Fueling a Brick

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty rainy day, but I managed to squeeze in my workout without getting wet.  I decided that since I didn't get my ride in on Saturday I would get my ride in.  Then, my mom asked if I would want to walk or run ro my grandparents house.  This turned into the perfect opportunity for a brick workout.  For those of you not familiar with triathlon training, a brick workout is a bike ride followed by a run.  It's meant to get your legs used to transitioning from biking to running in a race.  And trust me, you need the practice!  Anyway, this worked out perfect because my mom is a slower runner, but with my legs being tired, I figured we'd be right around the same pace.

So I headed off on my bike to get a 15 mile ride in.  I was also testing out the new triathlon shorts I picked up the other day (I'll review those after my next triathlon).  These shorts do have nice pockets for gels and gu.  I had a couple of Hammer Gels that I had gotten in a swag bag and I thought maybe I should give it a try.  After all, you're supposed to consume some sort of nutrition if you plan on exercising longer than an hour.  So I stopped at the 40 minute mark on the bike and took the gel.  Since this was my first encounter wit a gel, I was a bit surprised by the texture.  By the end of the packet, I had gotten the hang of just kicking it back.  I don't know how you runners out there eat all this stuff because honestly, is was kind of gross.  But I think it's something that I could at least get used to.  The flavor, however, was pretty good.

When I got back to the house, I grabbed my new handheld water bottle and my mom and we set off.  I was surprised by how good my legs felt.  Maybe it was all in my head or maybe taking the fuel during the ride really worked.  But I felt great through the whole run.  I also felt like I could have run faster, but I didn't want to leave my mom behind.  I'm thinking that I'm going to need to work some fuel into my next race and see if it improves how I feel during the race.  I always thought that because I wasn't as fast as the elites that I didn't need to consume anything other than water, and in most road races I don't even do that.  Now I'm reconsidering and thinking that maybe it's something my body needs.

What do you use to fuel your long runs and workouts?  I'd love some recommendations.  (I also don't mind free samples!)
And don't forget my giveaway!