Training Tuesday: Half Marathon Week 9

My tip for you this week is in regard to electrolyte replacement drinks. I'm not sure it is a tip so much as I would love to have a discussion with you. I have obviously tried Gatorade because that is what is given out at every race I have finished. It tasted good, but in case you haven't noticed it has a big sugar content and in addition to that it is high fructose corn syrup, which I avoid at all cost.

I have been searching for another electrolyte replacement drink. Not really hard core searching, but looking none the less. The first and main thing I have tried at this point is Nuun. It is low sugar, low calorie and natural. Those are all great things. I was excited to try it. I have read that it is best, especially when running in the heat and humidity I am, to replace electrolytes while out running as well as after the run. I have tried Nuun at both times, during and after a run. Nuun (pronounced ‘noon') comes in a tablet form and is added to water. It is carbonated. It works and tastes great for me for after my runs. I like the berry flavor. I can't use it during my runs for two reasons.

I carry a hand held water bottle like this one. The carbonation builds up as I run and jostle the water bottle. It expands the water bottle. It has never exploded, but it feels really close and also releases some liquid every time I open the lid to take a drink. The other problem I have with the Nuun is that the carbonation makes me almost throw up every time I use it while I am running. That is not a good combination for me. I have gone back to plain water while running and Nuun at the end of my run.

This week I got a few samples of other products I plan to try. I will let you know how they work. My brother and my dad, who are both avid cyclists, recommended Hammer Nutrition products. There isn't a store convenient to me that sells their products, but I will probably try to get to the one store here that sells them to check them out and hopefully get some samples of those.

What do you use for electrolyte replacement? What do you  like about it? Please leave me comments, I would love to hear your suggestions.

As to the update on my training, I think the one thing that I have learned about my half marathon plan so far is that it is long. I know there are lots of other plans that are 12- 13 weeks. I know I can't complete those plans because my IT band can't handle me adding that many miles that quickly, but I can see the benefit of the shorter plan in that it is shorter and less daunting to take on. I am on week 9 of my plan, I am half a week away from my half way point. In the shorter plans, my race would be coming up in the next month. That would make it seem easier to me to keep going.

I hope you have a fantastic week. Thanks so much for stopping by to see how my training is going.
Happy running to you!

Don't forget to leave me a comment below about what you use for electrolyte replacement. What do you use? What do you  like about it? Anything you don't like about it? Please leave me comments, I would love to hear your suggestions.

P.S.  If you are just joining in on my training, you can view my half marathon training plan here or view other weekly updates here.

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