GU: an experimental trial.

GU: a packet of flavored gel that is squishy and kind of reminds me of the cheese packets that come in a box of Velveeta mac n' cheese.

Here's what GU is for those of you who are beginner runners like me:

"GU Energy Gel provides athletes with a dose of 100 calories to deliver high-quality, easily-digested and long-lasting energy for athletes in every sport and at all levels. Everything inside each packet of GU is engineered to do one simple thing: provide your body with the essential nutrition it needs to keep going for miles and miles and hours and hours. It goes down easy, and it goes to work fast so you don't have to slow down."

What's in it?

• Carbohydrates - GU provides athletes with a dose of 100 calories in the form of 70-80% maltodextrin and 30-20% fructose (The ratio depends upon the flavor.). Why the mix? It’s a complex carbohydrate, and studies have shown that some complex carbs are actually digested faster than simple sugars like table sugar and honey.
• Amino Acid Blend - GU features a unique blend of amino acids to combat muscle fatigue, accelerate the conversion of carbohydrates into usable energy, and maintain mental focus.
• Electrolytes - Sodium and potassium to replenish what is lost during strenuous activity.
• Caffeine - Some GU flavors are caffeinated while others are not. We add caffeine for two reasons: It acts as a stimulant and it lowers the perceived effort.

I've become relatively familiar with  GU and other types of energy gels/ bars/ shot blocks from reading other running blogs, but have been hesitate to try them because I know that they are prone to giving runners disgustive issues. I've been hoarding my free sample packet that came with the Country Music Marathon swag to use on a training run that was longer than 5 miles.

I was scheduled to run an 8 miler on Tues, so I thought i'd take the GU with me and try it out. It fit perfectly in the little pouch on my cool new camelback water bottle too!

I was very nervous about these 8 miles. I had not completed a run longer than 6 miles since April!!

Mile 1-3: went pretty smoothly, felt like I was still warming up and trying to get into the zone.

 Mile 4-5: started to get a little tired and felt a little out of energy. i told myself to make it to mile 5 and I would reward myself with a GU and water break.

Mile 5: GU. I LIKE IT. it was like eating a spoon of peanut butter from the jar. plus it gave me a HUGE sugar rush. whatever it was supposed to do, i think it worked.

Mile 6-8: runnnneerrsss highhhhh. i don't know if it was the GU, the perfect weather with a slight cool breeze, or the fact that i was delirious. but whatever it was I hit it. and finished in a pretty good time of 1:30 with an average pace of about 10:30-11:06 per mile. My usual speed that I've been hitting on the treadmill.

thank you GU and thank you great weather!!

What's your fav. flavor of GU?

Any energy gels/shot blocks that I should try?