Eating Goo or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Carbs

The deeper I’ve gotten into running, the more involved I have discovered the whole affair to be. For instance, when I first started running, I bought a pair of Nike Air Pegasus shows because they looked cool and were the right price. Unfortunately, they gave me a nice blister and pinched my feet when I tried to run in them. Even the second pair (Adidas this time) I bought at a local DSW didn’t fit properly and gave me horrendous arch pain that lasted after I had gotten rid of them. Finally, after doing some reading, I realized I’d have to get actual RUNNING shoes if I was going to really do this thing over long distances. So I went to Falls Road Running in Mt. Washington, splurged on a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7’s and have run happily ever after since.

If nothing else, this taught me that there’s more to running than just going out and trotting around for an hour three times a week. One of the most intriguing areas of running that you only discover once you really start running long distances (or for long periods of time) is the fueling strategy. When you watch a marathon on TV or even the Ironman on NBC, you never see the runners, elite or middle of the pack, refueling, even though I’m pretty sure everyone does it at some point in the race. Maybe the elites don’t because they’re only out there long enough to totally deplete their glycogen and then they’re done. But for most runners, the need for a supplementary fuel is acute. Most experts say you should refuel every hour you’re running. I think that’s about right for me, as I usually get tired around 6.5 miles on my long runs.

To that end, I have spent much of my half marathon training program trying to find my ideal fueling strategy. After reading numerous articles in Runner’s World, posts on several blogs, and the opinions of authors such as Hal Higdon, I had a lot of ideas for what to try and how to do it. Basically, I just had to try them out on my runs and see what worked.

My first foray was actually into pre-run fueling. I’ve found that one energy bar about 45 minutes before my run works just fine as I’m not a fan of having a lot of food in my stomach before running. The bar is just enough, with a full glass of water, to keep me from getting hungry on the course while providing a huge amount of carbs for my liver to transform into glycogen to be burned on the road. Flavor-wise, Clif Bars are my favorite. They taste the closest to real food and look more like something out of nature. My favorite flavors (of the ones I’ve tried) would be Cool Mint Chocolate (I love mint and this tastes like a Hershey’s Mint Chocolate Chip candy bar! Best bar I’ve ever eaten), Blueberry Crisp (again, very tasty as I like blueberries a lot), and Spiced Pumpkin Pie (I had this in the Fall, so it was extra good).

In terms of mid-running refueling options, I again have to go with Clif. I initially bought a few of their gel packs to try out. While they really work in terms of refueling and keeping exhaustion at bay, I personally didn’t like the consistency of the gels. I think also I’d have to stick with Mango or Razz or some other flavor rather than something richer like Vanilla or Chocolate. Then I read about their relatively new Clif Gel Shot Blocs , which are basically the gel shots in cubical form. They look like fruit snacks! You get six blocs per package and should use between 3 and 6 per hour of running, depending on how many you need to refuel adequately. Every three pieces has about 24g of carbs. I found that if I take four, I feel pretty good. They’re easy to chew up, taste good, and don’t upset my stomach. Perfect! I’ve only tried Lemon Lime, but I have high hopes for the other flavors.

While I haven’t tried other companies’ gels or bars, I really don’t have a desire to since Clif’s products sit so well with me and work great. I’m hoping that they’ve got a booth at the expo for the National Marathon so I can stock up for the summer and fall running season. Unfortunately, the National Marathon is only offering GU gels at some of their water stops, which is better than most marathons, I agree, but will require that I take my own fuel along with me. No biggie, as the shot blocs are really portable.

In short, if you’re trying to work out your fueling strategy, the best thing to do is to test different products on your training runs and find one that works for you and then incorporate that into your race preparation.