they may have adverse effects. But you never know until you try! And you might end up trying something that works really well for you right off the bat!
Also check out bike shops. I have a local Performance Bike store and they have Tuesday Lunch Hour sale where accessories, clothes, and nutrition products are 10% off. I pick up several types and flavors to try on long runs. Once I decide what I like I order a full box online.
I usually take a gel over about 1/2 a mile, so I prefer a thicker gel that won't run down the outside of the packet when I squeeze it up.
If you want something more solid the Honey Stinger Waffles are good. The Powerbar Wafers are dangerous during a run. They breakup into small crumbles that can be inhaled while chewing them.
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kristinegift wrote: »Oh, also I've liked Honey Stinger chews in the past -- much easier to chew than the shot blox, I think. I stopped using them mostly because they didn't fit well in my gear (rear shorts pocket or water bottle pocket) and I had a nightmare vision on a run of me choking on one
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this nightmare vision! It could totally happen. I'll stick to liquids.
For HM fueling -- I think YMMV on this. My latest half was 2:15 and I do think a caffeinated gel midway through keeps me feeling good through the end. Maybe it's mental, maybe it's the caffeine. I agree that faster runners probably don't need it, though.0 -
I suspect I might know the general answer to this (but maybe not). I just wanted to go ahead and ask it to get people's opinion is all.
I frequently hear statements like the following:
- You don't need to refuel to run a half marathon.
- You don't need to refuel unless your run is 2+ hours.
- You don't need to refuel unless you run 20+ miles.
I frequently read the following advice on refueling strategies:
- You should refuel on runs over 90 minutes.
- If you need to refuel during a run you should take your first refueling by 60 minutes into your run.
- You should refuel after that every 30-60 minutes.
Sure, I imagine some of that is to help sell more GU or something like that...but I do have to wonder what people really are trying to say as opposed to a boiled down comment.
I'm suspecting it is about time more than distance, but hey, I'm asking because I like to know many opinions.0 -
grimmeanor wrote: »I suspect I might know the general answer to this (but maybe not). I just wanted to go ahead and ask it to get people's opinion is all.
I frequently hear statements like the following:
- You don't need to refuel to run a half marathon.
- You don't need to refuel unless your run is 2+ hours.
- You don't need to refuel unless you run 20+ miles.
I frequently read the following advice on refueling strategies:
- You should refuel on runs over 90 minutes.
- If you need to refuel during a run you should take your first refueling by 60 minutes into your run.
- You should refuel after that every 30-60 minutes.
Sure, I imagine some of that is to help sell more GU or something like that...but I do have to wonder what people really are trying to say as opposed to a boiled down comment.
I'm suspecting it is about time more than distance, but hey, I'm asking because I like to know many opinions.
I think it varies depending on 1) speed, 2) what distances you've trained up to, 3) personal preference. A few years ago, I couldn't imagine running a HM without a gel, but now I'm running these races 10-20 mins faster and have run twice as far, so now fueling isn't really necessary. Though I can't imagine not refueling for 20 miles! But maybe if I could run 20 miles 30-60 mins faster I wouldn't mind Personally, I like to refuel when I go out for 2.25+ hours, and I never take a gel before mile 6 (or even 8) and then will take one every 4 miles or so (usually 4-5 gels in a full marathon).
I think also marketing makes people think they need gels, fuel, sports drinks, etc. more often than they really do. Did I really need to be eating 2-3 GUs during a HM when I was a tiny, fit, little 17 year old? Uh, definitely not. But the GU packets said so!0 -
I use Huma-its an energy gel made from Chia seeds. Easy to digest and not too thick like GU. Have a great race!0
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This is just based on MY personal experience and I am by no means an expert, so take it for what it's worth:
-I generally do not fuel on my longer training runs because I feel like it gets my body more used to running in a somewhat depleted state
-I only fuel on races longer than a HM (which for me has only been full marathons) because I do not like to break my rhythm on shorter runs
-I experiment with fueling options on mid length training runs (12 miles or so) because if something doesn't agree with me I do not want it to ruin my whole long run
-For full marathons, I fuels every 5-6 miles because I have been told that if you wait too long, you have missed the whole point of fueling, which is to prevent depletion of your glycogen stores. You should continuously fuel to top them off, rather than waiting until they are almost depleted, which doesn't happen until well into the race (3+ hours).
Again, not sure that any of this is sound scientific advice, but it's what works for me personally.
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Since my primary "thing" is ultra-distance triathlon, I tend to fuel way more than most runners. On any run longer than 13 or so I will bring some sort of fuel with me. When just running I will take in about 100 calories every 5 miles. During an open marathon, I tend to do the same, so I carry 4 gels with me and take them at the 5 mile marks (obviously I don't bother with anything at 25). I like for these to have caffeine as well for the added boost.
When riding in training I fuel at a rate of 300cal/hr to get my body used to consuming that much while moving. That isn't needed when just running though so for training runs I stick to about the 100-ish/hr or even less.
When racing - On the bike I carry a bottle with 1000 calories of Hammer Perpetuem which will get me through the first half of the ride. My other bottle will have about 100 calories of sports drink (lately I use Scratch). I also have a little "bento box" on the top tube of my bike that has about 800 calories stuffed in there. Usually I will try to grab another bottle of sports drink while going through an aid station. I aim to get in about 2000 calories over the course of the ride.
When I get to the run portion of an Ironman I will actually carry about 12 gels with me in a little pack and take one every 20 minutes. My that point my body is too depleted to try to function on 100cal/hour. Gotta keep it rolling at 300/hr.
Granted that is a fueling strategy for ultra-distance triathlon. For open running races that becomes way overkill.0 -
grimmeanor wrote: »I'm suspecting it is about time more than distance, but hey, I'm asking because I like to know many opinions.
I'm inclined to agree with this. The time it takes to deplete your glycogen stores almost definitely varies person to person, but I can definitely imagine someone who runs a 2:30 HM needing fuel a lot more than someone running a 1:30 HM. I also suspect that fitness level & body weight affect it too.
I should probably know this, but what do elite marathon runners do for fuel?
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There is some difference between the energy stores within muscle and within the liver from person to person, and you can force more storage, but there is a baseline amount overall throughout the body. This is survival based. the central nervous system will only work with glucose; it cannot function using ketones or any other energy source. Part of this baseline amount is what is stored in muscle and liver, and I don't really know how much it varies from person to person, but it has been shown in studies to support high levels of activity from 1.5-2 hours without any real variation outside that 30 min when it comes to running. This is actually an area that has been very extensively studied.
Now, it does take more energy to move something that weighs more, obviously. But that body stores more as well, in all forms. Weight has not been shown to have an effect that on that 1.5-2 hour window in the studies I have seen.
Now, REfeuling is a different story. Protein and carb intake after a workout has been shown time and time again to increase performance even if the workout is only 45 min or whatever.0 -
I think it boils down to that there is risk involved with taking in anything while you are running. Knowing that they can safely and effectively run for 2 hours without taking in anything and have no detrimental effects on their time, many runners chose to not fuel during a shorter race.0
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Carrieendar wrote: »I think it boils down to that there is risk involved with taking in anything while you are running. Knowing that they can safely and effectively run for 2 hours without taking in anything and have no detrimental effects on their time, many runners chose to not fuel during a shorter race.
What I bolded is key though. Many runners say they don't need to fuel for a (example) half marathon, but if you look at their times they are incapable of a negative split. If you *can* demonstrate a negative split over that distance and not take in anything, then I would say yes you don't need to take in anything.0 -
I have a problem with the consistency of gels, and I don't do caffeine. I usually put a little baggie of nuts in my pouch, and a fruit squeeze pouch or two. Powerbar makes them, but there are also several baby food companies that make them and they are all the same thing. So, I just shoot for whichever is cheaper.0
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A year and a half ago Kimberly Mueller spoke to my running club about race fueling. Her preferred method is to have her nutrition added to her water so that she continuously is replenishing as she sips on it through a race (half or longer). For those of us who rely on gels she recommends 45 minutes; based on her recommendation I moved my gel intake from mile 8 to mile 6 of my halfs and I have had better results and felt stronger at the end of races. Kim has literally written the book on sports supplements (http://www.amazon.com/Athletes-Guide-Sports-Supplements-ebook/dp/B00C5I4VIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430328441&sr=8-1&keywords=kimberly+mueller) so I listen to what she has to say.0
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lporter229 wrote: »This is just based on MY personal experience and I am by no means an expert, so take it for what it's worth:
-I generally do not fuel on my longer training runs because I feel like it gets my body more used to running in a somewhat depleted state
-I only fuel on races longer than a HM (which for me has only been full marathons) because I do not like to break my rhythm on shorter runs
-I experiment with fueling options on mid length training runs (12 miles or so) because if something doesn't agree with me I do not want it to ruin my whole long run
-For full marathons, I fuels every 5-6 miles because I have been told that if you wait too long, you have missed the whole point of fueling, which is to prevent depletion of your glycogen stores. You should continuously fuel to top them off, rather than waiting until they are almost depleted, which doesn't happen until well into the race (3+ hours).
Again, not sure that any of this is sound scientific advice, but it's what works for me personally.
Ditto. 100% the same. Works for me too. However there is nothing wrong with fueling if you want to; the value of the psychological boost shouldn't be underplayed. I certainly felt that I was benefiting from it back when I did it but having experimented without I now know for sure I don't need it. Was a similar story with water. Used to take it with me even on a 5k plod - it was a psychological crutch. Gradually you get more comfortable.
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