Gels and Nutrition
8 watchers
Mar 2024
1:36pm, 18 Mar 2024
68,221 posts
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Velociraptor
HappyG(rrr), I did see a post on the Runners World forum many years ago, apparently seriously, advising runners that they could reabsorb their bladder contents. I'm not sure whether the poster was really that dim (it's not the stupidest belief about the human body I've ever come across) or whether it was a sneaky attempt to convince the skanky blokes pissing all over every upright surface at the start of races that not doing so would assist their own hydration. Also. Real food. Does this include the sweeties handed out by spectators at popular marathons? |
Mar 2024
1:39pm, 18 Mar 2024
23,535 posts
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larkim
I "go cheap" on gels and find that the Wiggle own brand ones work well. Certainly they are currently cheap (£5 for about 20 caffiene ones, £8 for about 20 non-caff ones on special offer at the moment). If nothing else they are worth trying at those prices as experiments!
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Mar 2024
2:41pm, 18 Mar 2024
1,986 posts
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Shades
Larkim- you might want to stock up. Wiggle have gone bust and administrators selling off what's left of the stock. (Unless there's been a buyer of Wiggle) |
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Mar 2024
2:53pm, 18 Mar 2024
23,537 posts
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larkim
Yes, I know - that's why I'm recommending them as cheap at the moment!!
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Mar 2024
7:40pm, 18 Mar 2024
12 posts
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Mr Potato Head
A massive thank you to everyone for the suggestions! Going to have to try and experiment myself and see. It can see quite overwhelming when you start to read into it all and what you need to take and when etc. Thanks again everyone and hopefully I dont poo myself along the way. |
Apr 2024
8:24pm, 22 Apr 2024
2,547 posts
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MudMeanderer
Bouncing this to enquire how running as developed over the last few years with regards to fueling strategy, based on a couple of marathon threads recently. I have much more knowledge of the status in cycling, and that's recently gone for a very carb heavy approach. A decade ago, fasted training was all the rage, to try and boost the fat burning capacity (assuming that carb intake topped out at around 60g/hr). However it was then realised with the right mix more could be absorbed, and now pros may be taking on 120g+ of carbs per hour, and in a much better state later in races. It made me wonder if this idea has crossed into the running world. Do training plans for marathons etc now recommend training the ability to stomach very high levels of carbohydrate? |
Apr 2024
9:33pm, 22 Apr 2024
4,202 posts
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tipsku
As far as I know, fasted training is still recommended in certain circumstances, e.g. at the beginning of a training plan when you do your base conditioning and try to encourage fat burning. I do that for a couple of weeks on 1-2 of my easy runs before I get into marathon training proper. But once you get closer to your race and your training gets more race specific, the recommendation is to practice fuelling during your key workouts to mimic the race. I use the same gels in training that I would in the race. The limiting factor in running is the pounding that your stomach has to take so runners can't take as much on board as cyclists can. I used to do triathlons and on the bike, I could pre-fuel for the run when I knew I wouldn't be able to take as much on board. E.g. I can eat bananas on the bike but not on the run because they give me stomach cramps at race pace. As far as carb intake goes, I can tolerate a gel (25 g of carbs) every 30 min or so, 50 g per hour. I read somewhere that 60-90 g is possible. It also depends on your weight. At 50 kg, I simply don't need as much fuel as an 80 kg athlete. In the marathon yesterday, I had 5 gels (125 g of carbs) and I finished strong, the final 12k were the fastest of my race, I ran negative splits by about a minute. I have to switch to hydro gels in the last hour because my stomach won't tolerate the gooier gels late into the race. Each athlete has to find out how far they can push their stomach before they get sick. In running, it's pretty individual and there is some room to train your stomach. I had to try several things until I nailed my perfect fuelling plan. |
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Apr 2024
7:57am, 23 Apr 2024
2,342 posts
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Shades
Recently I've read a few times that fasted running is not seen as having any advantage re fat burning adaption, I think this was referring more to running long runs fasted. I run most of my runs early morning and just have a couple of milky coffees and water before my run. I like to run as early as I can, so it's not a deliberate intention not to eat first. If I do a long run at the weekend I would eat breakfast before my run. I have seen adverts lately for higher carb gels, 60g, aiming at runners trying to train their stomachs to get used to higher carb intake. Can't remember what brand it was. I don't use gels, can't stomach the consistency. |
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