Any runners or cyclist on the boards??

I've been riding with my husband and he wanted me to try some power gels and other products like that. I was wondering if anyone on here that cycles or runs uses anything like that. I am so proud of myself we did nearly 20 miles today HUGE deal for me. I tried to drink my protein drink after our ride today like an hour after and I couldn't get it down. Thanks in advance....

i bought a bike last summer and did some riding. it was fun! i hadn't been on a bike in like 30 years. we have a series of paved trails along the rivers here in fort wayne for biking and walking. it was quite incredible to me to be riding a bike on the trails -- if it ever warms up, i'll be getting it out of winter storage. i don't know what power gels are, so i assume i'm not using them!

The power gels/energy gels might be ok.  I don't know if you dump, but I'd be careful if they have a lot of sugar & I'd try one at home before I tried it out and about.  You'd hate to get sick in the middle of your ride.  I do not ride but my ex-boss is a serious distance cyclist and he did use the gels sometimes on very long rides (like 24 hr charity event kind of things where they try to get max distance they can in 24 hrs). 

I agree with Jen on this one; gels may be appropriate if they do not cause you to dump.  Gels are generally used to restore/replenish energy stores for endurance athletes.  But I'm not sure at what point in an endurance athletic activity you'd need a gel.  The idea is that the gel will help restore the energy you've burned off so you have more energy to continue your activity.  For me, I don't think I would need to be replenished during a 20 mile bike ride, unless you're talking about moutain biking.  But that's based on my knowledge of my personal metabolism; you may have different needs.   For most of my workouts, I eat something 45-60 minutes before (small piece of fruit and a small high-fiber muffin or a 6 oz. container of light yogurt), then I eat something almost immediately when I'm done (usually a 90-100 calorie granola bar in the car on the way home from the gym).  The pre-workout snack makes sure my body has energy for my workout, and the post work-out snack helps my body replenish the energy I just burned off.  Eating this way helps maximize the metabolic burn I get from working out...   Good luck finding a routine that works for you - I had to tinker around for a while to figure out what my body needed, but it will let you know!!! Kellie

If you have a hard time with protein shakes, you probably won't like the gels. I started to use them for my long hikes and plan on using them for my adventure races - they work really well for long days (usually over 4 hours of exercise). But, they are not the most appetizing, at least not for me. Yet they work, they give me a good, quick boost. Sometimes eating regular food while I exercise will cause my stomach to get all out of whack and being in the middle of nowhere is not a good place to be when my stomach gets all crazy! So, the gels work really well in that regards, although I do also eat lots of fruit and protein bars during the day (fruit especially gives me a HUGE boost!). The main thing is to get electrolytes - lots of people I know will add some Gatorade to their water to give them that little bit of extra energy. I haven't tried that yet but I'm thinking about it (I don't like sweet drinks but if it's watered down it might work for me).  If you are going to be out for just a few hours, that would probably suffice. Otherwise you might want to experiment with different snacks that would work for you. Oh, and congrats on 20 miles, that's huge! I'm getting a bike in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to start riding - I plan on riding to work and school everyday.