life Parenting

Goings On

January 24, 2023

Annabel’s play was awesome! Here she is holding a bunch of sausages (in the ensemble):

sets were a mix of projected images + real items – and costumes were great!

I was quite impressed!! Family came to watch and we celebrated at dinner afterwards. Super fun + full weekend and I’m so glad we were recovered from all of the viral $*@&#!.

G may have been jealous and C is purposely making an evil face . . . sigh

(Cameron’s all star game went well too! It was pretty impressive. I still have no good action shots.)

sort of

Also kid-related: We signed both A&C up for a 3 week semi-overnight camp! Their neighbor friends are going and they wanted to go despite not wanting to return to ‘true’ sleep away. This camp is Monday 8am through Friday at 3:30 pm, and then the kids come home each weekend (it’s only ~45 min from our house). I guess it *could* be BOBW (sorry I had to) for the kids, but . . . they will not be escaping our gross weather. On the upside it is MUCH MUCH cheaper than the other camp, so yay!

Running notes: I tried a Maurten gel this morning midway through a 9 mile progression run (that went . . . just okay) and oh my god, I nearly threw up on my driveway. The texture . . . was more akin to a kids’ slime project than anything edible. I recognize Eliud Kipchoge swears by these but hard pass from me.

Finally, I am feeling REALLY tired today (related to the above I am sure) and probably need to go to bed at 8 pm tonight (but won’t. Maybe 9 though).

22 Comments

  • Reply Lori C January 24, 2023 at 3:22 pm

    Try the stingers gels! I forget the actual name, but they have a picture of a bee on them. I like those.(The GU brand is too thick for me!)

    Cute family pic and the stage pic is amazing! Pretty high end for a kids performance! Did she like it enough to do another play?

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger January 24, 2023 at 3:28 pm

      she doesn’t want to do the next one (it’s SpongeBob the Musical and I guess she’s not into that idea!) but she says she’d do one next year 🙂 And Cameron wants to but the youngest age they take is 10 so he has a little while!

  • Reply Deanna January 24, 2023 at 3:47 pm

    I think the elite marathoners mix their gels with fluids because they drink them out of bottles. That may be why Kipchoge can tolerate the gel you tried.
    When I ran my one and only marathon in Chicago I really struggled with fueling on the run. I prefer to run the shorter distances when you can get by on sports drinks only. Keep experimenting – I’m hopeful you’ll find something.

  • Reply Lisa of Lisa's Yarns January 24, 2023 at 4:49 pm

    Way to go, A!

    I had a hard time finding gels that didn’t bother me. I ended up using some chia-seed based ones when I did my last marathon in 2015 (which feels like a lifetime ago!). They did not upset my stomach like some of the other super-sugary ones did. But they have a different texture since they have chia seeds in them, but I surprisingly liked them!

    The new camp option sounds perfect! Kind of nice to have them localish/home on the weekends? I kind of started to look at camps for our oldest but decided to just put him in our public school summer program. We have a slack for daycare and parents were sharing where their kids were going but most had start times of like 8:30 with no before/after care options. I am sure that works for many families, but the latest start time we could swing is 7am since ideally we need to be in our seats working at 7:30… The whole camp-finding process seemed overwhelming. I asked the parents if there was a centralized resource they used but they said they find out about camps through facebook groups, etc. Seems like someone should be able to streamline this process! 😉 But I figure it will be enough of a change to go from daycare to this public school program that our 5yo will be fine w/ being at the same place all summer? He doesn’t know any different anyways! We must be outliers in needing care to start so early since none of the camp options I looked had before care/early start times.

    • Reply Coree January 25, 2023 at 3:16 am

      My kingdom for a centralised camp website… the camp my son loved over October half term is running in February, but they didn’t announce to early January, so I had already booked something!

      The UK is much more casual about these things, so I keep obsessively checking websites to see if dates have been announced.

  • Reply Susan Haven January 24, 2023 at 4:54 pm

    My totally unsolicited advice from someone who coached a marathon class for four years…. if you are not looking for an Olympic Qualifier, the best running snack is …Fig Newtons. Perfect combo of carbs and sweet, and cheap! Also chewing as a stress reliever.

    • Reply Erica February 2, 2023 at 1:24 pm

      I love this because I found them to be so useful when training for my first marathon back in 2013! I’ve been using them every since. I also carry chews rather than gels because my stomach cannot handle that amount of sugar at once while running hard. And I carry some pretzels.

  • Reply Melissa January 24, 2023 at 5:36 pm

    I used medjool dates in my last half-marathon. I slit them, take out the pip then sprinkle some salt in and close back up. Wrap individually in foil and you have an easy to access snack. 1 date is about 18g carb. I’ve also used the chews you can buy.

  • Reply O January 24, 2023 at 5:42 pm

    I am sure technology has improved since the last time I used a gel during a race, but I always used to like the clif shot mocha flavored ones. They have caffeine in them (bonus!) and the chocolate flavor made them less reminiscent of jizz and I never wanted to vomit after eating them. Also fig newtons are amazing race food. Totally agree with that.

  • Reply Chelsea January 24, 2023 at 7:33 pm

    I really like how the Maurten gels sit in my stomach, but I agree the texture is pretty vile. Not sure if you had a caffeinated one, but they are even worse because they have a bitter aftertaste. Maurten also makes a drink mix that you could try if you really wanted. I actually find that it is actually slightly grosser than the gels unless it’s really, really cold, but it’s handy because you can get some hydration at the same time and carry fewer gels. For my last marathon, I drank the Maurten 320 for the first 9 miles and then pitched my bottle and took the Maurten gels every 3 miles after that.

    For actual taste, I like Honey Stinger gels, but I typically only use them in training.

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger January 24, 2023 at 8:18 pm

      I honestly don’t think I want to try again. Might try ucan or hammer (I used to use the latter)

      • Reply Kristie January 24, 2023 at 11:12 pm

        I tell myself it’s like weird jello 😆 I did UCAN for a training block, and the powder is pretty chalky, but I haven’t tried their gels yet. I like the concept of the slow-release carbs. Hammer used to make one that reminded me of Nutella.

      • Reply Coco January 25, 2023 at 12:39 am

        Ucan gel has terrible after taste. I throwed them all.

  • Reply Grateful Kae January 24, 2023 at 8:17 pm

    When I used to run long distances, I had the WORST time finding gels that didn’t basically make me want to poop my pants or vomit or both! 😆😆😆 I eventually gave up on gels and wore a little fanny pack during my marathon stuffed with little broken pieces of pretzels and regular gummy bears candy. I just munched on a couple of them every mile or so and that seemed to work really well for me! Saw it recommended on some runners forum or a runners magazine back in the day.

  • Reply Kristie January 24, 2023 at 11:09 pm

    To chime in on the race nutrition conversation, everyone tolerates things differently. I’ve tried a lot over the years, and for marathons I prehydrate the night before with Maurten 320 (liquid) and 160 (also liquid) 3 hrs before the race. I start gels 5 miles in and take one every 5 miles or so. I’ve done Maurten and Honey Stingers. I much prefer the taste/texture of the latter but I can handle either one. I’ve never eaten dates on the run, but they are my go-to pre-run food on regular training days. I put some almond butter inside and sprinkle with cinnamon 😋

    • Reply KGC January 25, 2023 at 9:18 am

      I second the dates! I eat them before (and sometimes during). I like to put peanut butter or almond butter on mine, too. And to echo a commenter above…fig newtons! I had a 16 mile trail race that served them and I swear it was the best fuel I’ve had.
      (but I also have a fairly strong stomach before/during a run and don’t mind chewing and am generally not running fast)
      Unfortunately, fueling seems to be such an individual thing that it’s really just a lot of trial and error.

  • Reply Coco January 25, 2023 at 12:37 am

    I loved the gel… as I used to use gel that was too sweet. Did you freeze it before taking out? I like it when it’s like jelly not when mushy. What fuel were you using before?

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger January 25, 2023 at 5:39 am

      skratch gummies. just not sure i will be able to chew well enough during a race.

  • Reply Melanie Goldsmith January 25, 2023 at 9:50 am

    My nephew just performed in the SpongeBob the Musical for his high school play. Was cute I guess but long. I’ve never watched SpongeBob so maybe that’s why it was so so. Glad she enjoyed this one!

  • Reply Jenna January 25, 2023 at 10:59 am

    Agree that Maruten is vile. I just had a similar reaction during a long run a few weeks ago. They came free in some promotional bag and it was absolutely disgusting. I really like the maple syrup ones. They texture is very similar to actual maple syrup (more like a liquid than a gel) and they did not bother my stomach at all.

  • Reply Jenna January 25, 2023 at 11:03 am

    Maple syrup brand is UnTapped.

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger January 25, 2023 at 12:22 pm

      Thank you! I do like real maple syrup so I may order some!

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