It Takes Two.

It takes two to make a thing go right
It takes two to make it outta sight
Hit it!

What the frig am I talking about?  OK, I had to stretch it a bit and go back to my DJ days to find a song that would go along with today's post. 

I'm Rob Base and I came to get down
I'm not internationally known
But I'm known to rock the microphone

Back on topic.  Two.  Two updates on past posts.  The first?  Refueling gels.  Back in February/March I compared several different energy gels and rated them.  Guess what?  What Keith?  The first place finisher "Body Glove Surge All Natural Energy Gel- Chocolate", they stopped making it!  Say what?  What?  I love that one.  So much for the influence that my first place nod for it had on the manufacturer.  Oh, well...

The reason why, man, I don't know
So let's go, cause
It takes two to make a thing go right
It takes two to make it outta sight

 

Never fear!  Replacement Gel is here!  A new 1st place winner has been crowned (I used it during the B.A.A. Half Marathon two weekends ago).  It is an all natural product called "Accel Gel Rapid Energy Gel" and which is made by the same manufacturer as the "Body Glove Surge Gel" was.  It has all the same chocolately goodness as the original first place winner but without all the, let's see now, how did I put it before... that's right "texture".  It was as smooth as "(insert your own favorite phrase of choice here- example: baby's bum, silk, glass, velvet, butter, a southern drawl or aged whiskey- just to name a few).  It is a  dry, medium-bodied red, offering sappy black cherry and plum sauce flavors, with dried herb and olive tapenade notes. Balanced, with a moderate finish.  Sorry, wrong blog for that one.  It does however have a mild natural chocolate flavor and pleasant aftertaste.  The Accel Gel has a great consistency and is easy to get down while you are re-fueling mid-run.  It supplied an even and consistent level of energy and is made of all natural ingredients.  The only downside that I have with it?  It only has 20 mg of caffeine versus Surge Gels' 150 mg.

Cause I'm Rob, the last name Base, yeah

And on the mic, I'm known to be the freshest

 

Number 2.  No, not that "number 2".  Boy that stinks.  That's crappy.  Courtesy flush please?  OK, the second update is on the B.A.A. Distance Medley results.  My official results over the three races are:

 

	5K Finish	10K Finish	Half Finish	Cumulative Time	Overall	Percentile	In Age Group	Age Group Percentile
	22:01 (613)	45:41 (522)	1:37:53 (449)	2:45:35	150 / 833	81%	25 / 147	82%

My 5K and Half Marathon times were PRs for me as well as the Half time being a course PR for me.  I'll take all of those stats any day.  And that is no steaming pile of number 2 but it does take two to make a thing go right!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Refueling- 1st Place



Body Glove Surge All Natural Energy Gel- Chocolate.

I've got a golden ticket!  A Wonka Bar of chocolaty deliciousness.  "Augustus sweetheart, save some room for later" goodness. 

This gel has so many things going for it.  "I'll bet those Golden Tickets make the chocolate taste terrible."  Well, they actually don't grandpa Joe.  It has a great natural chocolate flavor which is vibrant and actually pretty delicious tasting.  There is a pleasant aftertaste which is very mild.  It's no Ghirardelli, but pretty darn good as it goes for energy gels. 

The Surge gel has a great consistency which makes it very easy to get down while running.  This is essential when you are trying to refuel without stopping and without having to wash it down with energy drinks.

The level of energy that it provides comes on pretty quick and lasts for a good amount of time.  The bullets on the packet say "More Energy Faster" and "More Energy Longer".  I would completely agree with those statements.  No misrepresentation at all.

"There's no earthly way of knowing, which direction they are going.  There's no knowing where they're rowing.  Or which way the river is flowing.  Is it raining, is it snowing? Is a hurricane a-blowing?"  Did I mention already that it has a great chocolate flavor?  Like the great Willy Wonka's chocolate river.  I digress.

The all natural ingredients are a huge plus.  You can actually pronounce all of them without having to flub your way through your own personal in·ter·pre·ta·tion (/inˌtərpriˈtāSHən/) of how to speak each one out loud.  I also like that this gel has 150 mg of caffeine.  I find that that really helps me to stay focused and keep my head in the game on my long runs.

A drawback?  If you read other reviews online about this gel they mention that this gel is gritty.  Gritty?  I wouldn't quite call it that.  I would call it more "textured" than anything else.  Did I find that to be a bad thing?  Absolutely not.  I actually didn't mind it at all. 

I was initially going to give PowerBar Performance Energy Blends the 1st place nod.  However, that was before I put them head to head last weekend on my long run.  I found that the Energy Blends are actually better for my shorter runs and that the Surge gel is much better for the longer runs.  For that, I'm giving 1st place to Body Glove Surge.  Thanks to Jim Darsigny who got me a couple of packets of this gel on his lunch a few weeks back.  I've since bought a box of them and will be putting another order in in the coming days.

"But Charlie, don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted.  He lived happily ever after."  I couldn't have put it any better Mr. Wonka.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Refueling- 3rd Place.

3rd Place- Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gel

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gel.

This stuff is "buzz" worthy.  It is "sweet"!  You will "bee" a "beeliever" once you try it!  Put your "honey" where your mouth is. 

Alright, enough of those bad puns.  This is a really great gel. Not too thick.  Not to thin. Goes down very easily while running even if you don't have a beverage to help it along. I found that it didn't get thicker due to the cold temperatures outdoors. 

A couple of drawbacks with this gel is the limited amount of flavors and the lack of availability locally (I could order them online but I don't need a box of them). I tried two out of the three flavors which are acai-pomegranate and fruit punch (the other one that is available is vanilla). Both had smooth, mild, natural tasting flavors with no nasty aftertaste. Even though they are limited, the ones I tried were well worth testing out. 

To "bee" or not to "bee" that is the question.  Catch the "buzz".  Sorry, got caught up again.  These gels are sweet as can "bee" (I had to put one more in). They really are sweet though. It was almost a bit too much at first. However, that thought quickly dissipated after downing about a third of the packet. 

Stinger gel delivers a nice even level of energy that lasts for a good amount of time.  This delivery of energy is supplied by organic ingredients which is something that I really like. Two stingers up!  

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

 

Refueling- 4th Place



Hammer Gel- 4th Place Finisher

Hammer Time.  I mean Hammer Gel.  Just had an 80's flashback there for a second.

"You can't touch this".  Well you actually can if you want.  Hammer gel was my first try at a gel made with natural ingredients.

"Break it down. Stop, Hammer time."  Sorry, got caught up in the song again. Let's break it down though. This is another gel which is on the thicker side. Not as bad as Gu but still a little hard to get down. It does get a bit thicker when out in the cold.  You definitely want to wash it down with a drink (I like any flavor of Powerade Zero).

A drawback of Hammer gel is that there are very limited flavors available. I tried Vanilla and Raspberry. Both had an imitation taste to them that was mild but also had a bit of a medicinal aftertaste.

A positive is that they are made with natural ingredients which is something that I was looking for and the only type that I will buy going forward.  They provided a nice gradual level of energy which was sustained for a good amount of time.

This gel would have ranked higher if only it were thinner and had a better overall taste.

It's "Hammer, go Hammer, MC Hammer, yo, Hammer".  I have that darn song stuck in my head now along with visions of those pants that he used to wear. Stuck in your head now too?  You're welcome.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Refueling.

Taken On One Of My Runs In Cambridge

I know, you're probably thinking that I'm referring to an automobile running on fumes pulling into a gas station to refuel with overpriced petrol (I used to live close to the Canadian border and loved how they called it petrol instead of gasoline. Sounds so much more chic and interesting). The need to move the needle from Empty to Full. You would be pretty close I guess.  It was the Shell sign that through you off wasn't it?  Instead of refueling my car with 87 octane Shell V-Power gasoline, sorry, petrol, I'm talking about refueling during training runs and races with energy gels. Same concept but with different fluids. You cannot run at peak performance if you running on empty and do not properly refuel during runs.

Whenever I think of refueling and the gels that I used to use last year during my training runs and races it literally makes me... (sorry it's starting, give me another second or two) gag and want to hurl. The problem is that I went with the old standby, the "tried and true", the go-to for any runner. GU Energy gels. It's the kind that is prominently displayed in every running store and is the de facto gel. I learned during my training for Boston that there are many other choices out there that taste better and that are better for you. I'll only buy gels that are designated as "All Natural" from now on. Gone are the days of GU for me. It was the end of the race season last year and I had found myself mid-way through my first marathon gagging trying to get the GU gels down at the allotted times (every 45 minutes). Dreading the next refueling was not one of the items on the top of my list of things to want to worry about while trying to stay focused.

I decided after that that I would need to find alternatives that I would look forward to consuming and, more importantly, better for me. I've tried five different options and will post my reviews here so that others can refuel smartly too while they clean their intake valves, sorry, while powering their high octane activities.

Let's start with 5th place:

Don't Let The Cool Flavors Fool You

GU Energy Gel.

The main issues that I have with GU are the thickness of the gel, the after taste and the fact that it is not all natural (ex. Sodium Benzoate). The viscosity of this stuff is what I would think it would be like drinking 10W40 motor oil.  This stuff is thick even when it is warm outside (of course this is on experience from last year when I used it throughout the summer and into the fall- it would probably be a block of goop if I tried to use it outside now with how cold it has been this winter).  It is very hard to try to get the thicker gel down when you are running and trying to keep your breathing in check.

GU definitely has a lot of great sounding flavors which makes you want to try them all.  Salted Caramel.  Who wouldn't want to try it?  I did and the initial taste wasn't bad.  The aftertaste however, left something to be desired.  It seems that all of the GU varieties have a strange medicinal taste that stays with you for a bit afterwards.

The final item for me is that GU gels are not all natural.  There are several other options out there that are, some are even organic, so why would I want to put something into my body that wasn't natural?

I have two packets of Tri-Berry GU from my late last year training for the first taker.  I understand if you're... sorry, gag reflex is kicking in again, not interested though.  I wouldn't be either.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Number 1. Number 2.

I know, you're saying to yourself doesn't he mean "camera 1, camera 2, camera 1, camera 2"?  All of this while you alternate squinting one eye and opening the other just like in Wayne's World. You know, the scene with Wayne and Cassandra.  Schwing!  We'll, I wasn't quite thinking of that number 1 and number 2 but kudos to you for thinking of that movie. It is a classic!  "No way!" "Way"!

The numbers I was referring to are what the pooches leave behind when out for walks with their owners. I can hear you now saying things like "Are you mental?".  Maybe something more like "a sphincter says what?" "What?"  "Exactly".  It's hopefully my absolute favorite from that movie though: "Ex-Squeeze me?  Baking powder?"  Yes, you can giggle like you're a little school kid again. I won't judge.

I came into the city this past Sunday for a long run. A crisp winter day with white glistening snow still on the ground. A good thing you would think. We'll, that white snow was pretty much dotted with yellow patches and Lincoln logs everywhere the eye could see and, in my case, everywhere I ran. It made for an impromptu obstacle course. My goodness. "Wow! What a totally amazing, excellent discovery!"  "Not"!  OK, enough with the quotes from the movie. It really does make you think about using a picnic blanket when contemplating sitting in a grassy area on a fine summer afternoon. 

I ended up running 20 envigorating miles that day while trying out some new wool socks and refueling gel (I'll post about them soon). It might sound pretty boring but it truly was a great training run. Even with the thoughts of (snicker) number 1 & number 2 (giggle) all around. 

"Party on Wayne". "Party on Garth". 

Until next time, keep on runnin'!