Anyone experience a crash after taking GU?

How long was the run? did you take the GU while running? What pace? Which GU? with or without caffeine?

Many years ago, Dr. dick Telford experimented with Deek on glucose concentrations during exercise. I think I remember a 6% solution being the mean, but it did change throughout the run based on examination of blood/glucose concentrations. It also seems that different people will have different levels at various times. The GU may be too strong for you. I found that gatorade concentrations had to be cut in half for me to be able to tolerate it in a race.

It was the French Vanilla GU with caffeine. This may sound odd but I have ADD and take caffiene pills vs Adderall as it affects my running and I found it too strong. So would it be the caffiene or the high concentration of Glucose?

Also, the run was almost 19 miles. Took it as suggested. 15:00 before (this didn't seem too bad but I'm usually slow at the start anyway)45:00 in after 6 miles (7:30 pace thru the Newton Hills)At an hour I hit a wall. 90:00 in another GU with water. Hit another wall 15:00 later. The pace was pretty easy and slow the whole way but it didn't seem to matter. The effect was quick and extreme. Thanks for the feedback.

Two problems that I see and keep in mind I haven't done any research on this in about 25 years..... The 15 minutes before may be too far away from the run. I think you should keep it under 10 minutes. More importantly, I think the concentration is too high. Try experimenting with Karo syrup in water. Mix it so that you can just start to taste the sweetness. That'll get you to under 10% if I remember correctly. Remember the old addage that fat burns in a carbohydrate flame, so be sure to eat well the night before your long runs. Very important to refuel ASAP afterwards. If you can get your long runs in on Sat. mornings and the not run again until a recovery run on sun. evening, you'll allow for a full 30 hours of recovery. Stay well hydrated.

Good luck!

I did mean Vanilla Bean. My bad. I will take the advice offered and try one more time before switching to just Gatorade. Thanks again.

Not a Diabetic? wrote:

I was wondering if anyone on the board has had this happen. I've noticed within about 15:00 after ingesting GU with water that I experience a drop in energy and go through a real rough patch in my run. I plan to just stick with Gatorade moving forward but was curious what the possible cause could be. Any thoughts on this appreciated.

You SURE you're not diabetic? Sometimes if you are relatively insulin resistant you can develop hypoglycemia in response to concentrated glucose solutions as being insulin resistant leads to an exagerrated insulin output and eventually a drop in blood sugar---hence the rough patch.

I had my annual physical in January and my blood Glucose was 88 which seems to fall within normal range. This was my concern as well so went back and looked at the results.

Central fatigue would be my guess.

The caffeine you don't need, the carbohydrate you may need sooner. And if you want some fructose, eat an apple. You can make your own GU for almost nothing; explore your options. Anyway, they try to bounce you off the ceiling with the meds. Don't help them with caffeine, it could make you feel like Superman with Kryptonite.

ADHD should be thought of as a sleeping disorder.

dsrunner has the day off wrote:

Central fatigue would be my guess.

The caffeine you don't need, the carbohydrate you may need sooner. And if you want some fructose, eat an apple. You can make your own GU for almost nothing; explore your options. Anyway, they try to bounce you off the ceiling with the meds. Don't help them with caffeine, it could make you feel like Superman with Kryptonite.

ADHD should be thought of as a sleeping disorder.

How so? (on the ADHD comment...)

I take the caffiene pills to help me sleep at night. Screwy I know but beats the heck out of Adderall or Ritalin.

What is "Central Fatigue" and why would it be sporadic?

Not a Diabetic wrote:

I had my annual physical in January and my blood Glucose was 88 which seems to fall within normal range. This was my concern as well so went back and looked at the results.

reassuring. I would consider a glucose tolerance test.

I'm not a major gel eater but in a few experiments it seems like I crash 35-40 minutes after eating one while running, unless I have another before crashing. This seems to be my pattern when I've had a gel just before heading out on a longish morning run - turns out I'm much better off going on an empty stomach as has been my habit for years. Also within a race, where I absolutely fell apart half way through a half marathon.

no crash, but the GUs with caffeine cause me anxiety after 20-30minutes.

Too much sugar hitting the bloodstream at once and the body overcompensated. We are not designed to operate that way.

injun blood wrote:

Too much sugar hitting the bloodstream at once and the body overcompensated. We are not designed to operate that way.

Yeah, maybe the sugar. Not diabetic either.

I'm done taking these before long runs/marathons. Mid way is ok, but starting out just gives me problems. Banana works better.