Energy Gels

MaroonTam

Hi all,

I have a question re: energy gels and the Marathon.

The long runs in our training group are starting to ramp up in distance now, and I was thinking its about time finding out which gels to use during the race itself and practice strategy.

What I would like to know:
What would be a good base strategy to start off with (number of gels, frequency etc.) which I could then tweak?
What is the best bet for training: run with gels always to get used to it on race day, or practice what works then train lean until the big day for maximum benefit?

I want to strike the right balance between being prepared to use gels and not have the body become dependant on the gels through over use....

Any thoughts would be useful.

Thanks
Alan

macinalli

I would definitely be of the view that you should train lean - you want your body to build up energy reserves which you do by depleting yourself in the long runs, and then allowing time for proper recovery. If you're using lots of gels in training then your body will use these for fuel instead.

As for training with gels - I think the main purpose is to try and find a gel that agrees with you. Most people find them pretty awful and if they don't agree with you, they can leave your stomach in knots (or worse!). You should find one that agrees with you during your training - avoid any nasty surprises on race day!

MaroonTam

Thanks for that macinalli,

My own preference would be to train lean, and I certainly want to be sure I can stomach the gels themselves.
I think I would like to try at least one run where I replecate the strategy for the race though.

Some rough back of the envelope calcualtions based on 100 Kcals per mile, I would expect to burn 2620 Kcals. So I am working on the assumption that i need to consume something in the order of 600-700 Kcals during the run itself. With a typical gel containing 23-25g of carbs (around 90 - 100 kcals) I would need to be consuming 6 or 7 gels through the race.
Does that make sense? it seems like a lot to me?

Gringo78

MaroonTam wrote: »

Some rough back of the envelope calcualtions based on 100 Kcals per mile, I would expect to burn 2620 Kcals. So I am working on the assumption that i need to consume something in the order of 600-700 Kcals during the run itself. With a typical gel containing 23-25g of carbs (around 90 - 100 kcals) I would need to be consuming 6 or 7 gels through the race.
Does that make sense? it seems like a lot to me?

The idea is that by having run 16-20mile LSR's you will have developed your fat utilisation so you will not be getting all your calorie requirements from stored glycogen, you will get a percentage from fat reserves also so you shouldn't need as many as 7.

For my marathon I took 1 gel 5min before race start then one at 60-90-120-150min. I felt I was running pretty low by the end and next time out I would actually up it to every 25min - @ 55-80-105-130-155 giving me an extra gel, 6 including the one a few minutes before the start. I used SIS go gels and found them easy to take and they don't require to have water to hand when you're taking them so you can stick to the schedule of taking them independant of the water stops...carrying them is the only problem as they're bulky (60ml each).

I'd use them in training only for the purposes of experimentation and ensuring your stomach can take them. There should be no need to use them on normal training runs unless you're going longer than 20 miles at PMP. I wouldn't mix with energy drink, keep to one sugar source, better for the stomach.

MaroonTam

Gringo78 wrote: »

I'd use them in training only for the purposes of experimentation and ensuring your stomach can take them. There should be no need to use them on normal training runs unless you're going longer than 20 miles at PMP. I wouldn't mix with energy drink, keep to one sugar source, better for the stomach.

Thanks Gringo. So some thing like every 30 minutes after the first hour? that would see me taking 5 (my goal is 3:20) plus maybe one at the start?

I was thinking of trying our a few brands, but mainly going to try the High5 as these are the ones available at DCM, so if needs be I could use the ones on course knowing how I will react....

macinalli

Those figures are based on what the manufacturers say, but personally speaking, I'd expect that 6-7 gels would leave me sick at the side of the road. I would suspect though that there are some that would take that many gels - each to their own!

I'm curious though - when do you think you'll practice your race strategy? Most of the popular training programmes will have a max long run of 20-22 miles. This length of a run is bloody hard work but of real benefit to confidence and boosting stamina (especially if you're running without gels). Are you sure you want to risk this to trial your gel strategy? My instinct would be to find a gel that you like, use only a max of 1-2 on the longest training runs. Even after only 1 or 2 gels, you should have a good idea if you'd be able to stomach another 4-5 of them!

MaroonTam

Thats a good point mcinalli. I did not really intend to try the ful strategy. more something like a 15 - 17 mile run, take the gels at the same intervals I would on race day but obviously to have less in total.

The thoughts there were to really get a feel for how the body reacts in terms of upset stomach, but also to get feel for the fatigue levels on gels vs the levels not taking any.

The advantage of this forum, by finding out in advance, I am saving myself a load of potential greif

Gringo78

macinalli wrote: »

Most of the popular training programmes will have a max long run of 20-22 miles. This length of a run is bloody hard work but of real benefit to confidence and boosting stamina (especially if you're running without gels).

I would say running lean is nothing more than a mental/confidence boost. Any gels taken on during a 20mile LSR will do nothing more than aid your recovery of glycogen reserves over the following days as you won't have driven them so low, but I'm not so sure there's any difference running with or without so the only way experimenting with gels would have a detrimental effect on your LSR would be if you had to abandon it due to a bad stomach. I'd recommend taking at least 3 on some LSR if you're planning on taking 5-6 during the race.

I would try taking 1-2 gels during a tempo or PMP run first and see how your stomach takes it.

how many gels you ultimately need would be based on how conservative your PMP is - if you are plugging a race time into McMillan and your target pace is whatever comes out, then you're gonna need a lot of gels as you'll be burning a higher proportion of glycogen than if you were to run at a more conservative McMillan time + 5%. The actual fat/glycogen utilisation ratio will be improved by your type of training etc. I think it would take you a few marathons to find the optimum so I'd go with as many gels as your stomach can handle.

plodder

Might be some useful information on this thread as well.