Can I seek advice please....

[Bunnygirl55]

I am currently training for a half marathon it's not till October but I'm a newbie runner so am gradually increasing my miles week by week. I managed a 15k this week slow and steady and felt good, mentally I wanted to carry on but felt all my energy had drained. I don't find eating before a run suits me and I had eaten well previous day/evening so I've been contemplating trying some kind of mid run snack or gel, can anyone advise if they use these and do they find they make a difference and if so how much and when should I reach for those? I'd appreciate your guidance, thank you

[Madge50 Marathon]

Hi there, well done on the 15k, you're well on course for that HM. 👏 I've got one in October too, did my first in March this year.

There's loads of options for refuelling from drinks, to snacks, energy bars, gels etc., and it's down to a bit of experimenting and trial and error.

For me, as I'm a sedate pace runner, and would take about 2 and a half hours for a HM, I tested gels and jelly babies before my first HM, I mouth breathe so found it difficult to eat anything too dry, one brand of gels (I only used one) gave me an icky tummy - so binned that. I'm ok with jelly babies, but can't take too many because of the sugar....(e.g 4 jelly babies = 1 gel) I could only stand 3 at a time....😄 I did try jelly beans and nearly choked! 😂

I tried another brand of gels which I got on better with and took fuel at 5k intervals (after starting, I never take them before a run or at the start) I'm really not sure if they helped or not........

I'm going to try energy drinks in my prep this time, and see how I get on....only ever took water before....and might take a gel as an 'emergency' boost......if needed......

I have home made energy bars for afterwards.

I always eat breakfast before my runs now, generally homemade porridge (runners rocket fuel 😄)

Let us know how you get on, it's always good to share experiences, everyone's different, mind you I'd strongly advise a breakfast of some sort....

Good luck!

Mx

Ps. I should add I avoid anything with caffeine, so the gels I did use (if at all) were caffeine free.....

[Bunnygirl55 in reply to Madge50]

Thank you for your helpful reply Madge50 I think my plan is to try an number of different things ove r the next few months so some energy drinks and energy bars n gels and see what affect they have, if any!

Week I've 'carbed up' more consciously to see how my energy levels have been for my longer runs and that has definitely helped less fatigued just need to get the mind set right now as I sometimes get a gremlin popping up telling me to stop!

Good luck with your training a team least we have plenty of time before October and hopefully cool weather which for me makes the run more enjoyable.

Keep on running!

[Realfoodieclub Marathon]

I find I have to eat before a longer run. On event day I do an oat, banana and yogurt smoothy to drink on the train on the way to my event. On the run my preferred choice of fuel is dried mango and I use a half fresh orange juice/ water mix with 1/4,tsp salt drink. I would experiment with different things, I always find I need more energy on the day of the event than when I am training as I run faster and I deplete my store faster so I start taking the mango at 7.5km then a little piece every 4-5 km. I choose Sainsbury's dried mango because they do them in little pouches that fit in my running belt. It is moe expensive than buying a big bag but at least I know it is fresh and easy to chew that way.

[Bunnygirl55 in reply to Realfoodieclub]

Thank you so much for your really helpful reply. I took a trip to Sainsbury's and am now a mango adidict I loved mango anyway but as you say ideal snack size for putting in running belt.

I'm testing a few energy drinks and gels over coming weeks and enjoying the mango so all good. I like the sound of the smoothies easier to digest I imagine so I'm going to put those to the rest also. I had no idea before I took up running that there are so many other issues to take into account. I find it fascinating and I'm learning so much from everyone of this forum thank you x

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Hi Bunnygirl! It looks as though you're well on track for your half marathon, nice one.

When you say eating before the run doesn't agree with you, do you mean eating just before or a couple of hours before? And are you running first thing in the morning? You have to bear in mind the time that the race will start, so it could be that you would do better if you've eaten something 2-3 hours before your start, if you can tolerate it. For half marathons I have done this and found I was fine with just a sports drink to sip (I usually make mine with orange squash and a pinch of salt) and a couple of jelly babies halfway through (only because my stomach starts to feel a bit acid, and seems to settle if I eat a little bit!). You might find that just a sugary sports drink will keep you going, worth a try.

If you can't stomach food at all gels might work well instead, just make sure you practice taking them - you have plenty of time. I used gels in my last marathon, took me a while to get the hang of them, but they are very convenient.I think they helped me, although I mixed them up with jelly babies and Mars Bites (I don't think I could stomach more than a couple of gels). I like Gu gels because they are really thick, so they don't spill, and I can sort of nibble on them - the first time I tried one I gulped it all down in one go, which was horrid! Because the Gu ones are so thick they need to be chased down with a drink. Mine have caffeine, which I like Try having a gel about 15 minutes before you head out, then maybe another halfway through.

[Bunnygirl55 in reply to roseabi]

Thank you so much for your helpful reply and advice. Yes I tend to eat just about an hour before I run as you said maybe eating earlier would help for digestion. I'm going to try different energy drinks and gels over coming months and some forum advice has been to use energy bars and smoothies so I'm going to enjoy next few months trying all these things. I'm steadily building up the miles just need to get the mental gremlins in check now as they often whisper that I should stop n give up ! I'm over ruling them at the moment and hoping they won't increase over longer distances!

Thanks again and good luck with your running targets x

[marie-20 Half Marathon]

I'm doing my first HM at the end of June and I am currently trying different fuelling options.

I didn't like the gels as I found them a pain to 'sip' on and made my hands sticky. I may have to try Jelly Babies but I'd prefer not to as I'll have to buy a big bag and I can guarantee that when I come to get my bag ready the kids will have eaten them all(!) but I tried some small bags of Haribo's this week which were better.

That said I still found that I was hitting my wall at around 15.5K which was thankfully at the end as my run was 17K but I ran at home which is a little hill an it was my back that caused me to hit the wall but I'd just run down a VERY steep hill with poor form (in hindsight) as I have getting tired but next week I'm going to try running on the canal and doing the full distance as my HM is flat (supposedly)

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to marie-20]

I don't know for sure, but maybe if you got your jelly babies from a pick'n'mix you could just buy a small amount? It's definitely a problem keeping those little blighters around the house

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to roseabi]

... jelly babies (blighters) I meant to say, not kids

[misswobble Marathon]

I can't imagine running 15k on empty. No wonder you were tired. Like a car with no fuel

Porridge is easily digested if cooked long enough,and then allowed to go down for an hour to ninety minutes, before setting off

Eat! Already? Mama Mia 😃👵🏻

[Bunnygirl55 in reply to misswobble]

Yes that didn't sound good when you said it out loud! I think I've been believing the 'carbing up' days and night before run would power me through but in hindsight I think a breakfast is needed. Advice on forum has been helpful such as using smoothies energy bars n gels etc so I'm going to try those over coming months and see how that plays out. I've not had jelly babies for years so looking forward to buying a packet and see if I can run, chew and breathe at the same time! I don't want to be found choking with a jelly baby jammed that would make a really embarrassing headline?!

Good luck on your running targets and thanks again for your advice I'll keep you posted!

[ju-ju- Marathon]

I take an electrolyte drink if I'm running more than 6 miles and also a sweet or two does the trick!!

[benwill Marathon]

I just take water and some Gels, currently using the high5 ones because i got given lots for free.

[Bunnygirl55 in reply to benwill]

Free eh? Lucky ole you I've see them advertised in some running mags so I'm going to try and source them and give them a try. I've had some other forum suggestions such as using fruit and oat smoothies and jelly babies so I'm going to try these over coming months I haven't got the half marathon till October so plenty of time. Thank you for your advice much appreciated, I'll keep you posted.

[benwill Marathon in reply to Bunnygirl55]

If high5 sponsor a race they tend to have buckets full of them ready to pick up always after the race so i presume there to take away! not much good after the even!

[misswobble Marathon]

I added one of those high five tabs to my water bottle today, well half a one

Tasteless pretty much, and sugar free It was very hot so I took a drink