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To GU or not to GU, that is the question…
Whether ’tis nobler to hit the wall
or take on possible stomach issues
That is the thought that ran through my mind for nearly 13 miles of my run on Sunday. I have been a little gun-shy of ingesting anything other than liquid refreshment during my runs since my stomach disaster in New York back in November. That experience, though mildly triumphant, was physical misery.
I knew I was going to have to make a few adjustments for Boston.
The first adjustment I made coming out of New York was to give in to Gatorade. It was not my preference, but I knew that if I didn’t want to carry anything (i.e. a water bottle) at Boston, that meant I would have to take what they were serving. That transition went easily enough. I have to say, as much as it pains me to admit it, I have grown to actually like Gatorade.
But how many calories am I really going to be able to replace with a sip or two of Gatorade every mile? Sure, I’ll be fine with the hydration aspect of the race, but if I don’t replace the carbs at a higher rate (8oz. of Gatorade has only 50 calories), it will be sooner rather than later that I hit the wall.
And yet, I put off incorporating any kind of gel or gu or semi-solid substance into my long runs.
I have been training hard this cycle. I’ve seen improvement and am feeling confident. Unfortunately, that confidence has been feeding into pushing off my GU dilemma. With each successive long run, I was finding that I was running faster, drinking less and feeling better and less fatigued at the end of each. I tried to convince myself that maybe I could just run Boston without any help. All of my runs of 17 – 20 miles have me ahead of pace, and for almost all of them, I’ve felt strong at the end. In one recent 18 miler, I drank a total of maybe 3 or 4 oz of Gatorade and that was it – and I felt great at the end.
I almost convinced myself. Almost.
What happens if I hit the wall at 23 or 24 or 25? Once you hit the wall, you’re done. Oh, you can still finish the race (see my marathon debut), but if you truly hit the Wall, it’s a death march the rest of the way, even if you do take something afterward. After the Wall, you aren’t gonna hit your target time.
And that thought haunts me.
How pissed would I be if I were cruising along to a 3:15, or dare I say it, a 3:10, and my body ran out of fuel somewhere in the last 10K?
So yesterday, with just over 3 weeks to go, I decided I would suck it up and re-introduce GU into my running.
Truth be told, I almost left them in the car, for fear of getting stomach cramps 10 miles away, but I thought better of it.
Now it became a question of when. Most gel-makers recommend taking one 15 minutes before race time and then once every 45-60 minutes thereafter.
***
I didn’t take one before my run.
***
When I hit 6 miles 45 minutes later, I didn’t take one.
***
When I hit 12 miles at 1:32 I still didn’t take one. I kept thinking, what if I get nauseous?
***
I realized that New York was playing with my mind.
I just had to do it.
So at mile 13, a full 1:39 after starting my run, I finally downed a Lemon-Lime GU.
And you know what? It wasn’t so bad – I’ll just have to make sure that I time it with a hydration station during the actual race – and maybe the GU had something to do with being able to rip off a 6 minute mile for mile 20.
So now I have to figure out just how many GU’s I will need. I’m leaning toward only bringing 2 with me – one for mile 10, and one for mile 20.
Any words of advice?
Run Luau Run 
Glad to see you are being proactive about reintroducing the cals/carbs, but what happened to the Honey Water? I’ve actually decided to try and go away from the GU and move toward a 22-oz bottle of water with like 1/4-1/2 cup of honey and a spoonful or two of chia seeds.
I would love to stick to HoneyWater, but I also don’t want to carry anything during the race…hence the switch to Gatorade. That said, I will most definitely switch back to HoneyWater for the Vermont 50 where I will HAVE to carry some form of hydration.
Oh, right. I forget about the extra weight. Just doesn’t impact slow-pokes like me 🙂
BTW – I like how the VT50 talk is starting to crystallize from something nebulous into a very concrete idea of you running 50 miles over mountains in Vermont. Doug’ll be proud.
😉
My approach with the Gu is to start with it around mile 13, and take ‘nips’ of it over the next mile or so – downing it all at once while running hard leaves me feeling kind of buzzy and too sweet in the mouth (and thirsty far beyond what a few sips from the water stop can satisfy). Then I’ll have another one (or two) each 5-8 miles after that.
I use safety pins to attach the tops to the inside of my shorts’ waistband – this eliminates bulging pockets & reduces bouncing, both of which drive me batty.
Another option, if you can place your fans strategically along the route, is to have bananas instead of Gu. They’re great energy, easy on the stomach, and taste good. Only trouble is that you have to rely on a hand-off…
Thanks Ingrid…I’ve actually been thinking that I will do some sort of a plan like that.
Yeah. I’ve been doing the same. Working on increasing my metabolic efficiency. All of my runs over 13 or 14 I’ve been running with honey water. Been focused on the plan of not carrying anything with me during the race. I tried to put that plan into effect and ran Stu’s with one sample bag of sport beans in my little short pocket. The aid-stations were too spaced-out and random. I dropped half of them on the ground and the wheels came off at 15. If it hadn’t been for Jeremy giving me one of her Powerbar Gels I would have DNF’d.
So, I came-up with a new plan for the marathon and practiced in yesterday at Eastern States. I have side pockets in my Brooks shorts the perfect size for one gel. I chose Honey Stingers (I “practiced” with them last week) as I’ve found them to be most excellent and easy on my sensitive tummy. I carried 3 with me (one in each pocket, one in my waist). I just ate my normal breakfast (bowl of Honey Bunches and a Pop-Tart, 20 oz of Nuun and Coffee) and pre-race banana. I didn’t take a gel prior to the race.
So, at the first aid station (around mile 3.5) I had one water and one Gatorade. I had my first Stinger (plain) coming-into the aid station at mile 7 and grabbed 2 cups of water there (they were small and half-full). I alternated like this the rest of the way and felt great (Stingers at 12 (plain) and 17 (ginSting), Gatorade in between)! Granted I ran the first ten at a very comfortable 9:00/mi and gradually negative-split the rest (my last mile was a strong 8:00 flat), but this plan is what I’m going to stick with for the Marathon. Well, I’ll actually carry 2 Stingers and pick-up two more from Lex at 14 (in front of St. Paul’s Parish)…
So, yeah, not that you asked for all of that, but there it is. And, yes Adam, seeing Luau speak in concrete terms about Vermont makes me VERY happy!!! 😀
And, yes Adam, seeing Luau speak in concrete terms about Vermont makes me VERY happy!!!
heh heh heh
Buddy I haven’t said much in a while but I’ve been keeping up with your training and I’m impressed. I think I have some stuff for you that you might like in terms of GU type information. I started using a product called Generation UCAN and it is amazing! I use it in place of GU and one of the best things about it is that there is no stomach backlash at all…ever. It’s a simple drink before and I do one during long runs as well. I carry it mixed in a 5 oz bottle in my pocket and I’m good to go. The little bottle is a bit gritty but not bad and I’d rather have a gritty drink right before a water station than have stomach issues from GU. I like GU but it always gives me an upset stomach so the UCAN has been outstanding. I also use Cliff Shot Blocks instead of GU and I have found those work pretty good. I chew them right before a water station so I can wash them down and I’m good to go. I hope Boston is amazing for you LUAU!
JIMMY! Thanks man! I will check it out. Shot Blocks were actually on my list of possible replacements for GU.
I think you’ll like the shot blocks but definitely try the UCAN at some point. Word on the street is that Meb Keflezighi dropped a deal with GU when he tried the UCAN. Not a bad endorsement. The UCAN also lasts longer than anything else I’ve ever tried. I can easily get two to three hours of solid energy when I drink it pre-run.
For the shot blocks I don’t like eating them all at once so I typically do three every five miles or 45 minutes. For races I check the aid stations on the course and plan for certain ones at my desired spots so I have the fluids to wash them down with and that plan has worked great for me.