anyone use energy gels

Hello, now that i'm doing longer runs (more than 10 miles) i'm thinking about fuel although i've never used energy gels, are they an expensive con ? can you get a bulk powder to mix up and go in those little bottles I've got on my hydration belt ?. thanks

Comments

  • I find they work well for me after doing an hour or so of running. I prefer the viper ones with caffeine in so I get an instant kick from the caffeine while I wait for the rest of the gel to kick in. While my other half prefers the SIS ones.

    It took a lot of trials to get the one I liked. Once you know which you prefer you can usually buy in bulk from places like Amazon which will work out cheaper.

  • TorQ tells are great, smaller then most, and actually comes with a strong flavour! image For LSD's i rarely use any bells out with me, except for one of the weeks leading up to a HM, just to remind the system image. First HM i did i took 2 during it. The 2nd one i did, i only took one gel, but before the race i ate this stodgy Brownie type bar thing. Sits a bit heavy, but keeps you fuelled for a while into the race image.

    Ideally in LSD you're (apparently) mant to train your body to be burning fat instead, so taking on fuel is counter productive, (apparently). However so is running when you're completely drained and lacking energy, and tripping up :P. Fuel properly leading unto and before a run and you'll be ok i reckon. Though if you do take one with you,.. make it just one.

     

  • SIS orange gels are fine,decent flavour and consistency plus you don't need to take these with water. I occasionally take them with me for long runs. Often they give me a boost I need to get me through but not 100% of the time. I've tried taking jelly beans which are just as good!

  • booktrunkbooktrunk ✭✭✭

    If you hunt around a lot of sites like wiggle have sales every few months where you can buy a box at around half price, or buy a box and get a second free of the big manufacturers.

    Personally I use them in marathons, and used them in training to find out which ones worked for me, now that I know which work for races, I tend not to use them in training as I want my body to hopefully nibble away at a bit of my fat instead of giving it the energy via a gel. image

  • Maybe i have not run far enough yet, but when running 18km I took one around 12km, cant really say I felt a difference. I need to experiment more with them yet as the obviously seem to do a lot of good. Maybe my run simply was not long enough.

  • booktrunkbooktrunk ✭✭✭

    I tend to think you need to take them 20 - 30 minutes before you need them for the body to absorb them etc... so I don't think you get an instant hit, you get it a bit after, so if you take them in a run then i'm not sure how much use one is unless it's around half way if not before to replenish your stores, you are basically using them to keep you topped up, so you don't flag in the first place, it's not about waiting till nearly empty then getting a bit fuller you want to keep the tank half full at least image if using a filling the car analogy. 

  • BikoBiko ✭✭✭

    Maybe you'd have felt a difference if you hadn't used them John. imageimage

    I tend to use Haribo/Jelly Babies. No idea if they work or not, but they taste nice.

  • I'm training for a marathon in October, and on runs longer than 10 miles I tend to stick with jelly babies and Dextro tabs every 20-30 mins (starting around 6 miles)..not sure if this is right, but it seems to keep me going and I'm a bit wary of the gels anyway!

  • Also-ranAlso-ran ✭✭✭

    Don't expect a 'hit', a 'high', or a 'buzz'. It is just a bit of sugar. Go for amphetamines if you want that kind of high.

    PeterM is talking about LSD's. That would make for a hair raising run and I'm not sure I am game for an acid inspired long run.

    Gels were designed as an easily digestible energy source for endurance sports.I am  convinced  that most gels are consumed by people undertaking non endurance based activities. There are a whole load of dependent users, and a big dealers network.

    Jason, first question to ask yourself is should you need gels on a longish run?

Sign In or Register to comment.