For the Gel of It: SiS Gels Review & GIVEAWAY

Disclaimer: I received a Science in Sport Gel sample pack 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!

By now I am guessing that if you are a runner, than you've heard the #1 rule for when it comes to racing- NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY! 

That is why I was excited for the opportunity to try of Sports in Science (SiS) gels. They are the on-course gels for the Rock n Roll races nationwide and I love running the Savannah Half Marathon each year (seriously, it's my favorite ever race). Last year I totally meant to grab a gel from an aid station to try it later (again, nothing new ON race day) but in the heat of the race, I was focused on finishing. Fast forward to now when the awesome folks at SiS gave me and some of my fellow BibRave Pros an amazing care package of goodies to try - 4 flavors in all, including their new GO Isotonic gels. 

Isotonic Gels?
What you may ask are Isotonic  Gels? Glad you asked. Basically with the SiS Isotonic gels, you do not have to chase with water. They are 100% effective just on their own. This is awesome because sometimes I find that after I take a gel and then wash it down with water, my stomach can feel not so great from going from nothing to gel and a bunch of water mid-race. These deliver 22 g of rapid absorbing carbs in a convenient 60 ml tube. I tried the Apple flavor and it was really quite good. Really hit the spot for me in the middle of a long hot and humid Sat morning run. I gave a few a to try as well and she texted me that she used her during a super hot 10K race on July 4th and really liked it. 

Other SiS Gels
I also tied 3 other types of SiS gels in my sample care package - the GO + Electrolyte (Lemon Mint), GO Energy + Caffeine (Double Espresso) and GO + Electrolyte (Salted Strawberry). I'll be honest, the Double Espresso was not my favorite flavor, but it really got the job done as far as perking me up. I recommend to take that one as a pre-run gel because it really gets you going. I'm more of a fruity gel fan, so while it wasn't my favorite, I think that was mainly because I don't do coffee, chocolate, vanilla and similar flavors for gels anyway. The Lemon Mint and the Salted Strawberry were both amazing. Really great flavor and textures on both and I will for sure be getting more of both. I've already packed a Salted Strawberry in my run belt for tomorrow's long run. 

The Gel Fairy

Run the Rock Sampling SiS Gels

As I mentioned above, SiS is the on-course gel for the Rock n Roll races, and there is a very large group of runners in my area that are running Rock n Roll Philly in Sept and some others running Rock n Roll Savannah with me in Nov. So last weekend at our long-run, I brought a bunch of gels for the ladies to sample. The gels received rave reviews from the Run the Rock ladies and I've already had requests to share more of my stash. Of course I will (except for the Salted Strawberry - those are mine!)  

GIVEAWAY TIME!!
And guess what?! I have more SiS GO Gels to give out and I want to give a 6-Pack box to YOU! To win one of 2 boxes of SiS GO gels, check out my Instagam post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz2tSjCHHis/ and follow the directions to enter. You can enter anytime between now and midnight on July 15th to win. Winner will be notified by Instagram DM. 

Or, if you are not a lucky winner (or if you happen to read this after July 15th) you can order from the SiS website and use discount code TRYSIS25 to save 25% off your gel order. 

To learn more about SiS, be sure to follow their socials here  - 
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Happy Fall Y'all (Yeah Right, this is SC)

“Disclaimer: I received Gatorade Endurance  products 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!”


Today is the first day of Fall. Any minute now, the leaves are sure to change to orange, red and gold, the days will get cooler and the air crisp instead of humid. 😃😃😃 

YEAH RIGHT!! I live in SC, it's going to be Summer until approximately mid-December. Don't believe me, today the temperature is forecasted to be 90. Happy Fall Y'all indeed! We're not getting a break from the heat and humidity for a while yet. 

So, since the Summer heat is planning on sticking around, I'm going to embrace it and just keeping all things Summer going strong. Cause if you can't beat 'em, join 'em I say. 

• Tank tops and flip flops through December. Why not? 
• Ice Cream and Sno Cones? The more the better. 
• Crazy giant bugs? Ugh, do we have to? 
• Yummy Summer flavors like Watermelon and Mango? Now that's more like it, bring on the Gatorade Endurance!!

Since the heat and the humidity plan on sticking around for a few more months, I'm going to keep up with my Summer hydrating strategy of dosing myself heavily with Gatorade Endurance, especially during my long runs  well into the Fall and probably Winter too. Before this summer I'd traditionally been a Water-Only Runner, at least for during runs sticking with electrolyte drinks for pre-run and recovery, but after having the chance to test out Gatorade Endurance back in June - check out my blog post about that here - http://runnerdgirl.blogspot.com/2018/06/gatorade-endurance-releases-2-new.html - I've really noticed a difference taking in the extra sodium and electrolytes during a run. 

So yeah, I've been doing more runs with either just Gatorade Endurance or with a bottle of both water and Gatorade Endurance, and my crazy hot mid-afternoon runs have been much more bearable and I feel like I recover much more quickly. So much so that I invested in a fancy new dual belt so I could carry a bottle of each on my upcoming long runs for first Half Marathon and then my first Marathon training. 

Speaking of my next Half Marathon, Rock n Roll Savannah, guess what the on-course refreshment will be? That's right, Gatorade Endurance. And you know what they say, nothing new on race day, so yay for training under the same conditions as race day. In fact, according to a recent article in Men's Journal, Gatorade Endurance is the on-course choice for over +300 races around the country including the New York, Boston and Chicago Marathons, plus, all Rock n Roll races. I've found that most races have the Lemon Lime, but I really hope they consider changing over to the Watermelon because I am really digging it. But either way, all flavors are engineered the same and offer the same benefits of the electrolytes, carbs and calories you need to perform your best. 

Want to check out it out for yourself? You can purchase Gatorade Endurance products from most retailers, but to guarentee the fun Summer flavors, you can order online (they even have a pack with the Mango Gels and Watermelon Thirst Quencher already bundled here - https://www.gatorade.com/products/endurance/endurance-new-flavor-pack  Plus, orders over $50 ship for free. 

And please, if you have any say whatsoever in the weather, or know of any good "cool weather summoning" dances, could you hook a girl up? Just because I am used to running in the heat, doesn't mean that I'm not ready for ACTUAL Fall and not just hypothetical Fall. 

Oh, and also... Want to join me in Savannah? Register here: http://www.runrocknroll.com/savannah/register/ and use code “RNRBRP2018” to save $15 on the Marathon or Half Marathon.

Gatorade Endurance Releases 2 New Summer Flavors

“Disclaimer: I received Gatorade Endurance  products 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!”

Growing up I was never really much of a Sports Drink kind of girl. Part of that came from the fact that I wasn't much into sports, I started running fairly late in life. I guess I always tended to equate these types of drinks, Gatorade in particular, as some kind of vaguely salty fruit punch that the jocks drank at practice. However recently, I had the opportunity to test out the Gatorade Endurance line and I have to say, my mind has been completely changed.

When I first had the choice of whether the try out Gatorade Endurance, I'll be honest, I almost passed. But then I thought about how Gatorade Endurance is provided at the aid stations at pretty much every race that I run, and while I pretty much only take water (cause you know, try nothing new on race day) I thought maybe I was missing out on something that could be beneficial for me. I mean, there has to be a good reason every race has it, right?

Gatorade was kind enough to send us BibRave Pros a packaging containing a 32 oz canister of Gatorade Endurance Thirst Quencher powder in their new Summer flavor, Watermelon. In fact, it was so new, that it wasn't even available to the public yet (more on this later). Also, they sent us 6 of their Endurance Energy Gels (an item I didn't even know they offered), also in their new Summer flavor: Mango (now available online). Both the Thirst Quencher and the Energy Gels are specifically formulated to meet the unique needs of athletes. The Thirst Quencher has 2x the sodium and 3x the potassium of traditional Gatorade while the Energy Gels have 20 g of carbs per serving and only 80 calories.

When I first opened the canister of Gatorade Endurance Thirst Quencher, the first thing that hit me was the intense Watermelon scent. It smelled so good! Seriously, when I took my Gatorade Endurance to track night later in the week, I kept opening my bottle up and making people smell my drink. It smelled that good! I also was surprised that it wasn't a bright red like I had assumed it would be. This was me again equating Gatorade Endurance with traditional Gatorade but I was happy to see that there was no harsh coloring. The container came with a scoop inside and easy to follow directions.  We also received a super cute Gatorade bottle with a watermelon on it which I used to mix up my drink. The flavor was really light and delicious and super refreshing! But how would it perform?

So if you've read my blog before, you may have seen that I live in SC. This year, we pretty much completely skipped right over Spring and went from a late Winter straight in to Summer. There was no easing into this year. It's seriously hot already. And since I try to hit the gym for strength training in the morning, that means I've been running in the afternoons when it is well above 80 and even 90 degrees out. Hydration is VITAL is what I am saying. 

The first run that I used my Gatorade Endurance on it was 89 degrees and sunny as heck. Let's put it this way, it was so hot out, someone in my neighborhood was making some kind of jerky in the windshield of their pickup truck. Not even kidding (I did say I live in SC). I was hot, sweaty and felt wasted after my run. That Watermelon Thirst Quencher tasted so good after! And I felt really great too. No stomach issue (always a fear when trying something new) either! 

The next night I took it to the track for speed work. 4.25 milles of 400s. No shade, direct sun, 6:30 pm so it was still hot from the day, but Gatorade Endurance had my back. The flavor is light and refreshing and it really helped me replace the electrolytes that were pouring out in my sweat. What can I say, I am a total Gatorade Endurance convert. Never again will I be hesitant to grab a cup of this during a race instead of the water. 

So where can you get it you ask? I'm glad you did, it just so happens, the new Watermelon Gatorade Endurance Thirst Quencher Powder was just released to their online store TODAY! You can order it by clicking here.

So in addition to the Thirst Quencher, I had the chance to try the Gatorade Endurance Gels in their newest Mango flavor. Now I am a bit of a snob when it comes to gels. I find that most I have tried remind me a bit of something between thick pudding or that gluey slime that my daughter likes to make. I packed some for my long run this past Saturday and at the 5 mile mark, tried it out. First impression, I was pleasantly surprised just how thin the gel was, not goopy like some can be. The mango flavor was really light and really tasty. I didn't feel the need to wash it down with water like I usually do with a gel even. And I for sure felt perked up after taking it. I will happily be adding these into my future fueling plans.

So yeah, I guess I'm a Gatorade fan now. Better late than never I suppose. Special thank you to Gatorade and BibRave for the opportunity to try out these Gatorade Endurance products. Coincidentally if you are interested in becoming a BibRave Pro so you too can have the chance try out amazing new products and races, Mid-Year Applications are being accepted now. Click here to apply -BibRave Pro 2018 Mid-year Application

You can also become a Gatorade Endurance Fan by following them on on their Instagram here - Gatorade Endurance