Back at the end of February, I mentioned (HERE) that I wasn’t loving the way I was feeling on my runs and that it was time to take a much closer look at what I’m eating – both on run and rest days. So for the past couple of weeks I’ve been running my own little pre-fueling/fueling test lab, experimenting with different options on my long run days.
Here’s some of what I’ve learned so far:
- Before runs, I’m finding that either a whole wheat English muffin with almond butter and a little honey or Honey Stringer Waffles with half a banana seems to be sitting well with my stomach.
- The Stringer Waffles and banana don’t seem to have as much “staying power” so with this combo I need to start fueling sooner than the 5 mile mark.
- I read that coffee can help pre-race — I’ve tried a half a cup a couple of times and the jury’s still out on that one.
- While in the past I’ve been using GU Chomps during my runs, I do not enjoy how stiff and difficult they are to chew when the temps drop, and they require a lot more water to get them down – which leads to the dreaded sloshing feeling…not pretty!
I recently discovered Huma Gels and so far this is a win as a fueling option – no stomach issues, they’re all natural, they taste good and my energy levels were good – win!- Still trying to work out the best timing on when to take a gel. Usually I take one at 5, 8 and 11 during a half marathon, but in my last race I started getting light-headed at mile 12 and I was forced to walk for a minute or two. So I’m still working on whether I need to fuel more often in those later miles.
- For now I’ve gone back to just plain water during my runs – I kinda wanted to get the gel thing resolved before introducing anything else.
I’m feeling pretty good where I am so far – especially since I still have weeks to go before my next half marathon at the end of May.
So tell me – how often do you fuel on a long run? What’s your favorite fueling option?
*The opinions expressed here are from my own experience. I am in no way affiliated with the products mentioned.
My runs aren’t so long — usually 3 or 4 miles at most. I like to run in the morning with a banana about 20 minutes before. I find that works well for me. Nice job experimenting to find what’s working for you!
I really enjoyed Huma gels! I like organic or mostly natural fuel- i stick to gels because food just doesn’t sit quite right with me just yet
The fact that they’re natural is huge for me. And they taste good!
Great that you are figuring things out. I love that you have tried so many things (and I never heard of those gels). I’d like to give the honey stinger waffles a try sometime..love that they are portable if you are traveling to a race.
Yep I tried the stringer waffles with that thought in mind – figured it would be a good idea to have something that didn’t need to be coked when traveling.
I love the stinger products…I use the chews during my run. I also love peanut butter Gu. And I never drank coffee before running but I randomly started doing so a few months ago and now I’m all about it!
I just discovered that there are stringer chews – I’m curious to see how they are compared to Chomps.
I will be sharing your blog with my running class I’m starting soon. Your blog is wonderful.
Thanks so much 🙂
I’ve been experimenting with eating on the run for my fall ultra. I love Huma and just wrote a review. Actually it’s a whole post on what I’m pretty sure will be some of my foods of choice for the ultra. The recommendation is about 200 calories per hour. I’m working with that and tweaking to find what works for me.
I drink Cytomax on long runs and have had the best results/success with it. I don’t use any other fuel at all – even during a half marathon 😉
I usually do a bagel before I run and sometime I’ll eat a Luna Bar too if it’s a long time from when I wake up and actually get to run. I’ve finally started to be able to tolerate GU gels during a race but I usually stick to my chomps. It sounds like you’ve got a handle on what works best for you!