« August 2006 | Main | October 2006 »

September 21, 2006

Accel Gel Review

Long long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I got an e-mail from the Accelerade folks asking me to try some of their new flavors and then tell the blogiverse all about it. I did try the products (both AccelGel and Accelerade), but haven't been able to get my review together for the longest time. Finally, I've had enough time to clear my head, get my thoughts together, and present them to you.

We'll start with the AccelGel. The timing of the offer actually couldn't have been better - my box of standard Just Plain Gu was running low, and I was pondering trying out AccelGels instead. I know quite a few runners who swear by them, and figured it was worth a shot. I'd actually sampled one last summer, and while it tasted just fine, let's just say that my digestive system wasn't exactly happy with it. However, I'd noticed this summer that my GI system was far less sensitive to what I was consuming pre-run, so I figured it was time to give the AccelGel another spin.

The new AccelGel flavor is orange, which worried me. I've tried the orange PowerGel, ClifShot, and Gu and hated all of them. Really, most fruit-flavored gels kind of squick me out except for banana. However, in the name of science, I approached it with an open mind. I'd been sent two gels - I figured I'd try one before a short run (just in case my system was still, um, violently opposed to the AccelGel) and then if that went OK, I'd use one on a longer run. Gel #1 was consumed about 30 minutes before a 5-mile run one evening. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste, actually. It wasn't overly citrus-y, but was more like a creamsicle. Definitely tasty. Even better: I finished the 5 miles without any rumblys in my tumbly. Time to test drive it on a long run.

The long run I used it on was a beast - 13 miles total, with the last 3 at half-marathon pace. I stopped around the 8 mile point and washed it down with some water - again, I was surprised by the creamsicle flavor of it, and was glad to see that I still thought it was tasty after nearly 90 minutes of running (the longer I run, the pickier I get about these things). Really, my biggest problem with consuming the gel was the size of the package - it's far wider than the Gu packs, and it's hard for me to fit the whole thing in my mouth to suck all the gel out. Having the gel in a narrower but longer package would be my preference, but this may just be one of those things that only bothers me. I'm OK with that. I still managed to get it all down and then continued on my run.

Everything seemed fine - I didn't get the noticeable burst of energy that I get from Gu, but that's probably due to the fact that Gu contains caffeine and AccelGel doesn't. Not including the burst, though, I felt just as nourished on the Accel Gel as I did on the Gu. Everything was going fantastically, until the 12.5 mile mark when I felt an urgent need for a bathroom coming on. Apparently, sucking down protein during my run is still a bad idea for me. (I had an opportunity to test this theory a couple of weeks later, when I had a 14-mile version of this workout scheduled. Everything was the same - pre-run breakfast of peanut butter toast with honey, on-the-run drinks of Gatorade and water - except I took Gu instead of the Accel Gel and didn't have the same desperate "make it to the gas station at the corner" experience.)

Final verdict on the Citrus Orange Accel Gel? Tasty, but just not for me.

Coming soon: My thoughts on Accelerade.

Posted by Dawn at 03:34 PM | Comments (2)

September 16, 2006

Vegas, Baby!

I did it. I pulled the trigger and booked my tickets to Vegas. I'm going whether I like it or not.

I still have no idea if I'm running the half or the full down there - I'm going to wait on that decision until after Grand Rapids is over with. We'll see then how I feel about the idea of running another marathon in 6 weeks.

Posted by Dawn at 09:12 PM | Comments (4)

September 13, 2006

So Long, Summer

It's official: summer is on its way out. Since I've gotten back from vacation (details coming soon!), I've been wearing long sleeves and a jacket to work. Last night, I took the air-conditioner out of the bedroom window so I could let fresh air in instead. The biggest change, though, is that the amount of daylight is slowly decreasing. I can no longer run in the mornings before work, as the sun doesn't come up until I'm just about ready to leave. It's been that way for a few weeks now, which has been a bummer, but I've had enough daylight to run in the evenings after work, so I didn't worry about it too much.

Sadly, that's no longer the case. With darkness hitting the Chicagoland area around 7 p.m., I've only got time to run after work if I leave right on time and don't hit any major delays going home. Even then, it only gives me an hour or so of daylight which isn't always enough. So, this week, with great sadness, I've taken my weekday runs to the treadmill.

Yesterday was an easy 4 miles and... man. Running outside all summer has spoiled me, because those 4 miles took forever and every minute of it sucked. (Not helping was the fact that I didn't run at all during the 10 days I was on vacation, so I've got a little bit of catching up to do.) Looks like I'll be appreciating my weekend runs even more from now on, because no matter how awful the weather might get, I'll still be outside.

Don't get me wrong - I love fall. I love the cooler weather and the turning of the leaves and the crisp feel of the air. I just wish it all came with 16 hours of daylight.

Posted by Dawn at 01:46 PM | Comments (1)