I've always been a water only runner, but I heard that I might want gel in the marathon, and that I'd want to test it on a few runs beforehand. I used GU Vanilla Orange.
It really tore my stomach apart. To be fair, there could have been other factors, although I hydrated before the run and didn't eat any unusual food, but the gel was the one thing that I changed and today was the only run I've had such stomach pain.
I meant to run 15, but after 6+ miles of stomach cramps, I cut it 3 short. I tried all the normal stuff- breathing out hard, hands over head, kneading the cramped area, slowing down, speeding up, etc. I'm upset that I didn't do the full run, but figured enough was enough.
Should I keep trying different things or try to race on just water? I'm not planning to be a 6 hour marathoner overdosing on water, but I do tend to run out of energy a bit at the end of long runs. Any suggestions for gels/foods that might be easier on the stomach?
And what was the right thing to do, training wise, in this situation? Better to cut a painful run short, but miss out on the benefit of the longer run, or push through 9 miles of stomach cramps?