Thanks Oleg. Great job on a tough day.

Countless fillings later, I've had to learn to bring a toothbrush
and brush my teeth IMMEDIATELY after long runs, as the
continual dosing of sugar across my teeth from six Ironmans,
three marathons, and so on has been ... well ... my dentist
has a new wing now.

-Rolf

I do reasonably well with gels (GU, Power Gels, Clif Shots), but I also like the
Gatorade Sports Beans. Basically, they're jelly beans with electrolytes. You can
find them with or without caffeine. In my best marathon, I used 2 gels and 2
sports beans packs for variety and that worked well for me. Note, while I think
the sports beans pack well, they do make some noise as you run.

Good luck in the search to find what works for you.

-Rose

--- In rvrr@yahoogroups.com, Gregory Deatz <gdeatz@...> wrote:
>
> So, two weeks ago, I ran the NYC Marathon.  What an experience!  I brought
> plenty of goo with me, but luckily enough, tons of people were handing out
> bananas, which were much tastier and more inspirational for such a long
> run.  Anyway, the course took me over four hours to complete, and in that
> time, I was reminded how much I really dislike goo, especially relative to
> bananas.
>
> I realized I had a problem, though:  I like bananas better, but my belt
> isn't big enough to carry enough.  Goo is highly portable, but it is so
> sweet and still so icky (by my standards) that eating it is a chore.
>
> Fast forward to this past Sunday, when I was doing just the opposite of a
> long run.  I was raiding my kids' Halloween stashes, and I happened upon
> some M&M's.  Wow.  They were really good, and I made a comment to my
> brother-in-law -- You know, they melt in your mouth, not in your hands!  And
> then I was reminded of a story that Mars developed M&M's for the military,
> as a way to deliver high calories, but without excessive mess.  I looked at
> the package of M&M's, and the calorie content for this relatively small bag
> of M&M's was 240, almost 3x the calorie content of goo.
>
> For the first time in my life, I think I was encouraged by the thought of
> M&M's being so high in calories, and I thought -- Gee, maybe it would be
> more pleasant to take M&M's with me on my long runs.  I mean, bananas are
> just too big, and I really dislike goo.  And, after all, they might be
> messy, but I could probably figure out a way to keep them in a fanny pack
> and just pour them in my mouth.  They'd still be ridiculously sweet, but
> maybe they wouldn't taste as bad.
>
> So... here's the question:  Anyone ever dabble with bringing regular ol'
> candy on their long runs?  M&M's?  Anyone know of any real drawback to
> this?  Goo (and by extension Powerbars and the like) seem like candy
> packaged to look healthy, but still just candy.  Thoughts, anyone?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Greg
>

I also find it hard to stomach the consistency and taste of goo gels!

I have never tried chocolate because of the melt-factor, but anything with
simple sugars should give you a little boost. My favorites for long runs (and
also before quick workouts/races) are a palmful of Skittles, jelly beans, candy
corn, or raisins. I've read that pumpkin seeds are also a great mid-race option
because they are loaded with iron and protein, but I have never tried them.

Hope you find this helpful!

--- In rvrr@yahoogroups.com, Gregory Deatz <gdeatz@...> wrote:
>
> So, two weeks ago, I ran the NYC Marathon.  What an experience!  I brought
> plenty of goo with me, but luckily enough, tons of people were handing out
> bananas, which were much tastier and more inspirational for such a long
> run.  Anyway, the course took me over four hours to complete, and in that
> time, I was reminded how much I really dislike goo, especially relative to
> bananas.
>
> I realized I had a problem, though:  I like bananas better, but my belt
> isn't big enough to carry enough.  Goo is highly portable, but it is so
> sweet and still so icky (by my standards) that eating it is a chore.
>
> Fast forward to this past Sunday, when I was doing just the opposite of a
> long run.  I was raiding my kids' Halloween stashes, and I happened upon
> some M&M's.  Wow.  They were really good, and I made a comment to my
> brother-in-law -- You know, they melt in your mouth, not in your hands!  And
> then I was reminded of a story that Mars developed M&M's for the military,
> as a way to deliver high calories, but without excessive mess.  I looked at
> the package of M&M's, and the calorie content for this relatively small bag
> of M&M's was 240, almost 3x the calorie content of goo.
>
> For the first time in my life, I think I was encouraged by the thought of
> M&M's being so high in calories, and I thought -- Gee, maybe it would be
> more pleasant to take M&M's with me on my long runs.  I mean, bananas are
> just too big, and I really dislike goo.  And, after all, they might be
> messy, but I could probably figure out a way to keep them in a fanny pack
> and just pour them in my mouth.  They'd still be ridiculously sweet, but
> maybe they wouldn't taste as bad.
>
> So... here's the question:  Anyone ever dabble with bringing regular ol'
> candy on their long runs?  M&M's?  Anyone know of any real drawback to
> this?  Goo (and by extension Powerbars and the like) seem like candy
> packaged to look healthy, but still just candy.  Thoughts, anyone?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Greg
>

Registration for the Big Chill 5k is now open.  I have created a team called RVRR and Friends.  When you register, select the "I want to register as a member of a team" option.  After completing the rest of the form, a new page will come up with a list of teams.  Just select RVRR and Friends and you will be part of the team.

Here is a link to the registration page:

http://bigchill.rutgers.edu/Register.html

Let me know of any questions or comments.

Ken

Hey,

I figure that I'll give the message boards a try at helping me find a high
quality treadmill.  I have recently been searching on craigslist as well. 
Anyone know of any dependable sources?  I'de like to keep things under
$1500,(The family will be chipping in for a B-day, Xmas, Celebrate NYC etc.
gift). I'm mainly looking for a strong commercial model that can withstand
plenty of pounding.  As many of you already know, I do MUCHO training on the
treadmill(s) all year round.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,

-Mike

P.S. RIP Treddy, you served me well.  I should have used more WD40:( on you
buddy.

Registration for the Big Chill, a charity race to help kids, opens this Wednesday.  We had a team of about 40 people participate in this event last year and I am hoping to get at least that many if not more participants this year.

The 5k race is being held on Saturday, December 12 at the Rutgers College Ave. gym.  It is a unique event in that the registration fee is an unwrapped holiday gift for a child.  Last year over 4,200 people participated and the charity collected over 5,000 gifts.  All of the gifts are piled on the stage in the gym and seeing all of the presents gets everyone into the holiday spirit.

When registration opens on Wednesday I will set up a team called RVRR and Friends.  As the name implies, I hope to get RVRR members as well as non-members to participate.  Last year some club members brought their children to the race and some others brought their friends.  The registration page is not up yet so I can't tell you all of the details but when oyu sign up there will be a place where you can select your team.  I will provide more details when I see how registration is set up this year.  Please note that the race draws a large number of slow runners and walkers as well as the more competitive types so everyone should be able to participate. 

For further details, check out the event website: bigchill.rutgers.edu/Welcome.html

Let me know of any comments or questions.

Ken

I emailed with the race director.

This run will be moved to Sunday 12/6, same location.
Notification going out this week.

-Rolf