Roctaned Myself Today

Today, on a 120 mile bike ride, I experimented with Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel. If it worked for me today, my plan was to use it during Ironman Coeur D' Alene, and I'll share how during my Ironman strategy blog, which you'll find appears about 2-3 days prior to the big race on June 22. This ensures that my competitors won't steal my secrets (unless they break a cardinal rule of endurance sports and decide to try it in racing before trying it in training).

(P.S. Another cardinal rule of endurance sports is that if your competitor asks you to zip up their wetsuit, then pretend like you're helping, but instead drop a fistful of sand down their butt crack and run away.)

Here's what's in it (I copied this from the GU website, so sue me):

• We start with GU’s superior 80%/20%mix of complex/simple carbohydrates that provide quick and sustained energy. GU’s original recipe also provides an herbal blend of anti-inflammatory chamomile and stomach calming ginger, along with caffeine to metabolize fat.

• From there we increased the amount of Histidine, an essential amino acid, to act as a buffer and slow the energy-sapping lactic acid build-up in muscles.

• We mixed in higher levels of citrates (Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, and Citric Acid) to help speed the conversion of carbohydrates into energy molecules. Like Histidine, these citrates also help mitigate acid build-up.

• We also added more of the branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s) Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine to serve as another fuel source, aid in recovery and help maintain mental focus and reduce fatigue by limiting the central nervous system’s production of serotonin.

• A key new ingredient is the amino acid complex Ornithine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (OKG) which limits the body’s tendency to break down muscle protein tissue during extremely hard training and racing days. OKG keeps you going longer and promotes a speedier recovery.

OK, whatever dudes.

So did it work? Yes, wonderfully.

"Well then", you ask, "How the hell do you take 1500 calories of gel out on the course with you and maintain aerodynamics, speed, and comfort?"

I'd tell you how I do it, but then I'd have to kill you. I *will* demonstrate with pictures and verbage in my pre-race strategy report.

The only people that get to find out before then are my coached athletes, and my twin boys, who can't understand me. I know this because I sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to them tonight, but substituted nasty, nasty, filthy lyrics about a corpse that a little boy found rotting in the woods, and they just lay there blinking and yawning. Bless their hearts.

Ben

Psst....did you get your t-shirtyet?