E'S FAVORITE THINGS: Fueling for Sport
When it comes to endurance training, there are a lot of things to take into consideration. Finding the gear that makes you comfortable, first and foremost. Chaffing solutions, if that’s something you deal with (raises hand). And of course: Nailing a nutrition strategy. My nutrition and fueling shifts depending on sport and time on feet. However, after nine marathons and picking up a cycling habit last year — I’ve tried and tested a slew of different options. Below, I’m going to give you the lowdown on what those are.
A few fueling notes before I throw some product at you: It’s highly unlikely that you’ll need to bring fuel with you for any effort that’s under an hour. So if you’re heading out to race a 5- or 10-K, you shouldn’t need to tote chews, gummies, gus, or sips with you for the effort.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s not important to think about your after-sweat gameplan. I almost always shake some electrolytes once I’m done. You also want to make sure that after a workout, you’re also incorporating protein into your post-workout meals. The rule of thumb is within two hours of a hard or long workout, aim to consume a 3:1 ratio of carbs-to-protein.
My Go-To drink: LMNT
I was first introduced to LMNT a couple years ago, and I’m truly obsessed with it. It’s quite salty, with good reason. When you’re physically active and sweat, replacing lost sodium is essential to feel and perform your best. Many athletes forget about sodium and drink more water when they feel dehydrated. Now, the more common problem for these folks is drinking too much water, not too little. Overwatering dilutes blood sodium levels, causing a dangerous condition called hyponatremia — which can lead to headaches, muscle cramps, and fatigue.
I’ll fill both of the bottles on my bike with LMNT when I’m heading out for a long ride (my go-to is the watermelon). Outside of that, I drink a bottle of LMNT the night before a long run, and always drink one when I return. I don’t typically carry it with me on a run (I’m prone to popping into bodegas so that I don’t have to carry a bottle with me the entire time). I notice a big different in how I feel if I skip out on this.
For a limited time, get your LMNT Sample Pack for the cost of shipping ($5 for US orders) by heading to DrinkLMNT.com/hurdle
My Go-To Gel: Mauren Gel 100 CAF
I tried Maurten for the first time this year. I really like the taste, which surprised me because for years I leaned into chocolate and raspberry gus. To me, it has like a cotton candy taste? But everyone I know describes it differently. I’ve always leaned into options that have added caffeine, and I like that this particular formula doesn’t have any added flavours, preservatives, or colourants. I’ll take four of these with me for a marathon distance, but my personal rule of thumb is to consume every 40 minutes (along with water and other electrolytes when available at something like a water station).
My Go-To Gummy: Gatorade Endurance Chews
From the early days of my love for running, I loved leaning into gummies and sport beans on the move. I felt as though it was so awesome that you could have treats when you were moving to support that movement. And — I still do. I love the taste of these chews, and they were what I used exclusively during the Chicago Marathon a few years back. My go-to flavor is the fruit punch, but I also mess with strawberry and cool blue!