I'm training for my first marathon and am up to 20 mile long runs. After 10+ years of competitive running I'm starting to realize the need for a mid-run energy replacement. What do you use? A pocket full of pretzel sticks and the other full of gummy bears has worked well, but I'm thinking of something more traditional...
The three you mentioned are similar in their end result. Try them out and see what works. For me, GU is a bit thick and Shots, a bit odd-tasting. Hammer was my fave.
It all depends on the individual. I couldn't stomach the taste of Hammer Gel and Gu was a tad too thick. What I ended up doing was getting a few of those 58 cent 10 oz. Tumme Yumme juices with the bottle cap top and then dissolved a Gu into each one.
I started using Sport Beans...some sort of fortified jelly bean, and love them. Supposedly if you have a weak stomach, Hammer is they way to go, but Sport Beans have always had the best finish for me and I have a fairly weak stomach and I have never had a problem. The gels get messy and it seams like it takes a lot of saliva to get them down, leaving you with a dry sticky mouth. I have tried the Cliff Shots as well and those aren't bad, but the packages aren't terribly runner friendly.
You'll just have to experiment to see which ones work for you - consistency and taste are important to many people. I like Gu the best because of the flavors. Hammergel is yucky to me.
Under Snow in Wyo wrote:
Supposedly if you have a weak stomach, Hammer is they way to go
I tried the hammer product. Once. Glad I was on a loop course as I almost didn't make it back home. That stuff ran right through me.
Like others said, what works for you may or may not fit my need.
Quaker Barrel wrote:
I'm training for my first marathon and am up to 20 mile long runs. After 10+ years of competitive running I'm starting to realize the need for a mid-run energy replacement. What do you use? A pocket full of pretzel sticks and the other full of gummy bears has worked well, but I'm thinking of something more traditional...
Ditch the gels unless you're racing. The main reason you do long runs each week is to teach your body how to more effectively use fat as a fuel source. If you are crashing mid-run then slow your run down until you can handle the work load. Using gels now is going to do nothing but stunt your training.
I like Sport Beans, but with me anyway, I've got to time it correctly so that there's a water stop close enough that I can wash a few down, but not too close so I have time to chew them up. To me they taste good better than gels and aren't as messy.
The post who says to train your body not to need extra calories during a run makes a good point, but it's also important to do some training the same way you will race, and most people do better over a distance like a marathon if they take in some additional calories.
My $.02 wrote:
I like Sport Beans, but with me anyway, I've got to time it correctly so that there's a water stop close enough that I can wash a few down, but not too close so I have time to chew them up. To me they taste good better than gels and aren't as messy.
The post who says to train your body not to need extra calories during a run makes a good point, but it's also important to do some training the same way you will race, and most people do better over a distance like a marathon if they take in some additional calories.
Not trying to be a turd but I never said anything about using less calories in a run. I said that long runs teach your body to use fat as a fuel source more efficiently. A calorie is a calorie. Fat is the most abundant fuel source but it burns slower and cooler. If you can teach your body to burn fat 'hotter' than you will burn less glycogen over a marathon distance. Glycogen burns hotter but it is also very limited in supply. If you burn less glycogen then you will be able to utilize it longer - hence allowing you to be faster over longer distances. Its not a matter of using less calories its a matter of using the fuel you have the most effective way you can.
The only way to burn less calories that I know of is to modify your form to be more efficient, but that's a different thread altogether...
I've tried a few different products and like the sports beans, mainly because they are more convenient to handle. Other stuff I've tried is gooey and a pain to deal with on the run. The sports beans are kind of semi-hard candy along the lines of skittles.
I would really like to find something like sports beans but not quite so sugary-sweet. It sounds strange but I feel like the super-sweet taste messes up my focus.
Did you say semi-hard?
jager bombs before a race.
I make my own Gel, much cheaper.