Fueling during long runs

Caffeine
Apparently an antagonist of adenosine which has a significant number of receptors in the brain that are responsible for sleep, memory, learning and cognition. Since caffeine occupies these receptors without actually activating them it is hypothesized that the perception of effort during endurance events is dampened and performance increases. An 11.2% improvement in performance was seen with a decreased perception of effort by using caffeine during running.

This is probably a dumb question but does caffeine have other benefits other than energy. I can drink coffee or soda or anything else with caffeine and be asleep 10 minutes later, caffeine doesn’t have an effect on me. I tend to shy away from stuff with caffeine because why take it if it doesn’t give me a boost. I have used huma gels with and without and can’t really feel a difference. Just curious after glancing at some of those articles.
 
This is probably a dumb question but does caffeine have other benefits other than energy. I can drink coffee or soda or anything else with caffeine and be asleep 10 minutes later, caffeine doesn’t have an effect on me. I tend to shy away from stuff with caffeine because why take it if it doesn’t give me a boost. I have used huma gels with and without and can’t really feel a difference. Just curious after glancing at some of those articles.

It's main act is less a burst of energy as it is a dampener of perception of effort. So you don't feel a rush of energy to run faster, but running faster feels easier because you're not getting the normal signals to your body that indicate you're running that fast and tired. But absolutely individual results differ. One thing to keep in mind though. Most of the research was based on rather high level bolus doses (on the order of 3-6 mg caffeine per kg body weight) prior to the race starting. With such a long half-life (5-6 hours if I remember correctly), taking something prior to the start means it's going to be in the system for a long time. The Huma gels appear to have 25-50mg per packet. The bolus dose most of the research is based on was on the order of 200-300mg (FDA recommends no more than 400mg). But as I said earlier, caffeine affects users differently as the half-life/pharmacodynamic curve differs greatly individually. So if anyone wants to add caffeine to their repetoire to do it step wise in training and not immediately jump to a high dose level. Caffeine, heat, and other elements in running can make for a dangerous mix (low blood pressure, core temp control, etc.)
 
Like others, I do fuel on runs over 90 minutes.

For those, I eat every 5 miles (about every 45-50 minutes).

Right now, I use Welch's fruit snacks. They're always in my house and they have about the same carbs as Sport Beans (that I used to use).

But I'm not sure they're enough for me.

I am thinking of going back to sport beans on the next training cycle. I'm also considering the caffeine sport beans. Not sure if those will have an adverse effect on me or not, as I don't consume a lot of caffeine regularly (I don't drink coffee or pop).

Remember that the sports beans have electrolytes, which your Welch product won’t have. Sports beans are more than just jelly beans.

Try the caffeine product out in training.


So if anyone wants to add caffeine to their repetoire to do it step wise in training and not immediately jump to a high dose level. Caffeine, heat, and other elements in running can make for a dangerous mix (low blood pressure, core temp control, etc.)

YES.

I love clif 3x sodium margarita flavor bloks, but I craved something different a few years back (what turned out to be the last light side Half). Bought cherry flavor. Ate them at...beyond the halfway mark in the run (and I’m slow so I’d been out for awhile and it was hot hot). Everything else was done normally for a hot long run.

Thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I didn’t realize they had caffeine (so there was no placebo effect), and my heart started racing (and I have always ALWAYS had a high HR even when in fabulous shape, so if i go higher it’s frightening), I got dizzy, it was awful. I had to walk more than intended. My hands were shaking badly. It was very very uncomfortable.

Test them out during training. That’s hard, because there aren’t THAT many long runs when training, especially for a Half. But ya gotta do it. You don’t want to be surprised.




My brother, who takes nothing for even a half, destroyed a PR for a Full by taking an untried gel on the course while also not taking in enough water with it. Had some severe distress that slowed him down. And he’s been running long distances consistently since the mid 90s and abound have known better.
 
I'm glad to see this thread and I need to go back and read in more detail since I've just skimmed. I'm still at low mileage (6 miles and under) but since I'm slow I'm out there working at it for 90 minutes or more at a go. I've been taking various gels in training runs at just over the halfway point mainly because I wanted to try out different brands and find out if anything disagreed with me. So far the only thing my stomach objected to was a Honey Stinger Stroopwaffle taken before a workout--go figure, not what I would have expected to be an issue (also I can't imagine eating that thing in the middle of a run; it tasted great but that was a lot of chewing!). Since I started doing that around when I got to 4 mile runs I haven't had experience running the same distance/time without fueling, so a couple weeks ago I tried an equivalent run without fueling to see what happened. It wasn't a great run, but I don't know if that was the lack of fuel or if it was other factors. I did take a gel during my 10K today, a ways past the halfway point of my 98 minute run. I wasn't planning to, but I was feeling pretty bad. I didn't notice a burst of energy afterward, but I felt a little better about things in general? Not sure if that's placebo or not.

I use Propel powder in my water on pretty much all runs now so I have water + electrolytes, no sugar in my drink. I decided to use it because I wanted the electrolytes but I didn't want to have uncontrolled sugar intake--I figure by keeping it out of my water and only taking fuel in gel or solid form I have more control over what's happening (not that I know what I'm doing to properly exercise that control yet....).
 



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