 |
| Only water, electrolyte, Gel at the SF Marathon! |
Everyone has their own fuel strategy. It could be gels, like Gu. It could be Clif ShotBlocks. I have seen (and consumed) Red Vines on the
course. I have also heard jelly beans
rattle with every step of a runner or heard people eat snickers on the
trail. It is funny how I have played around
with refueling on a run, but I have settled down, by a process of elimination,
what works for me.
Beginning with my first half-marathon I started off with
Jelly Bellies, popcorn and cherry flavored to be specific. I quickly realized that I did care for the
juice it would create in my throat as I was trying to run and would find myself
hacking and coughing. The problem
though, in my training runs, I never included jelly beans of any kind, so it
was a shock to the system on the run.
I then discovered doughnut holes and gummy bears at the Long
Beach Marathon. If you have ever run
Long Beach, you know that there is a unofficial aid station at about mile 11
that hands them out. I remember, being
what I thought an expert in nutrition at the time, why would anyone serve
doughnut holes on a road race. That was
before I began trail running, more on that later. I liked the gummy bears so much (I believe it was at mile
18) that they replaced Jelly Bellies. They have to be the chewy type, like the ones at
the end of Faris Bueller Days off. You
remember the line: “Would you like a gummy bear? They’ve been in my pocket and
they are warm.” The chewy ones again are
too much effort and have also had my hacking and coughing.
Since the Napa Marathon, I have also included cut up a mint Clif
Builder bar into small bite size pieces.
These, when combined with gummy bears, seem to do the trick. I will also an occasional Gu and electrolyte
drink at an aid station does fine for my road races.
 |
| Brazen Racing Trail Runs have the best assortment! |
For trail races, we are spoiled. There is a virtual banquet of food at the aid
station. Have you ever had a boiled potato
dipped in salt? I have and it is so good
on a long run. How about watermelon on a
hot day, that was the spotlight of the Mt. Diablo 50K my wife and I attempted. How about flat Coca Cola or Ginger Ale
instead of electrolyte? Yummy.
The key here though is that aid stations for trail runs are
spread out much further, especially the longer races. It isn’t uncommon to have them paced anywhere
from 4 miles to 10 miles apart. That
compared to the typical road race, which has the stations at a maximum of 2
miles apart. What this means for a trail
run is that you still carry some sort of fuel in between stations, but you
definitely take advantage of what is at the aid station when you arrive.
You know, the other big difference between Road Races and
Trail Runs is the refueling after the race.
 |
| The spread at a Coastal Trail Run....note the boiled potatoes, YUMMY! |
If you are at a well-organized road race, you should be able
to find your water and typical fruit (most likely a banana), another carb like
a dry bagel, and if you are really lucky, some sort of protein (I would love to
know why someone hasn’t caught on that this is the most critical macronutrient
after a race and it should be there). Oh
and of course a beer garden.
At a trail run, you will find a party! There is typically a nice spread of food,
like what you found on the trail. Most
trail companies have a tradition of providing soup and or chilly, maybe cakes,
cookies. They may have the dry bagel but
they definitely provide some sort of protein to go on it, like Nutella or
peanut butter. Even at some Brazen races
(the Mt. Diablo races in particular) you might find hot dogs, sausages,
hamburgers, etc.
Everyone is different and therefore you should experiment
with what works for you. Whatever you do
though, incorporate it into your training run so you don’t get into the middle
of a race and either cramp up since you haven’t identified how the fuel will
affect your run or bonk because you haven’t taken enough with you.
I see you in the first picture!
ReplyDelete