Drinking/eating while running troubles!

[JTri's]

Hi Liza, thanks for your comments. I am indeed a new runner, so I am still finding out what works for me.

I've done a lot of reading though, and from what I read gels start helping after your muscles have burned off the stored glycogen, which usually happens after about an hour, at least thats form what I've read, but you seem to think it lasts for two hours or more...I'll have to keep researching.

So far, I've felt great after all my "long" runs, the longest of which has been 8miles, but I am not exactly fast. At 12 min a mile, I'm out there for well over an hour. And, I'll be out there for a longer time for that half marathon. I want to finish feeling as great as I do now, on my shorter runs, which is why I'll use a gel as my runs get longer. I may not need one on these 8-9 mile runs, but I want to get my stomach and GI tract a test run a few times to see how I tolerate them.

This weekend, I practiced drinking plain water (small sips!), and felt good the whole 8miles. I was delighted. I must have been taking larger drinks before without realizing it. I felt much less thristy after my run and ended with a good sprint. Before, I was feeling so parched that it was uncomfortable, so I'll continue to practice my little sips of water technique.

[KSH]

Happy to hear that taking small sips of water helped!

Also, if you do move into doing gels on runs... I would suggest putting the gel into a gel flask. You can buy them at running stores. They can hold up to 4 gel packets in them and they make it so easy to sip on gel as you run.

The downside for me was that it got all shook up in the bottle and I couldn't tell how much I had taken in by the end. So, I didn't get all the gel in that I needed. Next time I'll take gel sips every 15 mins versus 30 mins on my long runs (12 miles).

[colby]

I like the flask, too, but I've lost a couple. After you get used to it, you can judge the amount you're supposed to take in pretty well -- for me one big slurp is about right. You could also dilute it that way if you didn't like the texture or wanted it a little more liquidy.

I do really like using my Camelbak because then I can drink as I please, instead of having to wait for an aid station for water, and then gulp it down all at once, which makes my tummy feel sloshy. It might not cause side stitches, but it feels weird. I can take in a whole gel and a few long sips of water, but beyond that, it feels icky.

I generally go by the "more than an hour of running = carry water and food" rule, but I live in a not so humid climate. I do also have to make sure that I'm hydrated ahead of time no matter what or I get to the point where my temp starts rising and feel thirsty.