Spring Revelations

For the first time on a long run I tried and tested gels this weekend. Don't know why it's taken me so long to move on to the little packets of sugary goodness, and to be honest...I've always been a bit wary of using a goo or gel, or any sugary supplement during training or even racing. But after last week's bonktastic long run, I was determined to complete the 22 miles scheduled for Sunday properly and so after spending some time reading around, decided to give it a shot.

Last year in preparation for the London marathon I did add Lucozade drinks to long runs, especially since it is the brand of choice available along the route. But, to meet the demands of the southern Arizona environment, a more suitable electrolyte drink was definitely needed, along with a sugary boost to aid endurance.

After a trip to the local Oro Valley Bike shop (looking for the lightest goo available) I came away with a Power Bar Energy Gel , a Clif Shot and also a sachet of a Green Tea blend electrolyte drink. The combination might sound a little strange, especially taste-wise, but in the end of the day, it did the trick! On Sunday morning I was up early (even after a late night super moon gazing/ photographing) and drove out to a quiet nearby retirement community, stashing a bottle of electrolyte at the planned 5mile point, leaving another at the car, and then setting off on the planned two-11mile-loop run. Both gels proved to be tasty, edible and easily digestible, and the drink ideal as the temperature started to rise. At 20miles, when I still felt strong and relatively comfortable - I realised that this was the way forward :)

This morning it came to light that a runner, McRunner, who had set himself the challenge of eating only McDonald's food for the last 30 days before the LA marathon - ran a personal-best of 2:36:13 yesterday! Wowee!! McRunner had also been allowing himself to eat: Non-McDonald’s water, PowerGels, multivitamins and ibuprofen when needed. 

There are lots of different factors that come in to affect on a marathon day and can influence a runner's final finishing time - an article on the Running Competitor Network suggests that endurance athletes may be able to survive on junk food (high fat, high sugar) because their bodies can handle it - but only for limited periods of time.

After adding gels to the Sunday long run yesterday I can definitely testify to the benefits of sugar-laden goodness, and also the water, multivitamins and ibuprofen as McRunner realised, but I'm just not sure about the junk-food aspect...again, it doesn't sit well with the principle of ahimsa.

There is a plus side, McRunner's challenge has raised over $27k so far - you can add to the total here. 

What do you think? As a runner, would you be prepared to try a challenge similar to McRunner? What about yogi's?