Comparison of energy chews and gels

Running is my thing now-a-days. It doubles up as my workout most days, and I've found it also serves as a way for me to vent the day's stress away. 

I only started running a few years ago. I had always been one to do the yearly charity run with friends, and one year I thought to myself that I could do a little more than 5K. So I signed up for an 8K. And then a 10K. And then a 16K. And then a half marathon. And here we are! [Just to give credit, if it wasn't for my awesomely supportive bf, I'm not sure if I would be this far into running. He's run with me through just about all my races leading up to where I am now. Even when he vehemently declared he hated running after I made him run a 16K with me, he still proudly waited for me at the finish line for my other races (in cold, crappy weather. And finding/paying for parking). He's a gem *little hearts fluttering from my head*.]

Anyways, back to this post. So when I started running longer distances, my morning bagel wouldn't be enough for me and I needed to fuel up along the way. Cue in ... energy chew and gels. Here's my take on them:


Energy Chews

GU Chomps


These guys are my tried and true - I carried these through both my half marathons. I've tried just about all the flavours and all are great. Shaped like simple cubes, they're easy to pop out of the package, and easy to eat. Taste good, to boot! You get unique flavours instead of the standard orange and berry. I've had the Peach Tea and Watermelon and both are great. Have yet to try the blueberry pomegranate  but I'm pretty sure it'll taste good too. The chewiness of these are a lot better - not like taffy but it doesn't cut through like jello, and some chewing is required to break these things down. I have to admit they're a smidge big for my liking but I'm just nit-picking now. The smaller packaging allows me to fit two of these guys in my SPIbelt (as long as you rip it open and squish all the air out)

Taste: 4.5/5
Chewiness: 4/5
Packaging/ease of use: 4.5/5
Overall feeling: Tried and true. 


Honey Stingers

I've heard these are pretty popular because they're organic. I've had them once back last year but I probably didn't get many of these because I mostly got GU Chomps. Decided to give these guys another try because I had a gift card to a sports store and they carried these. The time that I did crack a pack open during my run, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy they were to eat - it really does cut like jello, and you can probably eat these while running (well, at least for me, I can't multitask and chew/run at the same time). I guess the reason I didn't quite like it was because of the flavour (pomegranate) - just wasn't my thing. But I stocked up on a few other flavours this time so I have higher expectations this time round. 

Taste: 3.5/5
Chewiness: 5/5
Packaging/ease of use: 4/5
Overall feeling: Will get these when I want to switch it up.



Sharkies

These chews were the first chews I bought when I started running longer distances. It was appealing, because they were organic, and shaped like sharks! But, upon trying it for the first time, I was instantly turned off by it. The reason - the chewiness. I slowed down for a rest during a run, pull out the package and pop one in my mouth. I'm instantly hit by how difficult these things are to eat. It's like eating taffy or something. They are so chewy that I can only shovel 2 in my mouth to chew before rest period is over. Even then, most of it is still stuck in my teeth and I have to pry them out with my fingers while running.

I don't think it mattered what flavour the package was - I wasn't going to buy these again (for some delusional reason I did, and regretted it when I ate the first piece). Not only that, the package is unneccessarily big - when I run outside, I need to shove all my stuff in my SPIbelt and this thing just takes up space (I have to rip the packaging open then fold it). Not only that, because each of the chews are small shark-shaped items, they get bunched up together in the packet and you really have to fumble with it to push them up to the opening.

Taste: 2.5/5
Chewiness: 1/5
Packaging/ease of use: 2/5
Overall feeling: Will not purchase these again. Chewiness was the biggest factor.


Energy Gels

I have to admit, energy gels were the first things I used when I started running. It was just easy to have a one time use thing. So I bought a couple and realized not all energy gels fit your personal preference. Like energy chews, my biggest thing is chewiness/viscosity. Most of the energy gels I found were too viscous (GU, PowerBar, ClifShots) - I just find it much harder to eat and wash down with water. The only one I've really stuck with for some time is Carbboom because the consistency is "thinner". Not only that, but it's not sickeningly sweet like the other ones (strawberry-kiwi seems to be my favourite). I recently bought a pack of eLoad because when I was energy chew/gel hunting I spotted it and it was of good "squishiness" from what I could tell from the packaging and am still waiting for a chance to try it (I bought so many different kinds of energy chews so I'm trying to get through most of those first, sorted by expiry date!). I have high expectations for it because I know someone who's used it and liked it (granted, she used the eLoad powder but hopefully it will be similar).

The biggest downside of using energy gels is that it gets sticky. And if you botch the opening, be prepared to run with sticky hands AND carry a sticky tab/package for the remainder of your run! Or if you're lucky like me, I time it so that I eat it a block or two before I know there is a garbage can on my route.


MEC has a wonderful assortment of all the energy chews and gels that I mentioned - it's where I usually stock up. They had the SPIbelt for some time and I was lucky enough to snatch one up before they removed it from stock. Greatest $17 I ever spent! Had a friend tell me she uses it as a money holder for travelling too!

I'm halfway through my HM training for the Toronto Marathon - ran 13K on the weekend and it felt great. My long run this week is supposed to be 16K. But, there are a few worries I have:

• running inside vs outside.
  My first few HM's that I ran were in October, when I was able to do most of my training outdoors during the summer. Other than my disgusting runner's tan, running outside is so much nicer than inside in every aspect.
  With the Toronto Marathon being in May this year, most of my training has been indoors on a treadmill. With the weather hitting 10C yesterday, I laced up for my first run outside and definitely noticed a difference in my breathing. My lungs hurt. And my single UA shirt wasn't warm enough for the first half of a quick run. I'm hoping the weather warms up asap since there's only a month left before the race!
• Hoggs Hollow hill.
  I hate hills. They're evil. Period. And this race has a dreaded hill, Hoggs Hollow. I mean, I've ran races with hills before. The first race I ever signed up for was the Harry Rosen in High Park. I had no idea what I was signing up for and there was this evil 90degree incline (ok not vertical, but you get my point) in the first few KM. At the end, when the volunteers are cheering you on that there's only 500m left to the finish line, you look up and realize that you have to run up that bloody gawd-forsaken hill again. I mean, talk about deflating your spirits. Damn
  Ok so back to Hoggs Hollow - from the pictures it doesn't look THAT bad. But I've driven on Yonge st before and you realize it ain't that easy. And reading up on some other blogs, this is scaring me. Because 1) I hate hills, and 2) I haven't incorporated much hill training in my routine.

This post has been very helpful about breaking down the Toronto Half Marathon into noticeable sections. In the past I've never really paid too much attention (or remembered the course in THAT much detail) - it's nice that someone actually has and shared it! 

T-38 days! 

Today, one of my male colleagues personally bought and hand delivered a lovely flower to all the women in the office to mark International Women's Day.

I just wanted to post about how thoughtful it was, and how a small gesture really goes a long way.

Thanks Sami! You made my day!