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Lately I’ve been hydrating and recovering with Nuun Water and mix1. Both are great at what they do. I love that the Nuun tablets make them completely portable. I also find that after a tough workout, mix1 definitely feeds me the nutrients I need to be refreshed sooner. Both are great for on-the-go athletes that need to throw something in the bag for a trip to the gym.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends on how you see it), the other day I was out of both Nuun tablets and mix1. I was setting out for an easy paced 12 miler so I knew I needed something more than just plain water. As I scoured the kitchen, hoping to find a stray tablet, I recalled what I had read in Born To Run about the Tarahumara drinking chia frescas, a combination of chia seeds, lime juice, honey and water. It was said that this simple concoction kept these runners going for hours and hours. Last summer I tried making chia frescas on my own, but had found that the chia seeds tended to clog the spout in my water bottles. Nothing more frustrating that being 30 – 40 minutes into a run, squeezing your water bottle and getting nothing out of it. My solution? I took out the chia seeds and ended up with a citrus honey drink. By the time Fall came around, I had simplified it even further by taking out the lime. This simple honey water solution powered me to my 7 minute half marathon PR in November (1:33:14).
I’m not sure why I eventually moved away from the honey water. Maybe it was because I ran out of honey one day or because my buddy Mike was recommending Nuun. I don’t remember. Regardless, but late winter I had switched to Nuun almost exclusively.
So the other day I was setting out for a 12 miler, and with no Nuun available, I went back to my old reliable. What a pleasant “re-discovery”. A nice side effect of drinking the honey water instead of the Nuun was that I didn’t need to pack any Gu’s either. Taking a few sips of honey water every 10 – 20 minutes provided me the steady stream of simple carbohydrates I needed to maintain a consistent pace. I also found that I was needing fewer gulps per mile . I’m sure I’ll still mix in the Nuun regularly (you really can’t beat the convenience factor), but I have really enjoyed the honey water over the last four or five workouts. This past Sunday I felt refreshed and able to continue after at 15 mile marathon paced run. I’m still tinkering with the ratios, but a 5 – 10% solution seems to be working best for me.
Now if I could only get to hand out honey water at Smuttynose and New York, I’ll be all set!
Run Luau Run 