Wednesday, April 22, 2009

8 Miles and Feeling GUuuey

Today I ran 8 Miles. It is, so far, the longest distance I have run in my training for the half marathon. It felt great and to tell you the truth I would have kept going but had to get ready for that work thing. If you follow my blog, I mentioned in a previous post that during my last LD I died out after 6.5 Miles. Today, I tried something different to which I credit my success:

For those who don't know, it's called GU gel. A friend of mine recommended it. I chose the espresso flavor because it is one of only a few that also has caffeine. Each packet has 100 calories all of which comes from Carbohydrates. The directions call for you to down one of these packets every 45 minutes on a run. I ran for 1Hr10Mins, and downed 1. I took the "hit" at 5 miles when I began to feel sluggish. I kept waiting for it to kick in--- I am a very impatient person when it comes to products and their promises and after 5 minutes I began to worry this thing wasn't working-- well, it was. The run felt awesome. It wasn't an instant rush but a steady and somewhat slow injection of energy. This really all could have been completely in my head but, hey-- it worked, right?

Has anyone tried these fueling products during a run? Are there other products you like? OH YEAH-- Remember my desk yesterday? here's an update:

Have a great day everyone!

8 comments:

  1. 8 miles? 8 schmiles. It looks to me like the big achievement of your day is that clean desk! :)

    (ps. well done on the 8 miles - that's terrific!!)

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  2. Wow! Are you sure that's the same desk? :D Oh, look! I can see that you're blogging at work. Does the boss know that? tsk, tsk

    Congratulations on your eight mile run! That's been my favorite distance so far. I'm happy you found something that helped to keep you going. How are your Mizunos working out for you?

    So far, I've tried Gu, Cliff Shots, AccelGel, Sports Beans, Cliff Shot Bloks, and Luna Moons. My favorites are Gu Espresso and the Luna Moons (Blueberrry). My least favorites are the Cliff Shots and the Sports Beans (even though I LOVE regular Jelly Bellies).

    By the way, the Moons are made for women, so you can't have those. :p

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  3. I need to do a desk clean up today... bad!!

    Glad the Gu worked. Don't think it is a head thing. Stick with it.

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  4. Wow 8 miles that is great, you are advancing so well in your running!! Slide me over some of your determination would ya, It's taking me forever just to get to 3 miles.

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  5. Congrats on your new milestone!

    I absolutely love GU and use those gels all the time. Sometimes I get tired of the "gel" consistency so I try something like Clif Shot Blocks (chewy cubes) or Sharkies (shark shaped chews).

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  6. Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day!

    I also use Gu for long distances. I don't like to chew while I'm running, so I'm stuck with them. I prefer the plain flavor, can't stand the chocolate or espresso.

    Great job on the 8 miles!

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  7. Oh, I know what you did-you just shoved all the stuff on your desk into the top drawer, right ;^)? Great job on the run. I tried GU once and couldn't handle it-I don't like the consistency. I currenty use Clif Shot Bloks at half hour intervals on my long runs, along with Cytomax. And to answer your question on my blog, I'm running the Las Vegas Marathon on December 6. Hubby will indeed be at the finish line, camera in hand.

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  8. When I'm doing a run beyond about 13 miles, I use the Clif shots because they're more natural. I like the Vanilla and Apple Pie flavors the best. Nice job on the desk. Did it take you all day?

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