Pocket Fuels As An All Natural Alternative

When going for long runs, I have to refuel. The human body generally only has enough stored energy to keep the body going for about three hours. I'm always looking for natural sources of energy to keep going. Even going that long without refueling is asking for trouble.

5 Flavors Of Pocket Fuel 

Some of the more popular choices for runners and bicyclists include Gu Gels and Hammer Gels. Those may be entirely fine, but honestly I cannot understand the ingredient label. Here is the label from one of the flavors of Gu for example:

Maltodextrin (Glucose Polymers), Filtered Water, Fructose, Roctane Amino Blend (Histidine, Leucine, Valine, Isoleucine), Ornithine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (Okg), Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Carbonate, Natural Flavor, Sea Salt, Caffeine, Contains Preservatives [Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate], Natural Vitamin E, Oleoresin Paprika (Natural Color).

Some of those words scare me a bit. There may be nothing in the world wrong with them, but my rule of thumb is, if I don't know what it is, I don't eat it, and to eat the above would require me to spend about half an hour on Wikipedia researching before I was comfortable with it.

For almost two years, my go-to running food has been the "gels" by Honey Stinger, as well as Honey Stinger Waffles. If you look at their nutritional information (PDF file) you will see some pretty big words in the ingredient list, but most of those are the chemical names for various vitamins and minerals. I still love Honey Stinger products and will continue to buy them buy the case.

I wanted some variety though and came across Pocket Fuel in the April 2012 issue of Trail Runner Magazine. The article listed 5-6 natural and organic nutrition options. I immediately ordered three of the products and am trying to get a sample order of the rest that has a variety of flavors versus having to order 6 of one that I might not like.

The first one I've tried on the run is Pocket Fuel. My goal was to run 20 miles on Saturday and see how it went. The weather had other ideas though. It rained all day (one of the 10 rainy days we have here in southern California) and I don't like running for hours in the rain. The chafing risk is too high. So, I went for a 9 mile run, and no nutrition is needed for that. On Sunday though it looked like there was going to be a break so I decided to head out. After running 9 miles on Saturday, I figured 20 would be pushing it, especially with a race coming up this weekend. I decided 12-15 would be enough, so I gathered up my water, a 4oz pouch of Chunky Coconut Cherry Pocket Fuel and a few Honey Stingers just in case I didn't like it.

My backup fuel wasn't necessary. Pocket Fuel is almond butter based. Almond Butter is usually pretty thick, often a peanut butter substitute for those with peanut allergies. Pocket Fuel is thicker than honey, but not as thick as JIF. You are supposed to squish (technical term) the packet to ensure it is mixed up so I did that before leaving the house. This one also had coconut shavings in it and supposedly bits of cherry.

I say supposedly because I never tasted any cherry, or much coconut. I could tell there was a good bit of coconut in it by the texture, but the almond butter flavor overwhelmed all other ingredients. It still tasted good, just don't expect some sort of coconut cherry pie flavor.

Personally, that is fine for me. I don't like sweet foods when running. While I love Honey Stinger waffles for example, I cannot stand the strawberry flavor.

The packets are much larger than normal gels. At 4oz, you cannot stick these in the normal pouches that may have no problem holding one or two of the 1.3oz gels. The side pocket of my Camelbak XTC easily held one, and might have been able to hold two. I'll test that theory when I go for a longer run, preferably a 3-5 hour trail excursion.

Pocket Fuel is packed with energy. They typically have between 430-490 calories each and between 18-31g of carbs. Each packet also has around 600mg of potassium, which is the equivalent of 1.5 bananas. Finding natural sources of potassium in long exercise sessions is better than drinking many of the sports drinks, which are often loaded with sugar and artificial ingredients. The Chocolate Espresso pack even has 200mg of caffeine. While I generally shun caffeine, I've found it does have its place early in a run. I often consume Honey Stinger Ginsting gels early in my runs which has natural caffeine from the koala nut. Caffeine from naturally occurring sources is fine with me.

Best of all, the ingredient list for Pocket Fuel is something I can understand.

Dry roasted almonds, organic evaporated cane syrup, organic coconut, bing cherries, organic palm fruit oil, sea salt.

The packs have a easy to use screw on cap so you don't have to consume the entire thing at once like you do with the smaller gels that have a tear-away. You also must have water available to help wash it down, just like almost all other gels. This isn't because you can get sick, as with some other gels, if you don't mix with water, but just because it is so thick.

I still have 4 packets to try from a flavor standpoint. I am wondering though if I will be able to tell the difference. Had the label not indicated what was in this, I am not sure I would have been able to tell it had coconut or cherry in it.

That said, I'm sold. Once I burn through these other 4 flavors, I'll settle on one or two and start ordering by the box. I'll continue to use Honey Stinger, and perhaps one or two others from the Trail Runner article, but Pocket Fuel will definitely have a place in my backpack.

There Is A Right Way To Run

When it comes to sports and activities, there is generally a right way to do things. There is a right way to swing a golf club, a right way to throw a football, a right way to surf, a right way to swing a baseball bat, and a right way to consistently bowl a strike.

Wrong (left guy) vs Right (right gal)

Why then do a lot of people say "well, that is just how I run?" Now, there are different kinds of running of course. I am not talking about doing hurdles, sprinting or other track-and-field activities. I am talking about the kind of running most runners engage in, which is relatively leisurely running for distance, health or both.

Jason over at Barefoot Running University has thrown down a challenge to anyone to make an assertion that it is more efficient and safer to run the way most shoe companies would have you believe, namely:

• by having a long stride
• landing on your heel with your foot in front of you
• have a slow cadence, somewhere well south of 180 strides per minute, getting your speed instead by kicking out and leaping forward with each stride.

Note that no one is saying there is one way to run. You can run with a quick cadence, landing mid-foot under your hips and still modify your lean angle, how far you kick between strides, the angle of your elbows, etc. Some may be more efficient than others depending on your desired speed, the grade the hill you may be going up or down on is, and even the terrain. Note too that methods like Chi Running (my favorite) or the POSE method advocate slight differences, but fundamentally, they are the same, which is a fast cadence (180+ strides per minute) and landing with your foot under you, never in front.

Do you agree, or disagree?