fuel for 1/2 marathon training

L

laura35

Cathlete
do any of you who train for 1/2 marathons or marathons use gels during the run? A friend of mine recommends gels for the long runs .just curious how many of you use them.
 
Hi Laura...I'd suggest a sports drink for the half marathon instead of a gel. I guess this is a preference for me as I didn't start using gels til I started Marathon training. There are alot of sports drinks, Gatorade, Accelerade (my fav), Crank sports and more you might find samples at a Sports type store...:)...Carole
 
I'd suggest you try out several different options and see what works for you. Your long runs will be great times to try them out. I knew Gatorade works great for me and then I asked the half marathon sponsors what would be available at the aid stations that day. It turned out, it wasn't Gatorade and whatever I had thought they would have did a number on my insides!! I was able to try it out beforehand, on one of my long runs. So I played it safe and brought Gatorade with me. When I got there, they ended up having Gatorade so I was in luck!

As for gels, I carry them with me on every run I do. You can try different brands of those, too. I generally need them every 45 minutes. The one thing to watch out for is that the packages get STICK-EEEE and it's a pain to carry around a sticky thing until you reach the next trash. Clif gels aren't as bad, since the top has a piece that keeps the trash in one piece. They also have Clif Bloks now and I've been curious to try those. They are more like a jelly bean substance that dissolves into gel in your mouth.

There are so many options, it just pays to try several out and see what you like!! :)
 
I've been reading (and loving) Runner's World Performance Nutrition For Runners by Matt Fitzgerald. He recommends certain sport drinks among many other things. The one I'll be trying soon is E3 since, according to the author, it has the proper type and percent carbohydrate plus amino acids for endurance and recovery. I really do love this book and highly recommend it!
 
thanks. I have tried powergel and gu gel. powergel really seems to give me a kick,didnt notice much with gu. I was looking for that gatorade endurance and cant find it anywhere lately.
 
A book I was reading actually recommended good 'ol hard candy or jelly beans...especially if you didn't want to go the sports drink or gels route. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Deni
 
Also wanted to add that in the book I mentioned above the author advised against using both gels and energy drinks together. Since reading it I haven't had the occasion to run a distance where I'll be trying his recomendations but am eagerly waiting to find out if combining Gatorade (or whatever drink a race provides) and Carbboom energy gels is what causes gastro-intestinal distress.

Did I mention that I am really loving this book? :)
 
I havent had any gastrointestinal problems with the gels. I heard about the jelly beans too,but do they dissolve quick enough in the stomach to promote energy?
 
Well, the idea of not using gels and endurance drink together is not recommended to alleviate gastrointestinal problems. I'm just hoping to avoid that by following the suggestions in the book I mentioned!:)

I used the jelly beans last fall during my longest marathon training run and during the marathon itself. I used gels and saved the jelly beans until the last 4 or so miles. I would just pop them into my mouth one at a time until the finish. I don't know that I got an actual boost from them and suspect it was more psychological than anything else. Those last miles of a marathon are the toughest and if anything, popping jelly beans into my mouth helped keep me from getting too much into my head about how much farther there was to go, etc....

The book says the following about combining gels and sports drinks:

"Carbohydrate gels are essentially sports drinks without the water. Some gels contain electolytes, while others do not. In order to be absorbed as quickly as sports drinks are, gels must be consumed with water. And, of course, you need water anyway for hydration. If you use a gel that does not contain electorlytes, you need them from another source. That source should not be a sports drink because the combined carbohydrate concentration of gels and sports drinks is too great for optimal absorption. One option is to wash down your gels with an elocttolyte-fortified water such as Pedialyte."

There's so much more detail but it would take me all night (maybe longer) to type the entire chapter!! :D
 
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