Snacks

Running on empty seldom results in a good training session, but sometimes life doesn't allow you to follow an "optimal" eating strategy, so what should you do? Runner's World recently published an article that outlined snacking options based upon how much time you have before you lace up your sneakers:

• 15-30min: oranges, applesauce (no-sugar added is best), pudding (1.5g of fat or less)
• 30-60min: cereal (skip the high-fiber stuff), dried fruit, iced coffee drinks (low calorie/fat options)
• 60-90min: carrots & hummus, instant oatmeal, sweet potatoes

Or, if you don't have time to grab any of these, aim for 16oz of a sports drink (also a good option if you can't stomach solid food that close to a run) or an energy bar.

A: Gummy Bears

Jeopardy Ask Kilometer...

Q: What's better than a PowerBar, Fig Newtons, saltines, graham crackers, a small plain bagel, jelly beans, or an orange?

Yes, in terms of "foods for energy", gummy bears out-rank all of these strictly in terms of a carb : calorie ratio. The only things better (based on the Runner's World list) are Gatorade (#1), honey (#2), and dried fruit (#3)... although there was a three-way tie for fourth (with GU and hard candy). And, in case you were wondering, the world's biggest gummy worm weighs 3lbs and the biggest gummy bear weighs 5lbs (I love how they're being all scientific with safety goggles and a lab coat):

 
... I think the "gummy bear truck" might be at our run tonight ;-)

Sports Drinks

Not all sports drinks are created equal, but it doesn't seem to matter much, at least according to this article. The original Gatorade contained sodium, potassium, and glucose, and even though sports drinks essentially contain the same thing 45+ years later, the concentrations of each differ. The key seems to be creating an isotonic solution (i.e., one where the dissolved particles in the drink equals that of the blood) as these are theoretically absorbed more rapidly. However, many of the traditional sports drinks err on the side of hypertonicity (greater concentration of dissolved particles compared to blood) because the addition of slightly more carbohydrates yielded performance benefits. However, the increasingly popular "low sugar" sports drinks are actually slightly hypotonic (lower concentration of dissolved particles compared to blood). With regards to performance, all of the sports drinks performed better than water in terms of hydration and energy levels, but there were no significant differences between the three. People did find the hyper/hypotonic solutions slightly more agreeable (at least this is the way I read it), so you might have to play around with the proper sports drink : water ratio to find what mix works best for you.

Interesting Fact: drinking sports drinks before/during/after a workout helps to fight off colds.