The Next Step

Good job trudging throught the sugar drop. That's not a good feeling. Based on my experiences (mistakes), I would say with 99% certainty that the gel is what caused your drop. I've found out that running on empty is the best way to go for me. My blood sugar is very sensitive to gels and perhaps it's become more that way since I've been running on empty most of the time. I even remember a time when I pigged out the night before and then got up early for a long run. I didn't eat anything right before, but I could feel blood sugar drops throughout the whole ordeal. The food I ate the night before was still processing and I was burping it the whole time. I could literally feel my energy being redirected from my legs to the GI. Terrible run. For me, it's simply better to run on nothing or much less. Avoiding sugars and running before meals.

Robert, thanks for the feedback. You certainly confirmed my thoughts. Like you, I typically just get up in the morning and run without anything to eat or drink. I guess it is best to stick to the routine. It was a weird feeling for a couple of miles but worked back to normal after that.

Yes, and sometimes when I get up early for a morning run I really am hungry (tummy growls right away, etc.). However, the best thing is for me to ignore the food and once I start to run all those hunger feelings go away. They come back once I'm done at which time I honor them and eat. I haven't experienced any kind of drop off in training or pace since going the so-called "Spartan" route. I run a slightly slower base pace and go for larger volume nowadays anyway. For longer runs I drink water and take sodium caps if I'm really sweating. I'm finding out that the body really doesn't need all that much fuel for the endurance running you and I do (