Gels difficult to open

steve91

Your mileage may vary, but if you're needing to use gels as soon as your second mile I'd take a look at how you're fuelling pre run. I'm not much of a runner but even I can do a parkrun without needing to fuel mid run. 13 sound like a recipe for digestive problems for me....

trekvet

steve91 wrote:

Your mileage may vary, but if you're needing to use gels as soon as your second mile I'd take a look at how you're fuelling pre run. I'm not much of a runner but even I can do a parkrun without needing to fuel mid run. 13 sound like a recipe for digestive problems for me....

Ah, but what would you do if you did a double or triple (or more) parkrun? Would you wait til the cafe or would you fuel after the first for the second, after the second for the third, and so on all day? That is what I do until I have completed the distance.. Also to remember at 4-5 hours sat at home we would be due another meal, so why is it that when working really hard chaps want to deny the body a constant supply of fuel?

Anyway, what about the tops on the gels, any ideas not already covered?

cougie

I usually run to parkrun 5 miles do it and then run back. No gels. Never use them for half marathons.

My last ultras were done with jelly beans and water. Very nice they were too.

OnTheRopes

TrekVet wrote:

steve91 wrote:

Your mileage may vary, but if you're needing to use gels as soon as your second mile I'd take a look at how you're fuelling pre run. I'm not much of a runner but even I can do a parkrun without needing to fuel mid run. 13 sound like a recipe for digestive problems for me....

Anyway, what about the tops on the gels, any ideas not already covered?

Well it has been covered tear sideways with your teeth, or seeing as you are running and not having to keep one hand on handlebars how about using two hands and once again tearing sideways?

steve91

TrekVet wrote:

steve91 wrote:

Your mileage may vary, but if you're needing to use gels as soon as your second mile I'd take a look at how you're fuelling pre run. I'm not much of a runner but even I can do a parkrun without needing to fuel mid run. 13 sound like a recipe for digestive problems for me....

Ah, but what would you do if you did a double or triple (or more) parkrun? Would you wait til the cafe or would you fuel after the first for the second, after the second for the third, and so on all day? That is what I do until I have completed the distance.. Also to remember at 4-5 hours sat at home we would be due another meal, so why is it that when working really hard chaps want to deny the body a constant supply of fuel?

Anyway, what about the tops on the gels, any ideas not already covered?

You misunderstand me. If you're NEEDING a gel after only a couple of miles then your pre run fuelling is wrong. Gels in my opinion should only really be used as a boost towards the end, instead of a constant supply of fuel.

You might find that you're needing more gels because (In my experience) gels are good for a quick boost, instead of a constant slow release. Personally I think you'd be better off looking at products that will give sustained energy over, say, 40 minutes, instead of a gel that lasts you 25. Oat bars, bananas, that kind of thing.

sloppyschleckonds

TrekVet wrote:

According to the gel manufacturers I should have a gel every 20mins, but instead I have one every 25mins.
Perhaps the gel makers don't know what they're talking about?

chippyk

Lost count of the half marathons I’ve done without a gel. On long runs I might put a few quid or my debit card in my pocket or SIS marathon belt bag and stop for a lucozade or a freddo if I’m starting to run a bit low. But never take any gels on a long run.

For an Ironman bike leg I put 10 High 5 ones in a bottle and have never had it all. There I’m out for six hours or more on the back of 90 minutes swimming and looking to fuel for another four hours.

wastelander

It's like the bloody three Yorkshiremen sketch - I once rode the Fred Witton on a piece of burnt toast and a rancid jelly baby. That's nothin' - I once did LeJog on a stale croissant and three sips of water from a ditch!!!

graeme_s-2

wastelander wrote:

It's like the bloody three Yorkshiremen sketch - I once rode the Fred Witton on a piece of burnt toast and a rancid jelly baby. That's nothin' - I once did LeJog on a stale croissant and three sips of water from a ditch!!!

trekvet

I like the three Yorkshiremen, had it on a cassette tape.
But the facts remain - I like gels, and they like me, cost is not an issue, decanting into soft bottles is not an option for a runner who sometimes uses those bottle holders for water bottles, I have more crowns than teeth on my big ring, my last mile at 26 was as strong as all the others, it's just that I struggle to get the tops off. I now carry scissors so until I find a quicker solution, I'm all sorted.

Matthewfalle

Pre snip the gels so that they are easier to open. The MFs have some stuff associated with their job that is pre snipped as they are a bugger to open with slimey hands.

photonic69

TrekVet wrote:

... I now carry scissors so until I find a quicker solution.....

Didn't anyone tell you that you should never run with scissors? Tsk tsk...

darkhairedlord

Three pages, FFS...

Pross

Have to say I'm much the same as Cougie. I take about 1 gel and hour on my marathons and make the remainder up from energy drinks and on a hillier route (Snowdonia) I use some real foods such as Marmite sandwiches cut up small or small chunks of malt bread (I'm out there a long time so get hungry). Ultimately you are only topping the reserves up for the miles after the first two hours. Everyone I know who runs Ultras use a mix of gels and real food. However, if you're happy fuelling an entire run using gels then maybe just snip slightly on the tear line before you leave the house and make sure you keep them upright, I agree that some seem to have got harder to open and you end up covered in gunk as a result of opening them.

From a gel point of view I did start using the 33 Shakes gels which come as a dry mixture in a pouch with a flip lid, you just add water before you start. They only contain 4 natural ingredients and are supposed to be easy on the stomach. I've had two marathons ruined by a dodgy stomach after taking a High 5 so thought they were worth a try, I didn't have any issues with them but they have a weird consistency like frog spawn that takes some getting used to and to me they didn't seem to give a quick enough hit of energy. They're a bit expensive but may solve the issue of opening gels and you don't have to take the whole thing at once.

I recently found the attached articles that help work out how many calories you should need. It's based on how hard you are working against a VO2 max effort and your weight, the second article then goes into the details of how many calories you'll need from carbs.

https://runnersconnect.net/marathon-hitting-the-wall/

https://runnersconnect.net/how-to-avoid-hitting-the-wall-during-the-marathon/

Matthewfalle

PhotoNic69 wrote:

TrekVet wrote:

... I now carry scissors so until I find a quicker solution.....

Didn't anyone tell you that you should never run with scissors? Tsk tsk...

why are you running about with scissors? this seems bizarre.

kingstongraham

If you can take it (without having to reduce intensity), then you're very lucky to be able to take on that many calories while running. The only reason not to would be because it's a pain in the arse carrying them and/or it slows you down needing to east them.

On a half marathon I wouldn't eat anything, because I wouldn't run out of energy before the finish line, but the few marathons I have done, I've never managed to get it right.