Gels or Sports Drink?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Kate

Gels or Sports Drink?

When I race, should I choose gels or sports drinks? Or a combination of both?

During a race of 90 minutes or more glycogen levels need to be topped up on a regular basis or they’ll become depleted, you’ll run out of steam and you’ll ‘bonk’ or ‘hit the wall’. Drinking water is not enough! You’ll need to rapidly replenish depleted muscle glycogen and restore body salts lost through sweat. That’s why we have to take on board gels and sports drinks. Unfortunately, most of them are disgusting, unpalatable and sickly…that’s because they’re more or less pure glucose, designed to be digested as quickly as possible. Using homemade sports drinks in training is fine, but this is usually an impractical solution for racing. The only option is to try out different brands to find one you can stomach.

With the ongoing success of FuelSmart for Race Day, I’m frequently asked whether it’s best to top up these glycogen levels with gels or with sports drinks during triathlon, half-marathon and marathon endurance training and races, and whether there is any difference between them.

Discover your ideal personal strategy.

Firstly and most importantly, what works for you is unlikely to work for your fellow competitor! You need to practice different strategies in training to discover what will suit you and your physiology best. Whether you choose gels, sports drink or a combo depends more on your personal preference than on any performance advantage.

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Optimise your performance with Go Faster Food FuelSmart.

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FuelSmart for Race Day

Gels – don’t forget to wash them down with water

Gels, designed to be rapidly digested to replenish muscle glycogen as quickly as possible, provide between 20-30 grams of carbohydrate. Your body requires 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, depending on workout intensity, so you’d need 2-3 gels per hour. Each gel must be washed down with plenty of water, for good hydration and for the effective absorption of the gel.

What about Sports Drinks?

Sports drinks are essentially gels with water, providing you ‘two for one’: hydration and carbohydrates. 500 ml typically contains between 30-45 grams carbohydrate, so you would need around 600 ml per hour, again depending on your workout.

Try a Gel/Sports Drink Combo to minimise Gastrointestinal discomfort

If, like me, you find sports drinks and gels too sickly-sticky, and water boring, try my combo method which maintains good hydration, body salt and glycogen levels.; a gel every 30-40 minutes, washed down with a 50% diluted sports drink. You never know, it might work for you!

Don’t forget electrolytes and protein

For best performance and recovery, choose a gel or sports drink which also contains protein and electrolytes; this helps prevent muscle damage and replaces lost body salts.

Solids can be kinder to the stomach

Overconsumption of gels and sports drinks can leave your gut feeling extremely uncomfortable. Energy bars, dried fruit, marmite, cheese or honey sandwiches, bananas and rice balls can be kinder to the stomach and many cyclists find it more pleasant and effective to eat these on the bike. Solids on the bike works for triathletes and ironman competitors, followed by sports drink and/or gels on the run to minimise gastrointestinal discomfort.

If you suffer GI problems, keep it simple!

Your stomach comes under all sorts of stress during endurance events. Many competitors suffer gastrointestinal problems. The more gunk you put inside you the likelihood is that the more uncomfortable your stomach will feel!

Practice different options in training to discover what is comfortable for you as an individual.

Three Amazing Runners Run Bristol Half Marathon

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Kate

I’ve just been severely reprimanded for not blogging about the fact that my very own wonderful daughter (aged just 17), my brother-in-law and my best friend Amber, all ran their first 1/2 marathon on 5th September. I’m SO sorry, I AM REALLY PROUD of you, you did BRILLIANTLY – it’s just that I’ve been snowed under with life and just haven’t got round to writing about it! Helena (daughter) and Paul (brother-in-law wiith shin splints who was kind enough to run with Helena almost the whole way – making sure that he sprinted off at the last minute so he wasn’t beaten by his neice!) managed their 13 miles in 1:57. They sprinted from mile 9 however, and had plenty of energy left over….they basically got their pacing wrong because I had been so adamant that they shouldn’t set off too quickly.

They have both declared that they’re going to train properly and get the pacing right for the Bath 1/2 in March 2011. They certainly followed my nutrition advice this time. They hydrated really well over the 3 days prior to the race and I cooked them all a deliciously balanced, low-fat, healthy pre-race meal of spaghetti with my slow-roasted tomato sauce the night before….

Now, my lovely friend Amber is completely new to running. Since recovering from breast cancer a couple of years ago she has worked incredibly hard to get fit. She’s gone from doing no sport at all to a committed runner, working out at least three or four times a week. She has started eating sensibly, she has lost at least two stone, and two years later she is a completely new woman….She ran the Bristol 1/2 in 2 1/2 hours and I have to say that, although this is not incredibly speedy, it is a most incredible achievement, especially as she’s done this on top of her very full time job – she’s one of the top Paediatric Anaesthetists in the country, specialising in saving children with severe burns and head injuries. Check out this thought-provoking video:

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Pappardelle with Prosciutto, Flat-Leaf Parsley, Sweet Red Peppers and Brie de Meaux

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Kate

Pappardelle with Prosciutto, Flat-Leaf Parsley, Sweet Red Peppers and Brie de Meaux

Just a quickie post to jot down a delicious pasta dish I’ve just made for lunch after a joyful 13 miler this morning (I actually sprinted the last mile home, let’s hope the training stays so positive). This pasta took moments to make (and eat), was really fresh-tasting and incredibly healthy, with a good balanced of vitamins and slow-burning carbohydrates, plus a little protein. Brie de Meaux is quite high in saturated fat, so you might want to go easy on this. On the other hand, a little goes a long way and it really does add to the dish.

Serves 2 hungry people or 4 smaller portions:

250 g fresh pappardelle ( I used fresh lasagne sheets which I cut into thick strips)
80g pack of prosciutto cut into thin strips – even better if you can buy some cut freshly at the deli, but I used the pre-packed stuff
25g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
a couple of sweet red pointed peppers, or one large standard red pepper, sliced finely
about 150g good quality brie, like brie de Meaux, sliced into thinnish slices
about 3 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil
plenty of freshly-ground black pepper

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to pack instructions (fresh pasta usually only takes a couple of minutes).
Drain the pasta, saving a tablespoon of the cooking water.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the saucepan and then throw in the peppers, sauté for a minute and then add the pasta, the tablespoon of cooking water, the parsley and the prosciutto. Stir it all around to combine , add the brie, a little more olive oil, plenty of freshly-ground black pepper and stir to combine again.
Serve immediately, with some grated parmesan and a rocket salad on the side.

Apple Power Pancakes with Spiced Apple Syrup

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Kate

Apple Power Pancakes with Spiced Apple Syrup

I’ve been overdoing it a bit on the running front, what with the Bristol 1/2 followed immediately by the Monster Duathlon, so Mark has enforced a week’s rest on me – probably a good idea as I now feel full of beans and raring to go for my run later today. So I dedicated this weekend to more apple harvesting and feeding the family with delicious apple-related meals, whilst Mark provided the ”dad’s taxi service” to rugby, football, triathlon club etc. I’ve made the following so far:

20 pots of apple, apricot and ginger chutney -I’m not going to post the recipe until I know that it is good (need to wait for the chutney to mature for a while before I can really tell).
3 litres of deliciously sweet apple juice (juiced in my new juicer) – a very messy but surprisingly satisfying process!
an apple and apricot crumble – very nice pud after our roast pork last night (with apple sauce of course!) – recipe to follow
fab apple power pancakes – these were really, really tasty and packed with nutrients to power you through hours of sport-related activity or to wolf down after a massive morning bike ride, as Mark did on Sunday morning before the rugby session (no peace for the wicked!)…. here’s the recipe, it makes about 15 or so pancakes which is plenty for 4 people:

Apple Power Pancakes with Spiced Apple Syrup

400ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tbsp sunflower oil or melted butter
3 tbs caster sugar
2 eggs
120 g porridge oats
200g plain flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking powder
3 large bramley cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced into quite small pieces
40 g butter
1-2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice

Put the milk, eggs, oil and sugar into a bowl and mix together.
Add the porridge, flour, baking powder, ground ginger, salt and 1 diced apple and mix until you have a thick, smooth batter.
Make the syrup – melt the butter, spice and demerara sugar together in a small saucepan and then add the two remaining diced apples. Saute gently for a couple of minutes until the apples are soft but still have their shape.
Heat a frying pan. Add a knob of butter and then spoon in a few mounds of pancake mixture (about 1 tablespoon of mixture makes a nice little round pancake about the size of a drop scone). Heat gently until you see a few air bubbles forming on the surface and then flip over to cook the other side for a minute or two, until cooked through.
Serve the pancakes (about 3 per person) with the spiced apple syrup poured over the top and perhaps some more demerara sugar sprinkled over the top if you are feeling like that extra boost to power you through the day!

Fennel Sausages with Lemony Potatoes and Bay Leaves

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Kate

It has been a busy weekend – the book signing on Saturday, the Bristol Half on Sunday followed by a lovely post half lunch at friends and then my birthday (for which Mark cooked a delicious…no, I mean really really delicious roast beef). On top of this of course there have been the normal kids activities – a rugby match against Taunton School and a football match plus rugby, football and swimming training. Not wanting to go too overboard singing my husband’s praises, he dealt with all the kids stuff this weekend brilliantly…except the washing of the kit of course (claims he doesn’t know how to work the washing machine).

For my birthday the kids gave me Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes, a beautifully illustrated book packed with tasty dishes, many of which you can actually cook quickly and easily. I’d say my knowledge of Mediterranean cooking is pretty good, but this book has definitely got some delicious ideas, even if some of the recipes contain ingredients that you wouldn’t normally find down the local supermarket or deli. What’s more, the majority of them are healthy, wholesome and low fat. As I was a bit fed up with couscous, rice and pasta having spent the past week carbo-loading, I was yearning for some delicious potatoes, so last night we had the Fennel Sausages braised with Lemony Potatoes and Bay Leaves out of Rick’s book (or rather our local butcher’s Cumberland sausages to which I added a tablespoon of fennel seeds) . It was dead quick and easy and truly delicious. We ate it with a scrumptious lollo rosso salad in a mustardy dressing made with cider vinegar and pumpkin seed oil and it made the perfect accompaniment. I think it would also be good if you replaced the sausages with a nice pork chop or a piece of chicken. This is my rather bastardised version of Rick Stein’s recipe:

500g nice quality meaty sausages – Rick Stein’s recipe uses fennel sausages, but I’ve no idea where you’d get them in Bristol, so I added:
1 tbsp fennel seeds
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves (2 if the sausages are garlicky), finely sliced
750g waxy potatoes – they must be waxy ones or the dish won’t work – I used pink firs, which I just washed and didn’t bother peeling and cut into long halves or quarters depending on their size
zest and juice of a lemon
4 fresh bay leaves
4 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaved parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Brown the sausages gently in 1 tbsp of the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or roasting dish. Set aside.
Gently saute the onion, garlic and fennel seeds in another tbsp of the oil until they are soft and then add the potatoes, the sausages, the bay leaves, the lemon zest and 1/2 the juice, 2 tbsp of the parsley, a good pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Pour on the rest of the oil and add some water – about 120ml or to about 1 inch depth. Cover tightly (I covered it with tin foil as I used a roasting dish) and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are just tender.
Add the rest of the parsley and squeeze the rest of the lemon juice over before serving.

Book Signing – Go Faster Food

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Kate

Book Signing – Go Faster Food

Come and say hello to me at Borders, Queen’s Road, Bristol on Saturday 5th September, 11.30 – 12.30, especially if you’re about to run the Bristol Half – I’ll be offering advice on nutrition and recipes for training and signing copies of my book.

Here’s the link to the Borders site http://bristol.borders.co.uk/events/bristol/6/

Looking forward to meeting you!