As the runs get longer and the heat gets hotter and wetter earlier, I’m finally starting to pay attention to the nutritional side of running. For the most part, I’ve been pro “train your body to go farther with less” (touted by a couple important running gurus), so gels and supplements haven’t shown brightly on my radar.

I practiced using gels a few times on long runs last Fall and learned that you need adequate water with them or you can get the stomach cramp of death. I also learned they can be sickly sweet and that chewy alternatives (beans and bloks) can be more annoying by glomming onto teeth with glue-like tenacity, not to mention the high choke factor. I did eventually find Hammer Gels were palatable without being too sweet and didn’t cause cramping, but since I wasn’t using them on anything less than 16 miles, water and maybe some Gatorade were my mainstays.

For the last few days, I’ve been voraciously reading everything on energy/fuel and now question the “train your body to go without” theory. I mean, why? If I can have a better run with some fuel, why not take advantage of it? The hard part is determining what really works and what works due to the placebo effect.

And then there is the whole electrolyte question, which I’d conveniently ignored until now, because the subject always made my eyes glaze over like a Dunkin’ Donut. No more! I thought lack of electrolytes was just responsible for making you cramp, but before that happens, it will start to zap your energy – especially if you’re a salty sweater, as I am.

Gatorade has electrolytes, but about 1/4 of what you’d need in an hour, plus it’s all acid and sweet and I know one day it will make me want to puke, and besides, who wants to train with whatever drink the race provides when water and a salt pill will do ya? So, after reading shitloads of posts in trail and ultra running forums, I ordered some S! Caps from Succeed. It was between them and Endurolytes from Hammer, but the S! Caps have more sodium per capsule so you don’t have to take as many. Hopefully I’ll get them before my long run this weekend. Experiment #1.

Experiment #2 was today on a sweaty 10 miler, when I finally put to use this handy removable pocket I got last year (super light, didn’t even know I had it on!). I knew I’d be out for an hour and a half which is an appropriate fuel-worthy amount of time. The problem is, I don’t get hungry on runs, sometimes it’s hard to want to eat, so I accounted for both sweet and savory by filling it with pretzels and a gel. I figured between the two, I might find one appealing.

Here I am today, in all my accessorized, sopping glory. This clip-on pocket worked perfectly and unless I find a particularly fetching pair of pocketed shorts, I’ll use it in the marathon.

I ended up chomping a few pretzels, and again, more cheers for the pocket…I didn’t even have to open the flap, just stuck my finger in and pulled out one at a time. Pretzels also happen to be a good high sodium alternative until my S! Caps arrive.

Looking ahead, Saturday is a recovery run, then Sunday I’m doing 16. The challenge there is that I’m opposed to wearing a hydration belt ever again, so it’ll be my first time running with two handhelds! Mark that down as Experiment #3. Watch out people, Mad Doctor in the house!

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