On a trip to the US my dear friend Enga suggested I browse the local “Whole Foods” store. All natural, organic, gluten free, preservative free, sugar free stuff. Ja whatever!

I went to have a look and had a meal in their canteen which was pretty good. I did not think much about it until many years later when reading about heros like Scott Jurek. Ultra Runner, Western States King, also vegan. More and more I started to hear about runners thinking about what they are putting in their bodies. Not just junk energy bars with junk in it. So now we are faced with products more and more products claiming to not only give you the right energy but also do so in a healthy way!

A while ago I wrote of my own recovery drink. Surprise, surprise the boys from Mule Bar were reading and sent me some cool bars to try out. To be honest I was impressed with the taste.

I have also come to realise that if you want quality you need to pay. Let me be honest here. I, like most, want the best performance from myself but have to constantly look at the budget. We are somehow much more likely to spill a K on the latest shoes (which reminds me my road pair is rather flat) and then stuff Jelly Babies into our gut and expect not to Bonk!
I have assisted runners three years in a row coming down to Constantia Nek with cramp, dehydration, bonk on HBTC. All three problems were solved in minutes with some electrolytes, food and water.

So why are we not willing to pay for quality nutrition?!

Anyway before I get carried away….. I bumped into Rudolf from Mule Bar at the Gravity Festival a couple of weeks back. He was punting his product and Mel and I spent a long time listening and debating. We left there with an arm full of Mule Bars and Zym, the latest electrolyte drink effervescent tablet to hit the market.
Rudolf did warn me that the purple Berry flavour bottle should not be consumed in the afternoon if I wanted to sleep…. Just the thought gave me the shakes….

I tried the Lemon Lime flavour on a training run and was surprised to find that my legs were not as stiff after. Then came Garies Trail Run last weekend. I thought I could risk the Guarana infused Berry flavour as I was hoping to be able to keep up to my far fitter buddies Roger and Jayde. I did feel particularly strong on the ups and quite awake on the down. The experiment is not over yet but first impressions are pretty darn good. Yesterday I had the Lemon Lime flavour in one of my bottles with the other filled with water strapped into my Nathan belt on an interesting hill session (but more of that later).

So these little effervescent tablets don’t give you energy (carbs) but give you electrolytes. The latest theory goes that without sufficient electrolytes you can’t digest the carbs you put into your system. (I must admit that every time I speak to someone new about nutrition it feels like talking about Nuclear Physics- I just nod for the first half of the conversation to feign understanding. Then I am so impressed with the latest ideas etc and throw all my old ones away. Like a crazy chicken darting off into a different direction every other second. So there is just one thing to do and try it out.) Personally consuming electrolytes works for me. I feel stronger after a run, my brain does not tire as easily and I think I recover quicker. Anyway it is up to you to research the lab results or just try it for yourself! I am certainly going to stick with this for a while longer than most other ideas! Some things will end up sticking with you when the rest have fallen by the wayside.

Zym comes in a tube of 10 effervescent tablets. You just pop one into your water bottle and deal with nutrition (carbs as before). The Lemon Lime flavour is pretty zingy so it actually makes me want to drink more H2O- that in itself is good! Go and Try it out!

Now I just need to work out how I will carry them on the Otter……