What I didn't report in the Treadman recap is that I went with straight water in the aerodrink, but downed about 6 oz of RedBull within the first 3 miles on the bike. A regular RB is roughly 8 oz so I drank 2 oz prior to the start then poured the rest in a Fuel Belt bottle and stuck that in the Bento box. If you do that, I suggest you either leave the drink out, open, overnight to get it flat (get rid of the carbonation)--otherwise it will fizz all over when you start riding. If you push the top shut on the Fuel bottle, it will burst open if you haven't flattened the drink first. I learned the hard way when I tried to jog with something carbonated a few months ago. Surprisingly, I felt fine with regard to GI issues during the Treadman. Lately gels have been sitting not-so-well for the 2nd run or the run in a tri so I figured I'd give the energy drink route a shot.
With that said, my kick on energy drinks started about a month ago. I was in FL last month for work/vacation and bought a few lo-carb Redbulls and ever since I have been hooked on them--not just them, but any energy drinks. Here is what I've tried since:
- Buzzed and low-carb Buzzed (only at KwikTrips, I think--taste pretty good)
- Rockstar low-carb, Sugar Free (yes, they have low-carb and a separate Sugar Free), and reg Rockstar, and Rockstar Juiced (50% juice?)
- Monster low carb, Monster 80% juice, Monster reg I had a few years ago and didn't like it
- Red Jak low-carb (this one is bad)
- AMP and one of their sugar free varieties (they make too many version to keep them straight. Mostly they all suck).
- MonaVie eMV
- XS Energy (AmWays energy drink)
With that said, my kick on energy drinks started about a month ago. I was in FL last month for work/vacation and bought a few lo-carb Redbulls and ever since I have been hooked on them--not just them, but any energy drinks. Here is what I've tried since:
- Buzzed and low-carb Buzzed (only at KwikTrips, I think--taste pretty good)
- Rockstar low-carb, Sugar Free (yes, they have low-carb and a separate Sugar Free), and reg Rockstar, and Rockstar Juiced (50% juice?)
- Monster low carb, Monster 80% juice, Monster reg I had a few years ago and didn't like it
- Red Jak low-carb (this one is bad)
- AMP and one of their sugar free varieties (they make too many version to keep them straight. Mostly they all suck).
- MonaVie eMV
- XS Energy (AmWays energy drink)
The best tasting so far is the MonaVie eMV, then RedBull regular, then Buzzed regular. Rockstar Sugar Free is ok, but for the most part all the rest are sorta crappy. The juice ones are good, but way too sweet. The Amway drink was ok, but I tried Cherry Cola version--tasted like cherry cola, but is loaded with B vitamins. Only 8 cals per cal, but it tastes like its got sugar in it. Jace's coach (or his wife) sells Amway so I have a variety pack coming of that--we'll see how that turns out.
When working out, I have only tried the RedBull and the Rockstar Juiced when riding. I did some running intervals within 15 minutes of drinking a RedBull and had no GI issues. I think I will stick with RedBull if I need a pick-me-up for training or something during a race. Years ago when I did the Chequamegon a handful of times I used to run three waterbottles, two of which were flat Redbulls over ice for a diluted energy drink. Had no problems with that. Not sure why I didn't remember that until just a couple weeks ago...
I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning, and not every morning at that. So I've been justifying the energy drinks. However, bottom line is, is that I need to get off of these things. However, I would like to try the holy drink:
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