I am a walker who attended the hydration talk at last weekend's PDX Fit walk/run. I understand that it is important to replace electrolytes lost during exercise, but I am wondering if that can only be done by drinking GU, Gatorade, etc. Can I carry any type of food or candy that will accomplish the same goal while drinking plain water? (not a fan of flavored water....lemonade is good, but haven't found another flavored water that is palatable)

SundaeWalker,

The problems you run into when using "real food" to replace electrolytes is 1) portability. It's not as convenient to carry bananas or pretzels on a run, and 2) if you rely on only these for electrolyte replacement your stomach has to take the time to digest the food. It takes longer for your body to use them. Gels and sport drinks deliver the stuff you need quicker. Some people don't tolerate food well while running. I see you're a walker, so you may have different tolerances, but I've found, when my body is excercising, it wants to concentrate on just that. If I try to get it to multi-task by asking my stomach to digest food I run into problems.

Some things you might try-

Sharkies. Think gummy bears with all natural fruit juices.

Jelly Belly has come out with "Sport Beans". I found these last year at Albertson's. They look just like regular Jelly Belly's but with electolytes/ sodium and geared towards athletes. Warning, they weren't cheap!

There are electrolyte capsules (Endurolytes) that you can take with either water or sports drink that dissolve quickly to replace electrolytes. http://www.tri-specialties.com/DisplayDetail.aspx?which=89

Different people have different tastes and what works for one might not work for another. Now is the time to experiment and find out what works for you. Not all gels/gu's are as nasty as some:) Go to Portland Running Co. or anywhere the gels are sold and buy the small individual packets so you can try a variety. I think the Hammer gel rasberry is actually pretty edible myself:) Also, experiment with the sport drinks, you may find one you actually like.

Good luck!

Sandi

I have a question on this, also. Does it benefit me at all if I take a Powergel w/o water? I use it after 30- 45 minutes of running thinking it'll help me run 45 minutes more. I don't carry water/Gatorade, etc if I just go 6-8 miles.. bad idea?

You might also find the Endurolytes at PRC or through www.hammernutrition.com. Saved my butt on several occasions.
Doug

Last year was my first year doing P-Fit, but I can't remember at what training week I started taking electrolyte & carb replacement. Are we at the point where we should beging thinking about starting these?? I did my Amino Vital throughout today's run and that seemed to do me fine.

Anyway, I would like to use my Endurolytes again because I like the fact that I can avoid those nasty carb gels. Last year, I did the marathon (run/walk combo) and used bites of Cliff Bars and Lifesavers as my carbs (along w/ 2 Electrolyte tablets every hour--starting @ 50 minutes into the race).

I never really felt like I found my exact "energy" formula...as I was dragging my butt in for the last 6 miles of the marathon with ZERO energy left.

Do any of you Endurolyte users have any suggestions for me regarding carb replacement?? It seems like using the tablets & a gel (or even a sports drink) is electrolyte overload. Can one have too many electrolytes??

Thanks for any input.

The classic wisdom is that using gels without water is a bad idea. Your GI tract will digest the sugars in the gels most effectively if you are getting them in that 6-8% concentration that we always talk about -- gel by itself is probably nearly 100% concentration of sugars. So your body will probably reabsorb water into the intestine as it tries to digest that lump of gel going through your system. That *might* work at a shorter distance but not for a marathon.