Tailwind
runbabarun
Posts: 89 Member
I was planning to start testing some gels in my long weekend runs soon (currently in week 6 of 18 of my marathon plan) then I came across this Tailwind product: http://www.tailwindnutrition.com/why-tailwind/
I am not a big fan of gels and rarely used them other than a couple of times when I ran several 18-20 mile routes 3 years ago. So this tailwind thing -dissolved powder with no coloring that is supposedly easier on the stomach- may just be too good to be true. Does anyone have any experience with it?
I am not a big fan of gels and rarely used them other than a couple of times when I ran several 18-20 mile routes 3 years ago. So this tailwind thing -dissolved powder with no coloring that is supposedly easier on the stomach- may just be too good to be true. Does anyone have any experience with it?
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One of my friends swears by it. I have not tried it, but I have tried Nuun and I like it. Easy on the stomach. But be forewarned, at least with the Nuun and also Propel electrolyte supplement, you can definitely taste the minerals (sodium and potassium).1
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I have never tried gels, but I just read about a homemade recipe, so thought I'd share:
7 1/3 T honey
3/4 t. Blackstrap molasses (for potassium)
1/10 t. table salt (or a scant 1/8 t.)
Optional: Substitute 1 T. of the honey with raspberry or blueberry syrup for flavor
They used a 5-serving gel/gu flask and said it worked great performance-wise, was easy to digest, and tasted better than any gel/gu for a fraction of the cost. I've also heard a little local raw honey every day is supposed to help with pollen allergies.1 -
I used tailwind during my last ultra. I had tried it a couple of times on long training runs prior. It's good stuff. It goes down really easy. I had no stomach issues at all. I was drinking 200 calories of tailwind per hour and eating one gel or Clif organic energy food or whatever they call the stuff that looks like baby food. So between the Tailwind and the other stuff I was at 300ish calories per hour and it was perfect. Great energy throughout the race and no issues whatsoever.1
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Thank you all, very helpful.
@lporter229 didn't someone say here recently "it's not a dinner date, it's a race folks."1 -
Weird it count off a bunch of reply... @RunRachelleRun thank you, I may give this a try. @sjohnny good to hear it's not snake oil. I will order some and see how it goes. Thank you.1
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Looks like a good product! Thanks for putting it out there. I'm good with GU, but nice to see something more practical.0
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lporter229 wrote: »One of my friends swears by it. I have not tried it, but I have tried Nuun and I like it. Easy on the stomach. But be forewarned, at least with the Nuun and also Propel electrolyte supplement, you can definitely taste the minerals (sodium and potassium).
I thin the Nuun tablets taste great once I'm 40 minutes or so into a run, but trying to drink them pre-run is disgusting.
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I find it's easier to have liquid nutrition, especially near the end of a race where my stomach is more sensitive. I've used Tailwind before and like it but I use Skratch currently since it's easy to find locally in the bike shops and still seems to work well for me.2
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Never tried (or heard of) Skratch either. Thank you, I will test a few different methods in the remaining 12 weeks of my training.2
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I've been using Tailwind for a while now; order directly from them if you can. They usually personalize my bag and throw in some freebies too :-). My favorite flavor is the berry, followed by mandarin. I generally need a LOT of salt when I run, so I do supplement tailwind with salt caps on really long runs (15+ miles).1
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I haven't used Tailwind because I don't like to drink my calories, I was underwhelmed by in-store taste testing of Tailwind, and I have been getting along well with GU and Cliff Shot Gels for calories with a side of Nuun for more electrolytes.
THBS, I know a few people who use Tailwind and really like it. Tailwind users tend to be the more serious endurance athletes - ultra runners and Iron Man Triathletes. I suspect I could adapt to becoming a Tailwind user, but I haven't seen a strong reason to try that yet.
Oh, and on the taste . . . I suspect that Tailwind will taste a heck of a lot better in the middle of a run when my body really needs it than it does in the store when I'm not running. That has certainly been true of gels; they all taste better 5 or 10 miles into a run than 15 minutes before a race.
All that having been said, you simply have to try stuff and see what works for you. There is a wide variation between runners on what works well. I don't get along well with Shot Blox, and I do well with gels. I know runners who are the exact opposite, and I know runners who can use either. I certainly can't say what products will definitely work for *you*.2 -
I've brought some but only tried it once. Wasn't a huge fan of the raspberry caffeinated. Struggled to get it down.0
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It's been a few weeks since you posted this. Did you buy and try the Tailwind? What's your verdict?0
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It's been sitting in my Amazon cart. Didn't pull the trigger. I am testing the chews and gels first because I have more familiarity with them. Besides tailwind is kinda pricey because you buy it in bulk.0
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There is another one I found called V fuel, I want to try that one too.0
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I am always surprised by what I find in my Amazon cart the next time I visit. Hard to buy it in bulk without trying it first.
I haven't heard of V fuel. There are too many to choose from!0 -
Vfuel is my favorite gel - no stomach issues, but need to supplement with electrolytes which I like since I can control each separately. My favorite chews are skratch, easy on the stomach, more salt, electorlytes than some. Tailwind is good when the stomach is shutting down, I can still get it in.1
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Drip Drop is Another good electrolyte easy on the stomach drink that has some calories but not as much as gatorade. It was developed as electrolyte replacement for hospitals. Comes in single packets (8 to a box) you can add to your water bottle and you can get it at walgreens. I used it and skratch chews along with some real food in a 55 miler I did a couple of months ago and no stomach issues at all.1
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runbabarun wrote: »Thank you all, very helpful.
@lporter229 didn't someone say here recently "it's not a dinner date, it's a race folks."
I think I may have said something like it's not a wine and cheese tasting, it's a race. That's my typical response.
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