Watermelon? Yes, please!

Disclaimer: I received Watermelon Gatorade Endurance and Mango Energy Gels to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Fueling and I have a bit of a rocky relationship.  I have a tendency to run with just water.  Want to know a little secret?  I ran Big Sur on zero fuel.  I realized a few days before that the pack of gummies I shove in my pack every race day but never touch was actually expired.  Oops!  I don’t eat breakfast before races either.   Part of it is because I am always concerned about my stomach acting up and part of it is that it has never seemed to hinder me.

Yet, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t missing something.  So, occasionally I try to step outside my tiny box and try new things.

Enter Gatorade Endurance Formula and Endurance Energy Gels.

Ok, though- in truth- on the rare occasion that I ran with pumped up hydration- it was good ol’ Gatorade- the orange flavor is my jam.  Mix a bottle with some water and that would be my “last minute” race prep.   The Endurance version was new to me though and the flavor even newer.  Just in time for the heat of summer, Gatorade is introducing a tasty Watermelon flavor to the Endurance line.

And tasty it is.  I was actually super concerned about the taste, I Love watermelon but hate watermelon “flavored” things.  No worries here!  I love the taste!  It does not taste like it is watermelon flavored, it just tastes like watermelon!  I was hard pressed not to drink it all at once.  Also, I generally run with luke warm water so I was curious what it would taste like when ice cold.  The answer?  Even better.  I had a migraine while at work recently  and I was trying to hydrate well.  I had the Gatorade Endurance Formula with me at work so I figured why not?   Ice cold Watermelon Gatorade Endurance was kind of amazing.

So what makes Gatorade Endurance different?

I love the taste and it makes me actually want to drink more while running.  Which is great as summer has made its presence known and it’s over 95* most days in home town.   That’s half my struggle right there- making myself drink the hydration when I know I should.

How about the Gels? 

I am not a huge fan of gels.  I normally can’t choke them down even with water which is why they have never been my fuel of choice.  That is so not the case here!   In fact on first taste, I wondered if I even managed to taste any it was so subtle and smooth.  In fact I had, it was just so easy and the new Mango flavor was tasty, I just couldn’t believe it.  I didn’t even need to drink water after it.  Who knew??

As for energy- I haven’t run a real long run since San Diego.  So I used the gels more as a pre-run boost.  Which considering how tired I’ve been lately was probably a good idea.    At first I didn’t think it was making any difference, then I noticed I was holding a 10 minute flat pace on 100* runs on my running portions without trying.  These days, that’s fast for me but we’ll leave that for another post.  Hey now, maybe there’s something to this fuel thing?  I am looking forward to trying it on my long runs.

Ok, so some potential downsides-

• If you mix the Endurance Formula powder with super cold water it tends to clump. I’ve noticed this with most drink mixes though, it’s probably why I drink mostly barely cold or room temp water.
• I wish the scoop was a little smaller for smaller mouthed bottles.  I made a little bit of a mess when I forgot my soft flasks and had to use a plastic water bottle one day.
• Right now they are both only available to buy online or at a few specialty retailers.  Ok- this actually isn’t a drawback for me- I live in tiny town, USA, so would be ordering online anyways but this could be a factor for someone else.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the new Watermelon flavor from the Gatorade Endurance line and I am going to continue to work on my fueling with the Mango Energy Gels- I have big race goals this fall.

How do you hydrate?

Want to hear more thoughts on the new Gatorade Endurance Formula?

Lindsey – Karen – Lissa –  Katy –  Jessica –  Kevin –  Amy –  Jenn – Vanessa –  Ang