"I'm bigger than you and higher up the food chain. Get in my belly. "
Thank you Mr. Bastard (Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me) for that fantastic line. It is so apropos. No, not for Mr. Bastard's desire to, let's say, "utilize" Mini-Me in an effort to curb his hunger. No indeed. Rather, the desire to get more of those Jelly Belly "Sport Beans" in my belly!
Where is this all going you say? What does some jelly beans have to do with running? "Are you going to be talking about the Easter Bunny next Keith?" Maybe, Jack and the Beanstalk with his magic beans? Nope, none of that. It all has to do with my new favorite refueling source.
If you have been following my blog, you may remember that I rated my top three energy gels for refueling last year:
Well, forget all that! I have a new top refueling source: Jelly Belly Sport Beans. You might be saying to yourself that you didn't know such a thing existed. They do. I had looked at them in the past but never really gave them that much consideration because they seemed gimmicky. After looking into them further, boy was I wrong!
They come 15 to a 1 ounce resealable package and stack up nutrition label to nutrition label of most energy gels. For example, the Sport Beans have 100 Calories, 80mg of Sodium, 40mg of Potassium, 25g of Carbs, 17g of Sugars, 10% of Vitamin C, 10% of Thiamin, 10% of Riboflavin and 10% of Niacin. While Clif Shot Energy Gel has 100 Calories, 90mg of Sodium, 55mg of Potassium, 24g of Carbs, 12g of Sugars, not a significant source of Vitamin C, 0% Thiamin, 0% of Riboflavin, 0% of Niacin.
But how do they work and taste? Wonderfully and wonderful. In that order. Seriously, I used one pack last week during my long run and had great results. I could feel it when it first kicked in but it wasn't a sudden jolt. The energy was level and consistent throughout. The taste? Fantastic. I was using the "Berry" flavor (they have other flavors including lemon lime, orange, watermelon, fruit punch and cherry). It was natural and had no fake chemical after-taste like a lot of the gels. The beans were hard as a rock because of how cold it was outside but quickly became pliable enough to chew. These beans are much larger than standard Jelly Belly jelly beans so I took 4 at a time and then 3 at a time for the last set. I found them to be much easier to chew than energy blocks and much easier to get down than energy gels that tend to be thick and goopy. Once I got really chewing, the consistency reminded me of very small granulated sugar. For those who like caffeine, don't worry. They have "Extreme Sport Beans" which contain 50mg of caffeine. The only thing that I think could use a bit of improvement with this product offering? The packaging. It has a very narrow opening with a resealable closure which is difficult to open while you are on the run. Otherwise, they are a great alternative to energy gels. Seriously. I cannot wait for this week's long run to try out the cherry and assorted packs that I have. I cannot believe that I didn't try these sooner!
" I want my baby back baby back baby back baby back baby back ribs. I want my baby back baby back baby back baby back baby back ribs. Chili's baby back ribs." I mean, "Jelly Belly Sport Beans".
Until next time, keep on runnin'!
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