This week, I went to a virtual happy hour hosted by Team Ultra and it was full of great information. The actual happy hour was about nutrition where I learned some great things about the benefits of being part of Team Ultra.
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As a VIP team, we will start between Wave 2 and Wave 3 which means around 10:30ish. This is great because if I was going based on my estimated pace, I'd probably end up in Wave 5 which wouldn't start until after noon. Even if I was in Wave 5, I'd have to arrive early because the bridge closes to incoming traffic to prepare for the runners.
So the real point of the webinar was nutrition and it was really interesting to learn more about what other runners are planning for the day.
It seems that the gels alone aren't the only way to stay physically and mentally strong through the marathon. They recommend having variety of items instead of just gels. They also recommended pre-arranging with your "fans" to have a refill for you of items in your belt such as snacks, water, etc. This way you have a set location during the 26.2 miles to run over to the side and grab some more stuff or something a little larger for a nutritional boost. PB&J was actually recommended.
The other thing that was recommended was a product called HotShot. They did warn that it tastes awful but it has an almost instant physical response in your body when you start to cramp. The HotSpot's website claims to hit the nerve endings in your mouth and somehow stops pain receptors in other parts of the body. It sounded similar to the thumb on the roof of your mouth to sooth brain freeze. I'm not sure if it really works, but they sell them at REI so I'm going to buy one for my next long training run to try.
