All Energy Supplements Are Not Created Equal

For the mean time, ankle has healed up and I was able to complete a 5k distance today in 38 minutes. Can you say awesome???

Anyway, I discovered something today....some of those energy supplements are just plain old nasty. One of the joys of long distance running is that you will get to experiment with all of the lovely energy supplements on the market. The most common supplement is GU its a gel substance that comes in a variety of flavors. On the scale of nastiness I would rank it about a 4 (depends on the flavor...some are worse than others). My favorite is the clifblok which reminds me of chewing really dense gummy bears. My least favorite is the powerade gel chews. Let me do a quick product run down for you.

1. GU: Gel substance that you can consume 45 minutes prior to running and periodically throughout your run. Not sure why, but you are supposed to only drink water after consuming it. My first experience with GU was at my first half marathon. Between mile 7 & 8 around the lake, the race folks offered power bars, bananas, GU, gatorade, and water. While on my hydration mission, I decided to take some GU with me and save my clifbloks for later. While walking through the aid station I squeezed the goo into my mouth and went to suavely throw it on the ground. The problem being I did not realize how runny the goo was and I managed to get vanilla GU all over my leg and consequently my left shorts leg. Since GU is sticky my left short leg bunched together and my hands and legs were all sticky. So be forewarned, know how to dispose of your GU packet and make sure it is empty before forcefully tossing it on the ground.

2. Clifbloks: These are by far my favorite, maybe because I have an unhealthy love for gummy bears. Every two provides a good burst of energy. I like them because they aren't as messy as GU and they hold their shape pretty well while running. I lacked pockets, so I put my bloks into a zip lock baggy and actually carried them throughout the marathon in my hand. My friend didn't think that far ahead and shoved the opened packet into her bra. She told me by the end she basically had melted gummy goo in her bra by the end of the race. So be forewarned, the bloks should never go into your bra.

3. Powerade Gel Chews: I had these today. They provided energy, but they were odd.  I imagine they have the consistency of an eyeball. Granted, I have never chewed on an eyeball, but if I ever did I think these little beauties are a close second in texture. They tasted funny and were kind of rubbery. They were hard to get through the entire packet. Personally, I will probably never buy these again because they were that bad.

So there it is, the different energy supplements you can consume. Coincidentally, like the GU, each of these supplements is only to have water consumed with them. As stated before, I don't know the reason for this. I did watch a friend of mine take a pretty hefty risk and consume the gatorade after her clifbloks and she was fine. But with all the other issues I had to face with a half marathon, I figured I didn't need to add to the potential things that could go wrong.

As of now, the training has been slightly stalled, but I think I got today back on track. My flexibility needs some improvement so I bought a strap to help me get a deeper stretch. I also bought ankle weights to start doing some ankle strengthening exercises. Tomorrow, a stability disk, some 8 lb weights, and a step to do plyometrics on. I better be a beast by the end of this.

Miles Run So Far: 46.5

8 miles coming up this weekend....I am ready!

Happy running my friends!