First things first: Blog updates!
New workouts were added to the Treadmill Workouts and Circuit Workouts pages.
Hopefully you can find some workout inspiration ‘round here somewhere!
Dried Fruit as Long Run Fuel
I didn’t get a chance to work on the freelance assignment I was planning to wrap up this morning because of some technical issues with the blog. I chatted online with babes all day my blog host and now everything is gravy, but I wasn’t able to accomplish anything on my to do list before my afternoon meeting at the College of Central Florida.
Since I was working on backend blog issues up until the time I had to leave the house, I didn’t get around to fixing myself a snack this morning and grabbed a bag of Mariani dried mango for the road.
The company sent me a few bags of dried fruit as a thank you for working with them last month. I don’t usually buy dried fruit because it’s high in sugar and I personally prefer fresh fruit, but my gosh this dried mango was great!
I’m not sure how they figure that one bag is equivalent to four servings because surely no one can stop at one serving.
As I was eating the mango, I thought about using dried fruit as fuel during a long run. I’ve read that raisins are fantastic long-run fuel and I bet dried mango would provide my body with easy-to-digest carbs and sugar. Anyone tried it?
I’ve previously used fruit leather as fuel during long runs and loved it, so maybe dried mango is worth a go? We shall see. I still have a couple of months until I need to get my butt in gear and start training for the ZOOMA Amelia Island half marathon.
Lunch
After my afternoon meeting, I popped into Starbucks where I am currently sitting and chatting with you fine people.
I ordered an egg white and spinach wrap for lunch along with a caffé mocha to keep me warm since this Starbucks is negative three degrees.
I am planning to keep my butt parked in this chair until I finish the freelance assignment I was planning to wrap up this morning. I also plan to get through another chapter in the NASM textbook before the work day is over.
Buckle up, brain, it’s time to get busy!
Question of the Afternoon
- What is your favorite way to fuel your body during exercise?
During a typical workout, I only fuel my body with water, but during long runs when I’m training for a race, I love strawberry GU Chomps and Stretch Island Fruit Leather.
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I’m about to start training for my first full marathon. Even more than the distance, the eating during running is most intimidating to me. I just can’t imagine it not upsetting my stomach, but I know it’s extremely important (crucial & necessary) to refuel. Dried mango sounds like a good option! I’ll have to add it to my list of foods to try in search of the “perfect” snack.
Swedish fish are my go to : )
I love using raisins for fuel on my long runs. The simple sugars and carbohydrates work well and don’t weigh me down!
Yum, I love dried fruit. But I limit them to when I go hiking or am working out for a long period of time.
For any run longer than 45 minutes, I always alternate between Gatorade or Nuun and water, as I sweat like a beast! I have a sensitive stomach, so I usually don’t eat much pre-run–usually just a Clif Bar (or two, depending on distance) and maybe an apple. I usually don’t train taking in any fuel, but during all of my half marathons I carry Clif Shot Bloks. I recently discovered Sharkies and really liked them, so I may start using those mid-run. I’ve thought of carrying swedish fish or gummy bears, as I’ve read a lot of runners use them for fuel.
Tried eating those dried mangoes from the Philippines.. They are great. You can’t have enough of them. Good thing they are very healthy.
The only problem with a lot of the dried fruit out there is you’ve got to be careful with all the added sugar. A lot of the cheaper varieties from The Phillipines and Mexico are LOADED with extra sugar, sulfur dioxide and other yuckiness. I actually found a very cool company selling all-natural dried fruit from Uganda – organic, fair trade, with NO sugar or preservatives. And it tastes amazing! Check it out: http://www.mavunoharvest.com
I love banana chips for fuel during a long workout. I’m not much of a runner, so I can’t say how good they would be during that. It’s so hard to find them without sugar though!
Hey Julie! I’m a HUGE fan of dried fruit, but I think the kind with sugar added is nauseating. Trader Joe’s has a pretty big selection of unsweetened dried fruit – apples, pears, apricots, bananas, mangoes (my absolute fav!) plus many more varieties with sugar added. It’s very affordable there but if you don’t have a TJs nearby, I know you can also find the unsweetened dried mangoes in the bulk bins at Whole Foods or online.
Dried mango has fueled my Half-marathons and long runs! i was terrified that Gu and the other sports gels would make me vom, and thus bust my training run (by nixing my only chance for a long run for the week) or the race itself. Plus if you put it in an UNsealable plastic bag, (and twist it around itself),—–SO much easier to deal with (and less waste) than goos, sports beans (though i use those as well to switch it up) etc. Also much cheaper, always yummy, easy to consume, and provides the exact same nutrition. plus very easy on your stomach. But i will say that i always go for the ones that you find at drugstores etc (the bright orange, slightly fluffy ones) rather than the more leathery ones from the WF bulk bins. Much easier to eat.
I got tired of eating GUs on long training bike rides. I switched to dried Apricots I get at Costco. They are perfect! I only have to eat about 3 or 4 and it curbs hunger and gives me energy.