Thursday, July 14, 2011

I'm in love...

...with a gel. I never thought it'd happen to me, but here I am, contemplating eating a Honey Stinger Gold as a bedtime snack. They're that good. Really.

(Please pardon the cell phone photo- my camera battery was DONE for the day)

I guess it's not technically a gel. It's basically honey + vitamins. It looked, smelled and tasted like honey. Me likey. 

I took this bad boy with me on my 8-miler today. It's been a while since I've run 8 miles (shhh....). My route took me through Manhattan Beach, past Brighton Beach and down the Coney Island boardwalk to Seagate. It really doesn't get any better than that. It was a bit cooler today than it's been, but still pretty warm, and VERY sunny. The run started out all right- my first mile was 7:45, and things were going well until about mile 3, when (as has happened to me several times recently), I became EXTREMELY nauseous. Like, barely walking, convinced I'm going to puke on the boardwalk nauseous. The smell of boardwalk food (usually delicious) did not help. I made it to mile 4.5 and stopped to stretch. 


I was planning on saving the Honey Stinger until later in my run, but I was feeling pretty crappy, and willing to give it a go. I was VERY relieved at how smoothly it went down. I ate it slowly while walking, and to my surprise, it actually settled my stomach a bit. The burst of sugar helped me get through the next 3.5 miles, and though my pace had slowed, I felt more steady on the second 1/2 of my run than the first. 

Honey Stinger was kind enough to send me a sample pack to try as I prepare for my upcoming 1/2. I did not pay for this product, but I WILL be purchasing the Honey Stinger Golds once I finish sampling the other products. I'm so happy to have found a gel-ish substance that works AND tastes wonderfully!

Have you tried Honey Stingers? Thoughts?



6 comments:

Lindsay said...

Interesting review! I've never tried gels because I've heard most of them taste so bad! ha. But a yummy one might just do the trick ;)

Unknown said...

Lindsay, you MUST try Honey Stingers- it tasted just like honey! :) There are some pretty disgusting tasting gels out there, but luckily I've found one I love!

A Prelude To... said...

I like the stingers ok...I usually stick with my power gels in vanilla or chocolate, though. I DO like the honey stinger waffles. Have you tried them yet?

Unknown said...

Julie- they sent me waffles to try! I can't wait! :)

Unknown said...

ok, so I've been out of town and have tons of stuff to read in my reader, but your stomach issues are bothering me. LONG runs are supposed to (according to what I have read in Run Less Run Faster and other places) much slower than your would be marathon pace. At least a minute to 1.5 minutes slower. Your 7:45 pace for your first mile sounds way to fast to me, and could be part of the problem. I think you might want to try going around 9-9:30 for your long runs. Yes, it's slower than you would probably like but the Long Slow run is supposed to help your body build endurance and stamina. Speed and tempo runs are for building the speed. This is my 2 cents from what I have learned just trying to help, take it or leave it, I won't be offended!

Unknown said...

YOU ARE THE BEST! Thank you, Holly! I've suspected my pace had something to do with it, but it's always helpful hearing it from someone else. Thank you for taking the time to write this! :)

Post a Comment