Gu. Power Bar. Hammer Gel. Clif Bar. Jelly Belly sport beans. Luna Moons. Gatorade...the list goes on for products promising the gift of endurance...
Yes, I can be counted among those who use these various products, but putting in the training is really the only way to be sure your body even knows how to run efficiently, no matter if it is the uber-fave PB & J or Vanilla Crisp Power Bar that you choose to fuel up with.
Frank Shorter, American distance runner and winner of the 1972 Summer Olympics Marathon once said "The marathon is all about energy management..it’s the perfect distance to truly test the human physiology basically because of the amount of sugar we can have in our tanks."
Thursday was my long run of 14, and I was humbled by my struggle late in the run, when my glycogen stores were probably less than desirable. I don't carry a fuel belt for my runs under 15 miles, simply because I've grown accustomed to the mileage without taking solid food, just fluids with electrolytes and a sugar source. But on this day I needed more...lesson learned. Luckily, my recovery for the remainder of the day did not yield any soreness or fatigue. I took a day off of running on Friday as usual after a long run, and was back in my Asics on Saturday for an awesome 8-miler.
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