Gels all about the gels and that final 6.2!!!!! - Page 2 - Spring Marathon

I<3medals

01/03/2012 at 00:39

interesting thread, i had a gel today on a run and it did nothing for me, i used some gels for the HM i did, and i cant remember what they are called other than they were in a yellow packet, were raspberry flavour and had caffiene in them and they were brilliant

Micknphil, wow didnt realise u never took anything, awesome, what other marathons or half's u doing, i have a great pic of you guys from Gloucester, i will miss ur HM as i'm doing silverstone

agentpenguin

20/03/2012 at 13:31

Just a big thank you for everyones help on this thread, it all proved a great help, the advice was tip top esp timings of the gels and the jelly babies..grit and deternination definately the key, I found the last 4 miles the toughest ever!!!!!.

well I completed Rome and very chuffed with a sub 4 hour time!

Liam68

20/03/2012 at 13:45

well done agentpenguin - end of April for me for the MK marathon...

I<3medals

20/03/2012 at 17:31

wow fantastic apenguin, 5 weeks yesterday and counting for me for london, did silverstone HM a few weeks ago

only two long runs to go now!!! there is light at the end of the tunnel lol, interesting you said the last 4miles were the toughest ever, will remember that lol

were there many supporters at the Rome Marathon?

WRXMANIA

20/03/2012 at 17:45

I find SiSGo absolutely the easiest to take, no water needed, especially if you heat them in your hand they are quite runny. High 5 also fine for me, but less carb content.

I find ZipVit VERY cloying and gloopy and make me feel like I am chewing drying glue - not great and they need water.

Brian.

I<3medals

20/03/2012 at 17:54

ooh i meant to add i tried the lucozade gels last weekend on a LSR and although they are quite thick, i really liked the flavour of them

Jo

Fizzipop

21/03/2012 at 16:55

Yes, the Lucozade ones are pretty yummy, very sweet... I'm also rather loving Gu flavours at the mo!

Question - would it be overkill to take gels with caffeine in them, AND, say, High5 tablets with caffeine?

Would it be better to take plain gels+caffeine hydration, OR caffeinated gels+water/sports drink... or does it matter at all??

Ferret75

22/03/2012 at 00:01

Great to see a thread about gels I only started using them 2 weeks ago and was wondering how often to use them and what with.

Im doing the Hull Marathon April 8th so I've tried them with water only on 2 x 20 mile runs and no problems with tummy.

I got the GU Gels after hearing good things about them but the only thing is on the back of the packaging it states not to take more than 4 in 24hrs?

With taking one at the start then every 5 miles which seems a popular course of action I would need to take 5.

Is it adivisable to take 5 on race day even though packaging states no more than 4 in 24hrs?

Any help or advise very much appreciated

Many Thanks

WRXMANIA

22/03/2012 at 08:36

I think you'd survive - it's not exactly a dangerous prescription medication...

If you need 5, I'd take 5.

Liam68

22/03/2012 at 10:11

I think the point is would your tum handle them & everyone is different...

Ferret75

22/03/2012 at 13:27

Hi there thanks for the reply I seem to be fine with the gels with water, no problems at all so like you say take the 5 if needed.

Im still learning all the preparations for a marathon and Im a big believer in fail to prepare,prepare to fail to coin a phrase lol

Thanks for the advise its appreciated

agentpenguin

24/03/2012 at 19:10

Good luck Liam and hannahsmom with your marathons coming up. Rome well supported and a cracker of a route, ESP when you run towards Vatican and the old town is superb!! Fancy another foreign venture anyone have any ideas?!!!! Berlin and Warsaw seem to appeal mmmm maybe 2013?! Oh well tough mudder in northampton first!!!

Tmap

24/03/2012 at 21:24

These threads will be humming on the 23rd/24th/25th April with people who got sick from eating or drinking inappropriately, including people who've used gels in training but then found at race pace they can't deal with them. A marathon's a very unpleasant experience if you get any kind of gastric distress. Use with real caution, and don't gulp anything. And if you don't feel you need them, don't feel obliged to use them - lots of people get by fine without.

Long Tall Sally

03/04/2012 at 13:36

This thread has been really helpful - thanks agentpenguin. I've never taken gels before - just jelly babies and water and they make me feel a bit sick from mile 20. I was hoping gels might give me a bit of an edge but haven't used them so far and I've done my last 20 mile. I was going to use some High5 gels on a 14 mile run tomorrow - my last longest run before VLM - but not sure if it's a bad idea. I'm an idiot for not doing the planning properly as Ferret75 said.

Liam68

10/04/2012 at 15:21

guess you are doing a 10 miler this weekend as part of your taper LTS? You could could still try one gel - won't help you but at least you will know if it has any affect on your tum...

Liam

Long Tall Sally

16/04/2012 at 10:17

Thanks Liam. Tried some Hi5s on a 14 mile run last week - didn't like them. Didn't upset me at all but couldn't imagine taking them at mile 18! Yuk. Will stick to jelly babies and Lucozade Sport. I'm only going for a sub 5 hour

Liam68

16/04/2012 at 10:23

I use SIS Go gels as people say they are the best for swallowing. Not that nice but they do the job...

Good luck

Aliscott78

16/04/2012 at 16:44

Zip Fit gels all the way for me!

These ones are packed with 51g of Carbohydrate compared with the SiS ones which are about half of that..

I used just 3 during the Rotterdam Marathon this weekend, but as mentioned before they are VERY cloggy (I would say gloopy) so my tactic is to take one as you are approaching a water station then gulp as much as you can to wash it down.

On a marathon I take at 12 miles, 17 miles and 22 miles.

Good luck!

mitiog

19/04/2012 at 13:34

Does anyone here actually take the "recommended dose" of gels? For example, High5 say "3 sachets an hour" which is ~6-g carbs, the maximum amount the body can process during exercise (so they say on the leaflet that came with my gels, anyway!!). That seems a huge amount. I'd normally go for one an hour or something. Any thoughts? I've got 5 weeks til my marathon so I still have a couple of long runs to experiment with.

Thanks

Liam68

19/04/2012 at 14:12

I do one every 45 mins so x4 in a marathon