What do you like for energy on long paddles.

[Stefan]

Thanks everybody for the input. I've used Hammer Fizz a few times for electrolyte replacement and it seems to be working well, my energy at the end of long paddles is much better. I prefer the natural energy replacements like fruit and almonds... nutritional companies like Hammer energy shots  taste too artificial for me. Still experimenting with those. Cheers everyone! 

[ukgm]

Wondered what people like for caloric replacement/energy on longer distance paddles. I'm not familiar with a lot of the new paste's, cubes, or powders etc. Thanks 

A well proven sports drink is fine. You can also supplement with watered down gels in a small flask too (an old ironman trick). However, some of the solid food people are suggesting here is just bizarre - just how long are people paddling for (and at what kind of intensity) to warrant it ?!

[PonoBill]

My honest answer is--nothing. When I think I'm going to be doing something really tough, I add some lite salt (potassium) a squeeze of lemon and a couple of packets of sugar to my water--but that's really just to help with hydration. Two packets of sugar are about 40 calories. A can of Coconut water diluted with water is 140. Not going to power anything for long.   For the really long stuff. I don't want to be running on Glycogen for long anyway. I want to get past the headache and crash of converting over to burning fat and get that diesel motor going. The sooner the better. Solid food is going to just sit in your gut anyway--not enough blood the keep digestion rolling or do anything with the output. Most of the pastes, powders, and cubes do the same thing--which is probably part of the reason that they give me stomach cramps. You can power your muscles or power digestion, but you'd need to be half blood to power both. I read somewhere that humans have about one-third of the blood supply that we actually need to run all the functions of our body and that if it wasn't for vasoconstriction and blood routing we would function at a very low level. It's pretty fuzzy how all that works, which means I don't really understand it or remember much about it, but my empirical results lead me to think it's probably true. After eating I just want to lay down.

I've known for ages that I need to be starving to do my best thinking or my best work. Took me a bit longer to realize athletic performance worked the same way. Might be different for skinny guys, but I've got lots of fuel.

[Subber]

Sounds like Keto!

[PonoBill]

Yup. the only downside--that rasty taste and rank breath. That's how I know it's working.

I've found that the intense craving for protein I have after intense exercise goes away quickly with a modest amount of protein. Doesn't have to be a steak--it can be a boiled egg. The sooner after the exercise, the less I seem to need. I find a chunk of Landjaeger sausage is fine, but if I buy a half dozen of those, I eat them. I need one of those pet rationing things optimized for big guys with poor impulse control.

When Mark was making almond-based Pocket Fuel I thought I'd found the perfect solution. But he made them much too tasty, so they would disappear before I actually needed them. He should have made the special "tastes like crap" version I suggested. Like putting dog food in your survival kit--though you might get addicted to puppy chow and start having a flea problem.

I don't generally trust "listening to my body" because a lot of times my body is telling me it would like a pint of coconut ice cream washed down with scotch and a cigar. Ok, maybe that's not my body talking. But in this case I've found a substantial amount of supporting literature on the web, and we all know that's infallible.

So I've got that going for me.

[Runslowalksalot]

+1  Pono!   While I'm not disciplined enough to go full ketogenic, I keep carbs at a minimum, avoid any processed sugar or grains, and eat lots of veggies.   I've found that I have more even energy levels, not needing any nutrition, other than electrolytes, for any outing under 4 hours.    I recently did Chattajack in 6:10 at a 75% effort.  Not that I was racing at all, If not for the relentless headwind, and the bite valve on my hydration pack coming off,  I'd have gone under 5:30 easy.  Breakfast was avacado, bacon and eggs,  then  taking in just 2 handfuls of mixed nuts during the "race".  I probably could have gotten by on just water and coconut water, but I erred on the side of safety.    To top it off, I wasn't hungry at all afterwards!   

[paddlinglass]

I've known for ages that I need to be starving to do my best thinking or my best work.

Don't know if anything focuses a mind more than being truly hungry.
And true hunger seems like something few Americans ever experience any more. Not talking about nutritionally starved or malnourished, talking about calorie starved.  It's simply too easy to avoid. 

Yet it's the primary dictator of behavior in the animal kingdom, one that is ever present for most creatures.
Could humans be missing out by not getting the brain sharpening/focus workouts that regular bouts of ravenous hunger provide?

[PonoBill]

I try to fast before starting a complicated project. It goes much better if I do. If I'm not hungry I have no patience and start taking the kind of shortcuts that lead to crappy work and a lot more effort.

Coffee good, food bad. I can take Concerta and get some of the same effects, but I hate it. Wish I had known this when I was ten. Not only could I control my ADD better, but I'd have been skinnier.

[connector14]

I have had some of my best paddles after 3 cups of strong black coffee,  2 tablespoons of Skippy's extra crunchy peanut butter, and 1 teaspoon of  pure raspberry jam. I always take a little water along and have only really "hit the wall" a few times. BUT then.....10 miles is about my limit......so my hat is sure off to you guys that aren't even warmed up until I'm likely out of the water