I swear I read a story ten or fifteen years ago that indicated just having a sweet taste in your mouth late in a run gave you as much of a boost as a gel or an energy drink. I don't have a link and I don't feel like googling.
My wife used to meet me with about 10 miles left in a marathon with a cold cup of coffee to chug, and that was awesome. I felt strong to the finish when I got that boost.
2:18guy wrote:My coach generally advises to wait 45 minutes in the race to take any fuel (then every 20-30 min thereafter). If you take carbs to early, you will reduce your fat usage and burn your glycogen stores too quickly (aka bonking).
Your coach is wrong, but if you're taking them every 20-30 starting at 45 minutes, then you're probably getting enough carbs anyway.
You are overthinking it. There is no need to earn a PhD in exercise physiology or carry a dozen gels and electrolyte tablets standing on the starting line to race well.
Gels (any kind of rapidly ingested energy basically) will definitely help if used sparingly and only during a race.
The trick is to train consistently with no refuelling whatsoever (no carbs-no electrolytes-no caffeine). This is easier and better practiced during early morning runs of course. THEN take a gel or a few sips of carb drink on the latter stages of a marathon/long race. The difference in performance is notable.
Maybe there is a more effective way to use refuelling to your advantage but for 99,98% of runners there are more important issues to deal with before starting to worry too much about metabolic pathways.
Source: just me, a hobby jogger who trains on empty for the last 13 years and only takes a caffeine gel after mile 16 in races.
Slower_Than_A_Dead_Tortoise wrote:
The trick is to train consistently with no refuelling whatsoever (no carbs-no electrolytes-no caffeine).
This is the worst advice ever. Or great advice, if your goal is to never improve.
billbob98 wrote:
This is the worst advice ever. Or great advice, if your goal is to never improve.
Well good thing I get injured enough to never improve in the first place!
billbob98 wrote:
Slower_Than_A_Dead_Tortoise wrote:
The trick is to train consistently with no refuelling whatsoever (no carbs-no electrolytes-no caffeine).
This is the worst advice ever. Or great advice, if your goal is to never improve.
Well, i frequently pay a visit on the podium in my local races, so i guess most runners that i compete with improve even less...
I'm 47 years old by the way.
This doesn’t mean really anything unless you post what times you are running. If you already did in this thread and I missed it, I apologize. But a T-3 finish in “local races” isn’t necessarily impressive. For example, just around where I live, some weekends have 5ks with winners in mid 14s and other races have winners coming through in 20-21 minutes. A top finish in the former is obviously much more impressive but, nonetheless, you could be in the latter which still checks off your paying a visit to the podium in a local race but isn’t a strong time.
spam folder wrote:
I swear I read a story ten or fifteen years ago that indicated just having a sweet taste in your mouth late in a run gave you as much of a boost as a gel or an energy drink. I don't have a link and I don't feel like googling.
My wife used to meet me with about 10 miles left in a marathon with a cold cup of coffee to chug, and that was awesome. I felt strong to the finish when I got that boost.
I think I read the same story. I use gels every 5 miles (i.e. every 35-40 minutes) in long runs over ~14 miles and in the marathon. I swear I can feel a lift about 2 miles after the gel. Perhaps it's placebo, perhaps it's the slight dose of carbs & caffeine, but gels work for me. If you think they're overrated, don't use them. Simple enough!