Marathon training questions

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  • jeffrodgers1
    jeffrodgers1 Posts: 991 Member
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    Sounds like I should get the jelly beans. They sound convenient. So...does it sound right that I drink gatorade, take electrolyte pills, and jelly beans??? Then do protein post-workout?

    -Kate

    The SportBeans are the best! Being small, they are easily consumed. They taste like normal jelly beans but also contain electrolytes. Keep in mind that gatorade also contains electrolytes.

    The question is how much electrolye do you need?
  • vanessaclarkgbr
    vanessaclarkgbr Posts: 765 Member
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    I'm nowhere near that stage but did hear a good tip the other day - whatever you decide to use, give it a trial run first. Poor girl on my podcast tried something new and had crippling stomach cramps, obviously what she'd had didn't agree with her.
  • hellen72
    hellen72 Posts: 144 Member
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    You need to think about some way of carrying whatever you plan to take. If your marathon gives out gels and sports drinks I would suggest trying those out and if you like them rely on them during the race. I dont think you need to be using them for every run you do but certainly for your longest and one other. Gels are v expensive in the Uk so I tend to use other things in training and save gels for races where I dont want to be messing around with real food.

    I find having real food on training runs is also good as I can persuade myself just one more mle then I can have X so I look forward to it. You are never goig to look forward to a gel!,

    My favourite is marzipan ( it melts in the mouth so doesn't need much chewing), coconut mushrooms, jaffa cakes and cereal bars. I tend to steer clear of dairy as that can give me the trots

    Some Poeple have problems with sports products and the trots/ cramps. Some get one with none some get on with one or two brands so it is worth experimenting in good time. I find I am OK with gels but some energy bars give me the trots so I have to be careful. Also, just because you are OK on one gel that does not mean you will be ok throughout the race so you need to try them on your longer run.

    In the summer I did a 12 hour race. They were giving out energy bars which I hadn't tried before. Decided to risk it and was OK but 3 bars later and I was in and out of the portaloos!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I honestly just eat regular Jelly Belly beans. Costco sells them in a big container and I just throw a handful in a snack baggie and put them in the pouch on my fuel belt. I've tried the gels and while they can be really tasty, the texture throws me. I'm also sort of worried it'll go down the wrong way while I'm on the move and I'll end up choking on it. I had something similar happen years ago and you really can't breathe with a sticky, gooey mass in your windpipe and no Heimlich maneuver will clear it, either.

    So far I've just used water to drink, but I'm starting to get into longer runs (8+ miles) now, so I'll probably go with watered down Gatorade or G2 in one bottle and plain water in the other.
  • littlewatty1980
    littlewatty1980 Posts: 9 Member
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    I have seen the Jelly belly beans everyone has talked about but if you compare those ingredients to plain old gummy bears it really is not much difference unless you want the caffeine ones. I use gatoraide, gummy bears, and GU gel packs. I do agree with others on training using different ones to see what works best for you. But, gummy bears keep my mouth moist are soft and don't require a "lot" of chewing. PLUS you get a huge bag for a 1.00!

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