Gu and Chews and Sports Beans, Oh My!

For a while now, I have been getting persistent headaches on days after my long runs. They usually start within an hour of my finishing and last all day. I decided that I probably need to refuel my body's electrolytes better on these runs but had yet to do anything proactive. Tonight, on my walk home from work, I stopped at Potomac Running in Cleveland Park to get some expert advice on preventing these headaches. I talked to an awesome girl who works there and has plenty of running experience. She told me about the different kinds of gus, beans, and chews that many runners use to refuel during a run. She suggested the beans because they are small and easy to test out, whereas a gu has to be consumed all at once. I went a little crazy and spent $17 on a random assortment of stuff.

After my little shopping spree, I met Josh at Tacklebox for some real fuel. The good stuff. I ate three fish tacos and a whole plate of sweet potato fries. Nom nom.

Playing with our food. And Photoshop.

IN COD WE TRUST!

Tomorrow morning, I will burn it all off during my longest training run of all: 13 miles. I'm not sure how to even begin to choose which of my new goodies to bring along with me. I am especially excited about tomorrow because I get to run the whole thing with Nikki! Her marathon training schedule has her running 13 tomorrow too, on a drop-back week, so she is ditching the group and we're running together. Yay!

I have a super busy afternoon and evening to follow, which I'm not completely looking forward to. But, thanks to my new friend at Potomac River Running, I know that the best drink to have immediately following a run is chocolate milk. It sounds like the last thing I'll want in my stomach after running thirteen miles but it is apparently the perfect ratio of protein and carbs for refueling. With the added electrolyte goodies and chocolate milk to my training, I am expecting to be headache free all day long.

The kicker (no pun intended) is that I have agreed to play in a soccer game immediately after the run. But, by play, I mean stand on the field and kick at things. Assuming that my brain and fingers are still functioning after it's all over, I'll let you know how it goes.



Do you run with gu, gel, chews, or beans? What is your favorite?
Tomorrow I will and time will tell!

Ever tried pretended to smoke a sweet potato fry?
Now I have. I don't even know why it's funny. Smoking 'aint cool in my book.