Spit Talk

Ever since my friend Dawn called her GU packet at the St. George Marathon a "strawberry flavored loogie," I've had to prepare myself mentally before gulping one down.  They used to not bother me at all. I mean, I took, like, 15 of them in one day in Florida last year without batting an eye.

But I've heard from guys and gals alike lately that GUs, Carbooms, Power Gels, even CarboPro drinks put the "scary" in longer triathlon training and racing.  Or the "gross."  Six of one....

Needless to say I am super excited to pass along the information direct from Triathlete Magazine and the Massey University of New Zealand.  It seems those kiwis have been testing the effects of carbohydrates as fuel during prolonged exercise.  They found that just swishing a carbohydrate drink in your mouth, without even swallowing it, signals the brain that the body is receiving sugars and to keep going.  They tested their subjects on a 40K time trial and the cyclists times were better by doing the rinse and spit method than just sipping on water alone.

The New York Times article here lists more proof that the rinse method works on runners, too.

So cross that off your list of triathlon excuses.  And get out there and train.

And sorry about talking about spit and loogies today.