Carb Gels

asimonov · 11-01-2009 10:37pm #1

hi all.

Relative newbie here, so hello to all. i'm 37, from kk and running my first marathon in march in connemara. I've previously run two halves in connemara (with little training in '06 & '08) in 1:45 and 1:46. I've been training since october, my half-marathon time is down to 1:35 and over christmas i got my long runs to 16.5 miles. I'm at a stage now where I am getting borderline obsessed with the whole thing...and so pretty excited to be at least in the same calender year as the event itself!

I've now decided to dropped back my long runs to fit with hal higdon's intermediate 1 training plan. My issue is I've never taken an energy gel before while running - but feel i need to for my LSR's and for the day itself. I've got a pretty "lite" stomach - so looking to find something that won't act up too much. I wonder can anyone point me in the direction of brand or two of gels that i might at least try to see if they suit over the next few weeks before deciding - or if anyone has any similar experiences??? I train on my own, so any advice is welcome!

SUNGOD · 12-01-2009 1:01am

hi asimonov good luck in connemara.
i used lucozade gels twice in marathons and found them to be ok(i didnt feel a difference when taking them)
but i used caffenated power bar gels in dublin and these deffinitely helped me.
the general rule would be to experiment to see what suits you as everyone is different, whats one person swears by could really upset your stomach.
also i only used tham in my training just to test them as i didnt want to come to rely on them and therefore not feel the benefit on race day

robinph · 12-01-2009 1:09am

Your best bet is really to just try a few different ones on some of your longer runs and see what works. They were handing out High5 ones during the Dublin marathon last year so I started using them during training and found they worked fine for me.

asimonov · 12-01-2009 9:46am

Thanks sungod. At what stage in dublin did you take the power bars? Did you just take the one?

Robinph, that's exactly what i'll do over next few weekends...so far i'll try and include the high5, the power bar caffeine and i also found one online last night called enervit ...seems to be a cycling brand...but i'm sure its transferable to running.

hunnymonster · 12-01-2009 9:52am

If you have a delicate tummy, you might find the isotonic brands work better for you. At the very least, they'll cut one variable (how much water to drink) out of the equation. Sis go gel is one example. That said, I know a lot of people who can only stomach high 5.

asimonov · 12-01-2009 9:55am

thanks HM. i've never heard of that before...i'll def. try it.

Lila · 12-01-2009 10:09am

I use PowerBar gels and find them great. You may need to experiment with the various flavours though as some are REALLY sweet. Make sure you drink plenty of water (not sports drink!) after eating the gel. There are guidelines on the pack as to how often you should take them but it's all about finding what suits you. Roughly one an hour suits me but my friend go's by his mileage and takes 1 every 5 miles. So long as you try them out well before race day you'll be fine.

McTigs · 12-01-2009 2:48pm

In my somewhat limited experience I find the PowerBar gels the best too. The lucozade ones are good too but i find the PowerBar give a better kick.

Doing my first marathon in connemara too, see you there kid.

SUNGOD · 12-01-2009 2:57pm

asimonov wrote: »

Thanks sungod. At what stage in dublin did you take the power bars? Did you just take the one?

.

i took the power bar gels at 13 , 20 , and 23 i think memory wouldnt be great.
so 3 in total but i remember thinking afterwards that i should have spaced them out better and taken at least one more

robinph · 12-01-2009 3:13pm

You do need to take water with the High5 ones as well but that wasn't a problem in Dublin last year as there was loads of water stations along the route. My main issue was that because I had to be taking one approximately every 20 minutes to keep my sugar levels up I needed to carry a good number on me. Having the same brand as they were handing out meant I had the chance of picking up a couple more en-route if needed as well. The number that I had to take should apply for most people though.

asimonov · 12-01-2009 6:49pm

great stuff, i have ordered a load of them on-line. They break into three sections:

Carb gels - Torq and High 5
Carb and caffeine gels - Powerbar
Isotonic gels (SIS)

i have ordered a mix of flavours as well. i'll either be very fast or very sick!

SUNGOD · 12-01-2009 6:49pm

hi robinph i never really looked into the do's and dont's of gels or researched how many i would need on the day
but just wondering is one every 20 min the recommened amount or what you found to work for you.
12 gels for a 4 hour marathon does seem a lot

robinph · 12-01-2009 8:15pm

That many gels is a lot to both take and to carry around on you and I'd be fairly certain that most other people wouldn't actually be needing anywhere near that many during a marathon. I have diabetes though so keeping the sugar levels at the correct levels is a bit trickier, and getting it wrong is a bit more of an issue during a marathon.

During most runs up to just over an hour I wouldn't normally take any gels, unless something goes wrong part way round and I'd have a couple in my pockets for emergencies anyway. I'd be able to keep my sugar levels about right for that duration just by starting off slightly higher. Once I'd go much over 1:30-1:45 ish of running though I'd need to be taking something on the way round in order to be able to keep going any further. This is probably the same point, in terms of energy reserves used, that the rest of you would be hitting "the wall" and start suffering. If that happens to me I fall over.

I'd done several test runs where I'd be taking the gels at differing intervals on the way round 2:30hrs ish runs in the hope that I'd not actually need to be taking them at the 20 minute intervals that it says on the packets and then checking the difference in sugar levels at the end. Taking them at 40 minute intervals and I was barely able to stand at the end, 30 and I knew from the change in the sugar levels that I'd not be able to last another hour plus. So I then decided to trust what it said on the packet and went for 20minute intervals.

I'm not entirely certain how many I did eventually get through though as I lost track of when I had taken them at one point and then forgot how many extras I had picked up from the gel stations on the way round as well, and then didn't bother taking anymore once I was within the last few miles as I knew I had enough left in me at that stage to make the line, although my right leg only just managed it. Think I got through 8 in total though for my time of 3:27.

SUNGOD · 12-01-2009 8:41pm

thats great thanks robinph

asimonov · 12-01-2009 8:54pm

thanks robinph, obviously i don't have the diabetes issue to deal with, so that makes it more straight forward.

I am going to test the samples for palatability(?) and effectiveness in my long runs over the next few weeks.

Some of the brands come in blackcurrent flavour; a few nasty "pernod and black" experiences as a youngster rules that out immediately ;-)

So i'll test them, pick one and probably go with 3 or 4 on the day.

Woddle · 12-01-2009 10:16pm

I took part in the Glasgow uni study and did my best to take them every 20 mins, they were high 5 caffinated, I found that they worked a treat and the guy I was running noticed that soon after I had one, I picked up the pace but that could have been a mental thing. I ran 16 miles yesterday and took 2 gels for breakfast and another 3 on the run.

Rusty Cogs 08 · 12-01-2009 10:59pm

I think it's been mentioned but don't forget to brush your teeth (after a run) if your necking these bad boys as there pretty corosive.

jlang · 12-01-2009 11:02pm

I took one once. Probably a beginner mistake, but I ended up with two neat paper cuts at each side of my mouth!

McConkey · 12-01-2009 11:15pm

Just a word of warning re the caffinated power bars, I haven't tried them myself but I work in a chemist where we sell a caffeine stimulant product (tablet) and we check with each customer re stomach complaints before selling them as caffine can irritate the stomach. So like you say if you are planning on using them you should definately try them out beforehand rather than on the BIG day.

Carb Gels

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