Everything's starting to Gel ...

A bad sign for endurance athletes
Courtesy donbuciak @ Flickr

Even those of us who have not participated in an endurance event like a marathon or a triathlon have probably heard horror stories about runners hitting the wall, some of them just yards from the finish line. Their bodies have simply run out of gas, out of fuel, out of the energy resources needed to keep their muscles working. At this point in his training, the timelapserunner hasn't given a lot of thought to such scenarios, trusting that the training regimen he'll undergo will condition against their possibility. However, the prospect of a total disaster always looms in the background.


Here's a short video of one of those horror stories, where from the 1 minute mark you get to see the agony of 'da feet' in full view:

Ugh! Hard to watch. To minimize the risk of such a catastrophe, proper training, sound race pace, hydration and energy replenishment are all vital. We're only beginning to gather all the data we need at this point, but yesterday I conducted my first experiment: tasting one of those energy gel thingees I picked up at Varsity Sports. Turns out that Louisiana Marathon logistics will include the availability of these Clif Shot Gels on back half of the full marathon course, so if the timelapserunner can handle these then we'll be in business come race day.

Clif Shot Gel Razz flavored

About 2PM - when the mid-afternoon sugar low began to set in - I grabbed the Razz flavor, tore open the package and squeezed the gel into my mouth. I found it sweet, but not overly so. Gooey ... but most of that ends up in your mouth or stays in the package. (Don't get it on your hands: it is sticky.) Most of the advice I've read suggests that one always chase down energy resources with water or sports drink, so I promptly drank an 8-oz. glass of water.

My overall impression left me confident that I could consume these with little if any trouble. However, I wasn't moving (running or walking) when I opened the package or consumed its contents. That test will have to wait for another day. If you care to see what the stuff looks like (e.g., consistency, color, etc.), check out an end user demo video:

TODAY'S WORKOUT: A nominal four miles around the lakes at an average pace of 11:35 per mile, using run/walk intervals of 2:08/1:00, with the run pace nominally at 10:12 per mile. No obvious leg issues to speak of.