Refueling Organically

Refueling Organically
So maybe it's time to think about how you refuel during a long ride/run. Most sports drinks and gels are loaded with artificial flavors, colors, preservatives and other unpronounceable ingredients -- if you can’t say it, you probably don’t want to shove it in your mouth. But when you’re doing intense cardio (more than 65 percent of your HR max) and sweating a lot for significantly more than an hour – anyone doing centuries, half-marathons and marathons, at least Olympic-distance tris, for example -- you might want a pick-me-up along the way in addition to water. Rather than downing something that looks like it should be encased in six inches of lead and three feet of concrete, consider using natural alternatives like Recharge (http://www.knudsenjuices.com/products/category.aspx?groupID=10&categoryID=56) or Liv Sports Drink (http://www.foodreference.com/html/liv-sports-drnk-727.html) which provide sugar/carbs for energy as well as electrolytes to prevent muscle cramps, but that don't contain high-fructose corn syrup. And Clif Bar (http://www.clifbar.com/) makes an assortment of organic products including Electrolyte (an energy/electrolyte replacement drink), Shot Bloks (for those of you who aren't big on refueling with goo) and the more traditional energy gels (because it is, in fact, difficult to chew and swallow while you're on the go, which no doubt some of you have learned the hard way).

All of you endurance athletes out there – let me know how you refuel organically. I’ll compile your suggestions and revisit this topic down the line.