Training Tip #9 - Energy Gels

Energy and Bonking

When training to complete an endurance event such as a full or half marathon, you’ll need to consider both your hydration needs as well as your energy needs.  

Your body’s preferred energy source is glycogen, and most people can naturally store enough glycogen to fuel about a couple hours of training.  However, if you don’t replenish your glycogen reserves while training, by providing the body more fuel (carbohydrates), through either sports drink or energy gels, you risk “bonking”.  Bonking means that you’ve used up your glycogen, and have switched over to a less efficient fuel source (fat).  While this may be good for weight loss, burning fat is an inefficient energy source.  As a result, when it happens to you you’ll suddenly feel exhausted – like you’ve hit the wall.

(I recommend that everyone “bonk” at least once during training.  First, by experiencing it once you’ll be prepared if it happens again.  And secondly, once it happens you’ll appreciate the importance of proper fueling while training.)

Gels

Gels are you best option if you don’t like to drink sports drink, or perhaps you merely get tired of the taste over several hours of training. Gels are a concentrated form of immediate energy that do not add bulk in your stomach. They are more quickly and efficiently absorbed than the fat, fiber, and protein in energy bars, and maintain your blood sugar level by providing quickly-absorbed carbohydrate-based calories to replace the glucose you lose during a workout. Gels also contain potassium and sodium (important electrolytes!) to keep your muscles and body healthy during and after your event.

Energy gels provide calories and nutrients to keep you going during a race and help you feel good afterward. :) (I do not advise eating PowerBars DURING an event; many people include them as part of their pre-run breakfast or post-run recovery.)

Brands and Flavors

There are many brands out there--GU, PowerBar Gel, AccelGel, Carb-Boom, Hammer Gel--and many flavors! It is important to find the brand and flavor that works best for you (i.e. does not make you sick to your stomach and provides the right boost). It is important to try several different kinds during your training. Some contain caffeine, and some do not. Some also have a thicker consistency than others. Those choices are based on your personal preference.

I recommend going to a running store, REI in Brentwood, or Dick's at West County Mall and purchasing a few types that look good to you. You can go to the specialty running stores as well.  And I will provide some brands at group training for you to sample. 

If you want to read more or check out flavors, visit the following websites:

www.guenergy.com

www.accelgel.com

www.powerbar.com

www.hammernutrition.com

www.carbboom.com

When to Take a Gel
As a general rule, try to use a gel 15 minutes before you start your miles, and then one gel every 45-60 minutes thereafter. Always drink 8oz of WATER with the gel to aid digestion. Do not do a gel with a sports drink. This can put too much sugar in the GI tract at once, causing stomach distress.

Experiment During Training

Your miles during the week are a great time to try out different flavors or varieties --just have one before you start and see you feel. Everyone should experiment with gels during training so that you know whether they work for you.  (Don’t take one for the first time on the Rock N Roll course when they hand them out for free!)

Just remember, if you train with gels and plan to run with them on race day, you’ll need to carry them with you on race day. Thus, you may need a small pack or adequate pockets to hold them. 

Training Tip #8 - Drinking on Your Run (or Walk)

Training Tip #8 -   Drinking on Your Run (or Walk)

If you’ve been reading my prior tips regarding the importance of hydrating, you may be asking the next obvious question – What is the best way to hydrate while training?

Basically there are a few schools of thought on this:

1. Place bottle(s) on your route. I have to say that I’ve never tried this method, for a couple reasons. First it seems like too much work to plan out locations to hide bottles prior to leaving the house.  And secondly, I fear that the bottles would be stolen or tampered with by the time I arrived. Also, in the summer, they may get really warm in the sun or freeze in the winter.
2. Plan your route where you can find water - this is the best solution for many.  Find a route that includes water sources along your route - fountains located at parks, schools or businesses that are runner friendly.  However, this may not be very practical for some.  Also, on longer runs or walks you nay need to supplement with electrolytes and carbs for energy.
3. Carry fluids with you using a hydration system.  This is what many people do.  This method can be as simple as training with a bottle of Gatorade in your hand, or you can spend some money and purchase a hydration system at Big River Running Center.

Hydration Systems: 

If you haven’t already purchased a hydration system, there are three basic approaches:

1. Handheld bottles  - These work well once you get used to holding something in your hand when training. They will feel ackward to carry at first and typically these limit you to a smaller sized bottle.  Ultimate Direction makes a nice bottle which I strongly recommend because they are easier on your mouth than the hard plastic kind that you typically find with cheap water bottles.
2. Single bottle waist packs – I have a single bottle waist pack.  The bottle is 27 ounces and has an annoying tendancy to bounce when full unless you tighten the waist pack really tight.  Otherwise it works well.
3. Multi-bottle belts – The belt system was pioneered by Fuel Belt and is very popular.  Typically they have 2 to 4 bottles with each bottle being 8 or 10 oz. each. The belt sytem allows you to carry more fluids with you.  Since they spread the fluid to multiple bottles, they have less tendancy to bounce when full.  I have a Nathan hydration belt that I picked up at Big River.  It has four bottles and a storage pocket and costs around $35. I am very pleased with the way it performs.

How you hydrate when training is your choice.  If you choose a hydration system, you will likely need to refill your bottle(s) while training (for longer runs or walks). Typically I like to follow a route that brings me back to my car within 45 minutes to 1 hour. When I come back to my car, I top off my bottle with more sports drink and head back out.  This keeps me no further than 2.5-3 miles away from my car which can be very helpful if you experience any difficulties, such as bad weather or otherwise.

Training Tip #7 - Hydration and Fueling - Part 2

Training Tip of the Week - Hydration and Fueling Part 2:

Sports Drinks Hopefully, if you read Part 1 on Hydration and Fueling, you caught on that sports drinks are recommended for training sessions over one hour (some say even a half hour) in duration.  The reason they are so important is that they contain the proper percentage of carbs (6-8% carbohydrates) and are mixed with the electrolytes sodium and potassium.  Electrolytes are minerals that are lost through sweat and important for fluid retention.  Because of this, sports drinks are more quickly absorbed by the body than water and they will provide your body a constant and proper amount of energy (carbs) so that you avoid “hitting the wall” or “bonking” on your run or walk.   “Hitting the wall” or “bonking”  means that you have depleted your muscles primary source  of stored energy – “glycogen”.  After about one hour of training, the muscles start to deplete their stores of glycogen.  When that occurs, the body is forced to burn fat to produce energy.  However while burning fat may be good for weight loss, it is difficult to run or walk doing this because it is a much less efficient means of providing energy. Thus, your performance suffers greatly and you hit the wall!

So the goal is to keep your energy supply constant and to hydrate while training longer than one hour. That way we avoid dehydration as well as hitting the wall.  The easiest way to do this is by drinking a sports drink which provides a constant source of energy – carbohydrates.  The goal is to consume the right of amount of sports drink per hour based on your individual needs.  Generally this would require drinking between 5 to 12 ounces of fluid (typically 8 oz is recommended) every 15 to 20 minutes during your run or walk – depending on your sweat rate.  The only way to determine your sweat rate is to weigh yourself immediately before and after your training session.  (Note -  I can bring a scale to a Group Training, if you want to do this!)

What’s considered a sports drink?  To be considered a sports drink it should have about 6-8% carbs (14 to 20 grams per serving) and electrolytes. A sports drink should contain about half the carbs that you find in soda or juice.  The most common one out there is Gatorade, but the specialty running stores also have Accelerade, Powerbar Endurance, Cytomax, GU Brew and others. Powerade can be found at the supermarket along with regular Gatorade. 

Gatorade has recently repackaged their product line featuring three drinks: 01 Prime (for before training), 02 Perform (“Regular” Gatorade) and 03 Recover (a post training recovery drink – see below)  You may also find Gatorade’s Pro series drinks which again have the three drinks: 01 Prime, 02 Perform and 03 Recover.  Generally these are the specialty running store.  Gatorade’s Pro series is designed for longer endurance activities such as training for a marathon.  The 02 Perform sports drink, which is used at Go St. Louis, was originally called Gatorade Endurance Formula.  It has a higher dose of electrolytes than regular Gatorade – and most other sports drinks. If you are a heavy sweater and have problems recovering from long training runs, I’d recommend trying this product.

Most half and full marathons will provide a sports drink on the course. At Rock N Roll events in the past (and last year) they had Cytomax (Citrus flavor) on the course.  I am attempting to confirm the sports drink for this fall and whatever brand will be on the course is the brand we will train with for the remainder of the season.

What is not a Sports Drink?  There are several products on the market such as Propel and G-2 (by Gatorade). These products are great to drink  between training sessions in order to keep hydrated, but they do not contain the proper amount of carbs to keep you fueled when training.  For this reason they are lower in calories. 

What about Energy Drinks?  These are drinks such as Red Bull and Rock Star that have been popular for some time. They may have caffeine and a high dose of sugar.  Stay away from these during your run as they are not designed to be used as a sports drink.

What is a Recovery Drink? Recovery drinks should be consumed after a long hard training run to help you recover more quickly.  Recovery drinks typically include both carbs and protein on a ratio of 4:1.  Protein helps your muscles repair damage from the long run and these drinks also speed the restoration of glycogen within the muscles.  These drinks should be consumed immediately following your workout if possible.  Many of the sports drinks now on the market have recovery versions including Gatorade (Regular and Pro Series), Accelerate, Gu Brew and can also find Muscle Milk or similar products at the supermarket which is the same idea.  However, just a word of advice, if you want a cheaper alternative to these  products – just try good old fashioned chocolate milk.

If you're interested in reading more about all different sports related drinks, you may want to check out the following article that was published in Runner’s World Magazine.  Here is a link to the article:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-302--10086-0,00.html

What about gels?

To supply energy (carbs) with some electrolytes, you may want to consider gels (such as GU, Powerbar Power gel, Hammer gel) and water as an alternative to sports drinks.  Most gels have between 100-200 calories per packet.  Typically you will want to consume a gel every 45 minutes to one hour plus water (typically 8 oz every 15 to 20 minutes) while training to maintain proper energy and hydration levels.  Again, If you choose to get your energy from gels, I don’t suggest drinking sports drink as well, just drink plain water at the recommended amount.

While I typically recommend training with a sports drink, the choice of gel+water vs. sports drink is really a personal decision.  Remember that on race day, you will want to stick with what you trained with.  Thus, if you train with gel, you will need to bring them on the course with you (plain water as well as Cytomax will be available on the course).  If you train with Cytomax, you will be good to go and you shouldn’t need gels too – but again the key is to try everything out during training.