The Boston marathon is about a month away, and the streets are filled with runners getting in their miles. I have a neighbor whom I saw on the sidewalk preparing for his weekly 20 mile training run. He was squeezing the last of an energy gel called GU into his mouth. GU is sticky, gel-like substance made out of glucose and packaged in containers similar in size to ketchup and mayonnaise containers found in fast-food restaurants.
I asked him if he eats more GU later on in the training run, and he told me he consumes a second packet around mile 15. "My muscles are really tired by then and they need that energy boost," he replied. "This year I am carrying them when I run the Boston Marathon to see if it improves my time."
Energy gels have been around for a few decades, although people who do not regularly browse sports apparel stores might be unaware of them. They are usually found near the checkout counter; several companies make this concentrated form of sugar to be used for any type of endurance sport. They contain just glucose and some nice flavorings like chocolate, vanilla and orange cream.
The science behind them is compelling. Glucose is the basic unit of carbohydrate. All carbohydrate is digested to glucose, which then participates in a complex series of biochemical steps to make a form of energy usable by the body. Some of the glucose that is not used immediately for energy is stored in the muscle in the form of a starch-like substance called glycogen. When needed for energy, the glycogen emerges from the muscle and is changed back to glucose. Long-distance runners tend to "carbo-load" before a race to store as much glycogen as possible in their muscles and, like my neighbor, also eat their energy as a sports gel.
One problem with the gels is that the package may be difficult to open, especially in the middle of a run. If you have ever tried to open a fast-food restaurant ketchup packet when your hands are sweaty you will understand the difficulty. Teeth help but using the mouth to open the packets may affect the breathing rhythm and in a worse case scenario, the packet could be swallowed.
An obvious and seasonal solution to getting enough energy during the Boston Marathon, which always takes place in April, is to eat a few PEEPS or other sugar intense candies. These garishly colorful candies are prominently displayed in every chain drug store. PEEPS are marshmallows that have had a total body makeover. The blobby pasty white marshmallows are, depending on the season, transformed into spiffy-looking baby animals, Santa Claus, ghosts or pumpkins. They are made out of sugar, gelatin and, presumably, lots of food color.
Marshmallows will never make it into any desirable food group, but the endurance athlete should consider them as a ready and convenient source of energy. Like the energy gels, they contain no fat or fiber. Thus they are digested very quickly and send glucose into the bloodstream for the struggling runner or long-distance biker or cross-country skier. And they have one main advantage over the energy gels. There is no packet to open, no gel to squirt on the tongue and the runner doesn't need water to swallow the gooey stuff. A baby chicken or rabbit marshmallow can be swallowed with a few bites. The cost of a barnyard full of PEEPS is about the same as one packet of GU.
Despite the reasonableness of my argument for eating these confections during training or a race, I suspect no one will do so. Green marshmallow bunnies don't have the 'sports authority' of an energy gel despite the fact that the body probably can't tell the difference once they are digested. But the real problem is the difference in perception of the nutritional value of GU versus PEEPS. Both deliver sugar to the body quickly. Both will provide needed energy for muscles and other cells. But PEEPS are perceived as having no nutritional value whereas GU and other energy gels are considered valuable for enhanced athletic performance.
There seems to be a double standard when it comes to sugar as the use of GU illustrates. Sugar has become the 21st century nutritional terrorist, if one believes many articles in the media and on the Internet. It has been linked to all the health ills characterizing our society. Yet the sports community accepts the concept of ingesting sugar so the muscles work faster, longer, and better during training and competitive events. These energy gels were developed after a great deal of laboratory research on muscle work and athletic performance; they didn't just appear because someone wanted to use up leftover frosting. And despite all the hype about the advantages of eating only a high- protein, high-fat diet, I doubt that any long distance runner, biker or triathlon participant is going to chew on a chunk of lard or pork rind in the middle of the race when energy is needed.
I doubt if next year we will be seeing PEEPS in the form of a marshmallow marathoner nor do I expect runners to be chomping off the head of marshmallow bunnies as they stagger up Heartbreak Hill. But if you are watching the race and you see someone squeezing a sugary substance over his tongue and trying to swallow it with a parched mouth, you might just hand the runner a chick and say, "Try this."
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For jogging a marathon you'd be better served by eating something high-fat prior to the event.
If you insist on keeping your body carbed-up (and like your little runner's gut) glucose is far better than fructose, because it's preferentially stored as muscle, rather than liver, glycogen.
The only things I have found that I can use to sustain energy during endurance activity are the Clif Shot Blocks, Gu Chomps (the gel makes me ill just thinking about it) and Gatorade watered down. Anything else and I'm sick to my stomach.
Has anyone compared the performance of a sugar gel (sucrose, fructose) to a pure glucose gel?
The only place that I would run is to a restaurant, so I wouldn't know the difference.
F&F
Peeps are fructose - pure sugar. Good energy gels (I prefer Hammer brand) do not contain fructose as it causes a spike and a crash in blood sugar. That's hardly effective during an endurance event. Not to mention the distress it puts on your stomach as it is being digested and your liver as it is being metabolized.
Glycogen that is stored in muscles is not an energy source for endurance events. Muscle glycogen is used during anaerobic training. That's the burn you feel when your muscle requires more oxygen than your blood can supply. The burn is actually lactic acid building up as the glycogen from the muscle is consumed. Muscle glycogen is used for sprinting. You can't sprint very long or very far!
Fructose - peeps - is a poor choice of energy for endurance athletes. It is metabolized in the liver and converted to triglycerides which are carried through the bloodstream and stored as body fat. It is a rather slow process to convert it back to glycogen to be used by the muscles for energy. That is why runners "hit the wall" and cyclists "bonk" when their glycogen stores are depleted. Their body fat can't convert glycogen fast enough for their calorie needs.
Energy gels are an effective fuel during endurance events. Peeps are crap for every application.
So basically, any sugar, consumed in the appropriate quantity that is, will provide the instant energy when you hit the wall? I understand that glucose triggers insulin production and that fructose does not, I just was under the assumption that your blood sugar spikes when you consume simple sugars and crashes when it runs out. Wouldn't that make glucose the preferred energy source for the duration of an event?
What about stomach distress digesting sugar while performing an endurance athletic event?
One thing I did find incorrect about this article is that an endurance athlete uses muscle glycogen for energy. My understanding is that muscle glycogen is only used for short bursts - sprinting - and can't be sustained due to the lactic acid buildup. Glycogen that is stored in the liver is the source of energy for all cells, correct?
Sugar, as per the FDA, can only refer to sucrose. Just thought I'd clear that up.
Peeps are an interesting idea...but they don't have electrolytes or caffeine. I prefer to drink plain water over a sports drink, so I get my glucose, electrolytes and caffeine from gels or tabs.
Do not use gels or sports drinks on runs lasting less than two hours. You want your body to empty its glycogen stores and promote the creation of new mitochondria in the muscle cells. More mitochondria equals more stored energy, greater oxygen utilization and the ability to convert more energy (fat) in long bouts.
If you need a snack, eat something like whole wheat toast with peanut butter about one hour before your run. I usually have a PB&J on whole wheat, a banana and 16oz of water about two hours before my long runs. If I'm going to run more than two hours, I pack a gel or two.
I avoid Gu and Clif because of their sugar content. Try Hammer Gel, it uses Stevia and it digests and metabolizes more smoothly.
PB&J rocks!
2. Peeps, eew. Energy gels are not exactly gourmet fare but I'll take one of those over Peeps any day.
Bonking is caused when your glycogen stores run low and your body starts converting stored fat back to glycogen. The rate you are burning calories is faster than the conversion can occur, so you literally run out of energy. Energy gels, bars, or bananas can get that glucose back quickly. Your best bet is to carb load with whole grains and vegetables the night before.
Dehydration occurs when you don't drink enough water, hyponatremia when you consume too much. As a rule of thumb, you should consume 16 - 24 ounces of water per hour (the amount of one water bottle), depending on the temperature and humidity. Never exceed the high end - it thins the blood and depletes it of sodium. Hyponatremia can kill you!
After one hour on the bike you should add in an electrolyte drink mix (or tablets). Avoid commercial products like Gatorade as the sugar content causes stomach distress. If you cut it in half by diluting it with water, you cut the electrolyte value in half, as well. Use a mix by Hammer or another nutrition brand found at your local bike shop or running store.
Hope this helps.