Link:  http://youtu.be/lT-4wLj1h8s

My ‘secret’ Fueling Weapon

When preparing for Leadville last year, I brought every kind of food I could think of--various flavors of gels, sandwiches, potatoes, chips, and on and on and on.  I know that my stomach can only handle four or five gels before it starts getting angry so I'd need another fuel source to complete the 100 miles.  Mid-race I discovered that the only thing I could eat endless amounts of, and not upset my stomach, was something I never even intended to eat during the race in the first place--applesauce.

I brought a huge amount of individual applesauce cups to snack on during the week before the race when I was camping in the woods around Leadville acclimating to the altitude, mentally preparing for the race, and exploring the area.  I never intended on eating it during the race--I had so much other food for that.  But, at one of the aid stations during the race (I can't remember which one) my wife ran down the list of available foods asking me what sounded appetizing.  It went something like this:

Her: "How about some potatoes?"

Me: "No"

Her: "Chips?"

Me: "No"

Her: "Gel?"

Me: "No"

Her: "A sandwich?"

Me: "No"

Her: "Some cantaloupe?"

Me: "No"

Her: "jesus...Applesause?"

Me: "...hmmmm I'll try it"

And, it worked.  It was the right amount of sweetness without being overbearing and the perfect consistency.  I ate two cups and went on my way.  I think I ate at least one cup at almost every aid station until the end of the race.

After the race I started wondering how I could make applesauce portable so I could take it with me on long runs.  I came up with all sorts of random ideas but none of them really worked well.  Then, standing in the checkout line at Old Navy of all places, I saw it. Applesauce in a pouch!!! What?!?! How did I not know about this?! I bought a box of pouches at Costco (around $8 for 16 pouches) and started taking them with me on longer runs.  So far it's worked out great.  I still carry gels but they're much easier to stomach with an applesauce break in-between.  I know that some people's stomachs don't react well to fructose when they're running; but, for some reason, mine has no problem (despite the fact that it reacts poorly to nearly everything else).

The applesauce pouches are only 60 calories vs. appx. 90 calories per gel and the applesauce doesn't have any electrolytes so I combine them with electrolyte capsules.  But, they've been a welcome addition to my fueling regime.  The pouches are bulkier than gels--I can only fit one in the pocket of my handheld water bottle where I can typically fit 2-4 gels--so I'm still conjuring up ideas on how to make it more portable....

If you're looking for something to break the monotony of gels during a run, try some sauce.