Gu and/or alternatives for long run days

F

firefreak

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Alright so I am starting to get into some longer run workouts (15 miler set for this coming Sunday) and the concern of making sure I have a constant supply of energy and electrolytes is becoming an area of concern.

I know many people praise Gu Energy Gel as a great supplement during long runs (small packets, good nutrional properties, ect.) but am curious of other options that exist out there. I know I read somewhere that someone was using fruit snack packets as a source of carbs for their long workouts. What other suggestions do some of you have?

What about electrolyte replacement? Anything aside from powerade or gatorade?

FlyinFree, Sparrow, G8r and tsilyc I am looking for some input from you specifically.

TIA!

da freak.
 
i have become less and less of a fan for GU. AND the very best thing I EVER did for my endurance athletics is GET OFF THE SPORTS DRINK!!! You will lose any after burner effect of the gas you have, but it is sooo worth it! jhehehe

I like to use...

Hammer Gels -no caffein, and it is slicker down the throat
clover honey
sodium chloride tabs
endurolytes
WATER

if I am going over 2 full hours, I like to add Perpetum (hammer product) at 90 minutes- it is silky and settling in the tummy after all the sugar carbs.

the amounts of each to take our an entirely different matter. Just work with it. If you get really serious, we can do a sweat rate test and such.

sweat daily
FF

p.s. this is the only AREA I was strong in on Sunday- and it is the area that gave me survival! other than spiritual and emotional... LOL!
 
I'll look into Hammer gels.

All my long runs from now on will be in excess of 2 hours. The 15 will likely take me 2.5 hours and from there I have an 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 (yes my plan calls for a marathon distance at slower than marathon pace prior to race day).

I've also read that Pedialyte is a good replacement for sports drinks as the electrolyte to sugar ratio is more balanced. any thoughts on that?

Sweat test...is that where I weight myself prior to my workout then workout a set distance or time while accounting for fluid intake and then weight myself post workout to see how much water weight I lose per xx mins of working out?
 
pedialyte its NASTY-I say nay

Hammer products are great and many people who have "complications" with gu can do Hammer without problems.

tsil had some good stuff he mentioned to me not far back..course I can't recall what that is now :)

I tried lara bars. They are very dense and easily digestible...I was grossed out by them tho and one was upchucked on my 20 miler once.

I use accel gel, gu and NUUN. I swear by NUUN. Thats electrolyte stuff. I used gu and cytomax (because its what they had at the race) for my marathon. You might want to train with what you know your race will have so you don't have to go packing too much
 
Nasty as in "tastes like crap" or nasty like "it won't have the effect on re hydrating you and replenishing your electrolytes as you think it will"?

yeah i'll look into what they have available during the race. I think I saw Gu but am not sure. I'll have some fans watching me so I can always have them replenish my supplies midrace.
 
I am a fan of nutrition I can chew. Gels don't work for me unless the event is around an hour. I get tired of eating the same bars and rotate around. I was into the Lara bars but lately I've been into the NuGo bars which I've been purchasing at Costco. They are Organic, reasonably healthy, and taste really good.

I went out to the kitchen where we store our "feed" and here's what's in my collection...

http://s5.tinypic.com/125nqyb.jpg
 
Ok I'll look into those as well. I've never participated in an event where I should have been replenishing my energy stores (though apparently during some of my longer rows (2 hours+ I should have) so I am not sure what my body (stomach) would prefer: liquid or solid.

tsil do you consider the NuGo bars to be a sufficient source of electrolytes or should i be looking into a secondary source for electrolyte replenishment?
 
firefreak said:
Ok I'll look into those as well. I've never participated in an event where I should have been replenishing my energy stores (though apparently during some of my longer rows (2 hours+ I should have) so I am not sure what my body (stomach) would prefer: liquid or solid.

tsil do you consider the NuGo bars to be a sufficient source of electrolytes or should i be looking into a secondary source for electrolyte replenishment?
Click to expand...

I will normally go with bars alone and water. If it's hot, I will use Endurolytes. If it's crazy hot, I do whatever the heck my body wants. I always carry everything but might not use it. Better to have it...
 
tsilcyc said:
I will normally go with bars alone and water. If it's hot, I will use Endurolytes. If it's crazy hot, I do whatever the heck my body wants. I always carry everything but might not use it. Better to have it...
Click to expand...

favorite moto of the fire service. better to have the extra men and not need them than to need them and not have them.

i ordered some NuGo bars today. I'll be using my camelback on my runs so i'll hve plenty of H2O and can carry a few assorted food items. Getting pumped for the long run!
 
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I like clif shots and clif bars but also like high protein Special K bars even though they are high in sugar. I alternate plain water with accelerade.
 
NuGo bars are really good. I got 1 Dark Chocolate Pomegranate, 1 Chocolate Banana and 1 Double Dark Chocolate.

The banana is my fav. I'm a fan of the chewier bars I guess. The Pomegranate is just tough to bite into and hard to chew.

I'll have to restock soon.
 
firefreak said:
NuGo bars are really good. I got 1 Dark Chocolate Pomegranate, 1 Chocolate Banana and 1 Double Dark Chocolate.

The banana is my fav. I'm a fan of the chewier bars I guess. The Pomegranate is just tough to bite into and hard to chew.

I'll have to restock soon.
Click to expand...

I like the organic bars although I did buy one box (on top) that is not.
 
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