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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 September 21, 2006 03:34 PM

Comments

Posted by: Denise "Firefly" at September 21, 2006 06:02 PM

Posted by: Karin at September 22, 2006 06:53 AM