Thursday, December 18, 2008

Hammer Nutrition, anyone?

I have a very stable routine for my long runs, which work well for me. But now I wonder if I need to switch it up a bit. Normally I stick to chocolate Gu gels and orange flavored Gatorade, and it works just fine. But I've been reading up on high fructose corn syrup, which is in both products.

Recently I learned about Hammer Nutrition and I'm wondering if I should switch. From what I've tasted so far, it is a lot more palatable, particularly the Orange-Vanilla flavored Perpeteum. It doesn't leave that nasty film in my mouth, which I suspect causes me to ingest more water than I should during the runs. But it does make me feel my head (I don't know how to actually explain the feeling other than that).

I recall about mile 19 last year when I got really light-headed, and I'm wondering if that's from either drinking way too much water (I think I stopped at almost every station), or if it's from the electrolytes situation. I had Chris pass me salty pretzels at that point, which helped my stomach, but this time around I am totally on my own. So even though it's a flatter course, it will be psychologically more difficult.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Does anyone know the difference between the Perpeteum and Sustained Energy? From what I can tell the Sustained Energy has more minerals, but that's about it.

6 comments:

G said...

Do you know CEWTWO (Charles)? He ran Las vegas and used perpeteum (I think). I'll refer him to yor blog and see if he can help you..

G said...

Disney will be handing out Clif shot gel and powerade. you might want to run a long run with those products to see if it affects you in a good or bad way.

G said...

sorry to keep posting, but I have been reading old posts and I think you CAN and WILL do this race. You and I seem to have the same pacing so we may very well end up running together.

CewTwo said...

Hi Lisa buddy!

I do use Hammer products. Specifically, I use Enduralyte electrolyte tabs (they saved my , well you know what I mean). I also used hammer gels and Perpetuem. I call Prepetuem orange-vanilla pancake batter!

I contacted Hammer Support when I was interested and this is what they said,
"Hi Charles,
First of all, be sure to check with your physician prior to taking any supplements or fuels to ensure there won't be any issues with your medications.
There are 4 main categories you need to focus on during your fueling:
Fluid - 16-24 oz per hour
Calories - 200-240 per hour if running
Electrolytes - 2-4 per hour average
Recovery

To address your issue with cramping, electrolyte depletion seems to be the most common cause. Taking Endurolyte capsules every hour will help to maintain electrolytes levels and should alleviate the cramping issue (if it is an electrolyte issue).
Whether you are a recreational runner or a competitor, your nutritional requirements will be the same. In addition to taking Endurolytes for electrolyte replacement, if you train up to 2 hours, you can stick to the Gel or Heed and for runs over 2 hours, you can use Perpetuem. Since you don't need protein until the 2 hour mark, I like to use the Heed for the first 2 hours, then switch over to Perpetuem for the remainder. One other product I highly recommend to help rebuild muscle tissue and prevent soreness and replenish your glycogen storage, is Recoverite. If you are unable to eat a meal immediately after a workout, you should be taking this each time.
To keep it simple, those are the fuels I would suggest.
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Katey

Katey Scott
Team Hammer Specialist
Hammer Nutrition
1-800-336-1977
www.hammernutrition.com

Fuel Right, Feel Great!
***********************"

Katey did not suggest Sustained Energy to me. I bought based primarilly on what she said. I hope that it helps you out!

Go ahead and call Hammer at the support number above. They are good people and will answer your questions. I recommend them highly!


Charlie

CewTwo said...

One last thing. In the 2 marathons that I have run, both fruit and gels were promised. They may or may not be there when a back of the pack runner like me gets to the station. Chicago did have GU left, but were out of bananas by the time I ran by.
Vegas was out of everything by the time I ran by.

That is why I prepared to take my own nourishment (and trained with it). I was very confident at Las Vegas and did succeed!

Good luck! Let me know your bib number! I will be thinking of you!

Susan said...

You got me! I'm clueless. Good thing Charlie is not!