You know, it’s funny. Before having Zach, I never gave much thought to how I fueled my runs and I, quite frankly, didn’t need to. But, as a breastfeeding active mom, I am ALWAYS hungry and the concept of fueling for my runs has become SUPER important to me. At first, I would use Trop 50 apple juice (the full-cal stuff is just too sweet for me and I like the watered down version more) to give myself a little pick-me-up as I was noticing a “bonk” during even short runs (aka 3-4 miles). I’ve talked about this before: I am DEFINITELY WAY more hungry as a breastfeeding mom than I was as a pregnant lady. And my runs often fall during times when I have not just eaten, as they happen when Zach naps. This also tends to be when I eat, which obviously needs to happen after my run. So often, I am entering a run hungry. Never a plan for success. So, suffice to say, for long runs, trop 50 apple juice just doesn’t cut it. So here is what I have been doing. About an hour before my run, I will jam a granola bar of some sort into my mouth; something around 150 calories. Today it was two mini Snickers 😉 Then, if it is a long run, I use Clif Shot Blocks.
Anyway, I will usually have 100 calories worth (3 shot blocks) but I wish I could have 500. I LOVE them SOOOO much. I love everything about them; taste, texture, EVERYTHING! I wish I could eat them all day. Really. I used to think these things would be gross. But when I received a pack in my Rothman 8K goodie bag, I decided to try them; eh they were free right?! The verdict?! LOVE them. So far I have tried cran-ras, and cherry. I have some strawberries and I am SURE I will love these as well. The one thing is they make me REALLY thirsty; which most runner’s fuel products do, but I see this as a great thing; I NEED to drink more water. So tell me; how do you fuel for a run?