The perfect banana
The perfect banana is bought slightly unripe, firm and with just a hint of green. It’s then ripened in the open air for a week, by which time it’s a rich yellow, still moist and blemish-free but with no hint of fibrousness.
And such a fruit is what accompanied me on my Saturday afternoon long run of 7.5 miles. It seemed to go down fine, and taking on energy in such a natural form rather than some kind of gel thing did give me a little burst of moral superiority. Unlike the figs or the crackers, it didn’t need much chewing, and didn’t crumble to dust.
But according to this, to get 30-60 g of carb per hour I need 1-2 small bananas per hour, or between 4 and 8 bananas for the marathon. Do I really want to carry a pound or more of bananas with me, and will my digestive system cope for four hours with all that fibre? Well, I do think that whipping out a banana mid-race has a certain style – it even comes with its own carrying pouch – so I’ll persevere with les bananes for a few long runs and see how I get on.
Otherwise, the run wasn't bad – foolishly, I thought that because this was a shorter run it would be easy, but of course even 7.5 miles isn’t meant to be fun. But after about 40 minutes I finally got into a rhythm, and within no time another week’s training was put to bed.
And such a fruit is what accompanied me on my Saturday afternoon long run of 7.5 miles. It seemed to go down fine, and taking on energy in such a natural form rather than some kind of gel thing did give me a little burst of moral superiority. Unlike the figs or the crackers, it didn’t need much chewing, and didn’t crumble to dust.
But according to this, to get 30-60 g of carb per hour I need 1-2 small bananas per hour, or between 4 and 8 bananas for the marathon. Do I really want to carry a pound or more of bananas with me, and will my digestive system cope for four hours with all that fibre? Well, I do think that whipping out a banana mid-race has a certain style – it even comes with its own carrying pouch – so I’ll persevere with les bananes for a few long runs and see how I get on.
Otherwise, the run wasn't bad – foolishly, I thought that because this was a shorter run it would be easy, but of course even 7.5 miles isn’t meant to be fun. But after about 40 minutes I finally got into a rhythm, and within no time another week’s training was put to bed.
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I'm fussy about my bananas but would rather them underripe than any hint of them being over ripe. Glad you got there with your run in the end and look at your fundraising total... man your doing well. You'll have to give me some fundraising tips...or are my friends and work mates just a wee bit on the stingy side....hmmmm
Are you working your around the fruit and veg section of your local supermarket ? Have you tried any energy gels yet they seem to give me a boost.
Ok so how do you carry bananas on a run without them getting squished? Gels are hard enough to open but a nana?
This week I trialled "Leppin Energy Squeezy Gum -
Tasty fruit gum made from long chain carbohydrate. 'Energy Giver of the Year' - Runners World Magazine"
Not sure if it was the freezing cold weather or what but they were hard so I sucked them for a few mins and then chopped away. 1 bag is the same as 2 gels and I used 1 bag (and an SIS gel!) in 2hrs. You have to eat them more frequently so for a plodder like me it may get boring but I think they worked. Gave me something to think about too!
This week I trialled "Leppin Energy Squeezy Gum -
Tasty fruit gum made from long chain carbohydrate. 'Energy Giver of the Year' - Runners World Magazine"
Not sure if it was the freezing cold weather or what but they were hard so I sucked them for a few mins and then chopped away. 1 bag is the same as 2 gels and I used 1 bag (and an SIS gel!) in 2hrs. You have to eat them more frequently so for a plodder like me it may get boring but I think they worked. Gave me something to think about too!
Michelle... it's a fine line, underripe makes them harder to swallow, overripe and they go a bit dry and yucky. Hence the careful preparation that the banana has to make for its performance on marathon day.
I have been so lucky with my fundraising - to my shame, I've not had to go to very much trouble to raise that amount. I don't have the list in front of me but I think I've got about 65 sponsors so far - so yes I'm fortunate to have some very generous friends. Two things that I really ought to still do are stand up in front of all my work colleagues and tell them what I'm doing, and get in touch with the local paper. Not so easy for the shy retiring types like me but it should be done really. This is all about finding hidden depths to ourselves!
I just had a look at your Sunday post - looks like you had a really good week. I hope you can look back on it and draw encouragement. Are you increasing your long run this coming weekend?
I have been so lucky with my fundraising - to my shame, I've not had to go to very much trouble to raise that amount. I don't have the list in front of me but I think I've got about 65 sponsors so far - so yes I'm fortunate to have some very generous friends. Two things that I really ought to still do are stand up in front of all my work colleagues and tell them what I'm doing, and get in touch with the local paper. Not so easy for the shy retiring types like me but it should be done really. This is all about finding hidden depths to ourselves!
I just had a look at your Sunday post - looks like you had a really good week. I hope you can look back on it and draw encouragement. Are you increasing your long run this coming weekend?
James... mmm, cauliflower! I haven't got round to trying any gels yet - I want to try the bananas for a few weeks and then I should probably try gels after that. I know that they are really the obvious choice because they're light and are pure carb, but there's something... artificial about them. Call me an old hippy but it would be great to get round with just some good old natural fruit. Grown with pesticides. Oh yeah, and I'll throw away my Asics and tie on some strips of camel hide.
Kim... the plan is a bum bag full of nanas, with the end already opened (the safety catch off, you might say). Last time I only took one, this time I will need about 3. I have a 2.5 mile circuit, so have been having a nibble once per lap - I want to get it over with quickly. Don't you find that chomping sweets all the time interferes with your breathing?
One problem we first-timers face is that during training we're only once or twice going to hit 20 miles or so, i.e. potentially running out of glycogen. So we won't really find out if these refuelling stategies work until race day!
One problem we first-timers face is that during training we're only once or twice going to hit 20 miles or so, i.e. potentially running out of glycogen. So we won't really find out if these refuelling stategies work until race day!
Chomping sweets kept me ammused as I played - guess the flavour! Followed by "what flavour does this remind me of" and "what flavoured is this supposed to be"!!
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