Homebrews On Sierra Azul

I decided to start making my own energy blocks because I'm dissatisfied with what is available on the market, but it turned out to be a disaster. In the past I've been using Accelerade or Accelerade gels as my energy source while running, but the stickiness is just a pain. It gets your water bottles dirty, you end up spilling it on your shirt, your hands get all messy. And I bet that volunteers at aid stations don't appreciate being handed a gooey water bottle. Energy blocks are easier to deal with because it's like carrying around gummy candies, much easier to manage, and incidentally less nauseating after several miles on the trail.

Shot Bloks, made by the same folks who make Clif Bars, are the only energy blocks I've tried, and I really like them. The problem is that they have no protein. Studies have shown that protein taken with simple carbs both aids in the absorbsion of water and inhibits muscle damage from extended efforts. Accelerade is the only major sports supplement that contains the proscribed ratio of sugars to protein, but Accelerade only comes in powder, liquid, or gel (no blocks).

I started experimenting a few weeks ago with a gummi bear recipe I found on the internet. It's basically like Jello, only with more flavoring (Kool-Aid) and less water. These turned out pretty well. A little chewy for exercise, and protein only from the gelatin, but not bad.

Next I made Knox Blocks from the recipe on the back of Knox unflavored gelatin, only I used Accelerade instead of fruit juice. These also turned out well, and one step closer to getting everything in the correct ratio.

I reduced the water content and increased the Accelerate content until I got pretty close to the caloric density and consistency I was looking for. They tasted good (if a little chalky), but would be easy to carry and eat on the go. The recipe was as follows:

Sprinkle 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin into a quarter cup of cold water. In a separate pan, bring three quarters of a cup of water to a near-boil, and add four scoops of orange Accelerade powder and stir until it's dissolved. Then pour the Accelerade mix into the gelatin mix and stir for five minutes. Pour this into a container with a flat bottom and flat sides, put in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Cut into pieces and Voila! Home made energy blocks.

There's one problem with this recipe, which you might have guessed.

On Saturday I met my friend and adventure racer extraordinaire Andrew for a point-to-point run through Sierra Azul. The plan was to do the ~11 mile section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail from Lexington Reservoir to Hicks Rd. by Mt Umunhum. I proudly packed up my energy blocks and we started off.

The first part of the trail is a brutal climb up out of the reservoir basin. It was pretty hot and I was struggling to keep up. On the bright side, my blocks were working well. I did notice that they seemed to be sweating a little bit, and were wet and sticky on the outside. I figured I could fix that in the next batch with some corn starch or something.

Andrew at the top of the first climb.

The trail goes over steep rolling hills after that, and I felt strong on the downhills and flats, but still struggling to keep up on the climbs.

Me struggling to keep up.

About one hour in I pulled out my second pack of blocks, and my god, what a mess! I had a zip-lock bag full of blocky orange soup. I was able to rescue a few blocks that hadn't yet completely melted, but the next time I pulled the bag out it was hopeless. It could only have been eaten with a spoon. So much for avoiding stickiness.

Andrew on the downhills.

I decided to complete the run without fuel. We only had about 45 minutes left, so really not a big deal. But I was upset that my grand hope to mix my own energy had literally melted away.

On the way back I was thinking about where I would go next with my energy blocks. I just didn't have a next step, and was worried that without industrial equipment I wouldn't be able to make something usable. It was just so frustrating that with all these innovative products out there there were no gummy chews that included sugar and protein.

We went up to Zombie Runner in Palo Alto because Andrew wanted to look at some compression tights (for preventing blood from pooling in the legs during long events), and I came across a relatively new product from the Clif Bar Company, Clif Roks. Wow, these were exactly what I had been looking for, small protein "candies" in enticing flavors that can be used to supplement Shot Bloks.

It's funny how sometimes you have to go through a process before you find out that what you are looking for is right in front of you. Shot Roks have apparently been around since September, 2008, but I've never seen them, or did and thought they were something else. In any case, I have a deeper appreciation for the alchemists at these companies that create performance nutrition products. I was starting to believe that any jerk with a stove and the ability measure ingredients could easily make these things.

On a side note, I finished the run pretty strong, and the best news is that my IT band didn't bother me a bit. Which means I don't have any more excuses to not sign up for Firetrails (almost 5 times as long as this run we just completed!) Hooo boy...

Andrew used his GPS phone to create a profile of our run. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/ALOF8