Alternatives to gels and bloks for fuelling a run

I’ve never tried gels or anything as of yet, never found the need to, but today I suffered muscle tiredness for the first time, but I’m not keen on trying the gels, so what good alternatives could I use, someone has mentioned jelly babies 🤣
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Answers

  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    hev34 - any sweets will do, best to choose one or two that are your favourites plus easy to carry, i.e. don't melt in the heat.   Save the chocolate for cooler weather.  If you look at the nutritional data on the packs they are mostly high carb which is what you want, they need to be easy to eat too.

    Most gels are just overpriced sugar and have nothing in them that you can't find in sweets.   Some gels do have caffeine in them though.
  • HA77HA77 ✭✭✭
    Agree with Shades about the gels but it's unlikely the muscle tiredness is due to lack of energy, probably just need to train and recover more, gradually building up the distance.
  • go for the trial and error approach - try it and if you don't like it don't do it again! :-)   I've used all sorts ranging from bananas, digestive biscuits (don't inhale the crumbs though), cooked new/baby potatoes with some sea salt in a small (re-useable) plastic bag, a tin of baked beans (eaten cold on an LDWA ultra - that raised a few eyebrows), snickers, tangerines, flap jacks, Jaffa cakes, figs, etc etc.  No need to eat gels - they are the food of the devil IMHO!
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Hi PSC :)  - In my first 12 hour event I had a tin of macaroni cheese, it tasted so good and was really easy to eat.

    I don't do anything further than short ultras now so usually stick to sweets, dates and sometimes flapjack. 
  • > @PSC said:
    > go for the trial and error approach - try it and if you don't like it don't do it again! :-)   I've used all sorts ranging from bananas, digestive biscuits (don't inhale the crumbs though), cooked new/baby potatoes with some sea salt in a small (re-useable) plastic bag, a tin of baked beans (eaten cold on an LDWA ultra - that raised a few eyebrows), snickers, tangerines, flap jacks, Jaffa cakes, figs, etc etc.  No need to eat gels - they are the food of the devil IMHO!

    Thank you, think I might get a few funny looks with a tin of beans though 🤣 but definitely have got lots of options there. I’m gonna try jelly babies maybe 1 a mile, if anything else it might just work mentally like a reward for running 🏃‍♀️
  • PSCPSC ✭✭✭
    edited August 2019
    Any soft sweet will work well.  Avoid hard boiled sweets as there is a danger that you will inhale it and that would land you in all sorts of trouble!  

    Hi Shades, haven’t been on here for simply ages!  Macaroni Cheese would work too!  :-) Will give that a go if I ever get back up to the long stuff! X
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    PSC - hope you're all well.

    When I get tired of the sweet stuff I want something savoury, especially cheese :)
  • Yes, very well thanks Shades.  Hope you are too....? Time is sluicing by too fast for my liking!  
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    PSC said:
    Yes, very well thanks Shades.  Hope you are too....? Time is sluicing by too fast for my liking!  
    I know....we were all so young, well sort of :)
  • I am doing an intermittent fasting lifestyle currently whilst training for a half marathon which means I do my long run in a fasted state has anyone else done all their training without the use of water and gels/sweets etc am I ok training in this way or should I look to eat before or during the run. I haven’t noticed a change such as feeling feint or similar and I actually feel good but towards the end of my run this morning I was really flagging not sure if it was lack of food or just fatigued any thoughts would be welcomed
  • More likely dehydration.  I wouldn’t run in this temperature without water.  As your blood thickens your heart will have to work harder and that might be why you are feeling squiffy.  I would happily train for a half without food as your body does have reserves that it can call on, particularly if you are training relatively slowly.  The body will metabolise the fat which is normally a good thing! :-)
  • H0NKH0NK ✭✭✭
    I used to train in a fasted state to try and adapt my body to burning fats but recently returned to running and decided to do the complete opposite, I've been doing my long runs eating dates then jelly babies on alternate miles, later in the run I've been taking whatever I could find around the house ie started taking my recovery food (including some protein) during last few miles, basically I'm now trying to train myself to be able to run with food in my stomach, it's working well for training paced runs, not sure how well it would work if I really wanted to push it for a pb though 
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    tracy - many runners do their runs fasted but it doesn't suit all.   I do all my midweek runs with just pre run water and coffee but for longer runs I eat breakfast before and take water with me if I'm running more than 12 miles.  I don't run fasted for fat adaption purposes but because I run early in the day and I make sure I've eaten well the night before, carbs etc and I've done it for years so I'm used to it.

    You don't say how many years you've been running but if you're fairly new to running, say only a couple of years and new to half or full marathons then I would say take fluids when it's warm weather and on your longer runs just carry a gel or couple of sweets with you just in case you feel you need something.   And definitely eat pre run for all of your longer runs.   

    Running fasted is more popular with marathon or ultra runners, I don't think there's any benefit for the half marathon as usually your body has adequate glycogen for a half marathon plus a few more miles.

    There can be a problem too with running fasted, some runners then find it hard to eat a decent high carb breakfast on race day and not eating pre race will result in a slower time.  
  • Thanks everyone for your comments I will keep you posted 
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