Product Review: Gu Roctane

I admit I'm a late comer to the Roctane line of products from GU. I've seen their wrappers on the streets at quite a few races, but hadn't yet tried them due to the caffeine content. I try to minimize my caffeine intake when I can. Last weekend I found the Pineapple flavor Roctane at a local store and was excited to read it had no caffeine. I bought it and got to try it out yesterday during my run.

What it looks like:
Similar packaging to regular GU with the exception of the label design and the "Roctane" label diagonally across the front. The gel itself is also similar in consistency and appearance to regular GU.

Flavors available:
Blue Berry Pomegranate, Vanilla Orange, Pineapple.

Nutritional content per serving (1 packet) according to the label:
Calories: 100
Carbs: 25 grams
Sugars: 5 grams
Sodium: 125 grams
Potassium: 55 milligrams
Calcium (amount not noted)
Amino Acid Blend: Leucine, Valine, Isoleucine, Histadine: 1220 milligrams
OKG: ornithine Alpha ketoglutarate: 480 milligrams
Caffeine: 35 milligrams (0 in Pineapple flavor)

How to Use It:
GU recommends taking 1 serving 15 minutes before training and then every 30 - 45 minutes afterwards, with each serving followed by a "few sips of fluid".

What's different between regular GU and Roctane?
Roctane has amino acids, in other words, the building blocks of protein, and regular GU does not. GU reports that histidine helps buffer lactic acid and that the other amino acids aid in recovery, provide another source of fuel and help reduce serotonin levels. The OKG is a complex of amino acids that GU reports limits muscle tissue breakdown during strenuous exercise so one can go longer and recover faster.
The amount of calories, carbs, sugar are the same.
The amount of amino acids, sodium (70 milligrams difference), potassium (10 milligrams difference), and caffeine (15 milligrams difference) are higher in Rocatane.
Original GU has antioxidant vitamins C and E. Roctane does not.
Roctane costs more.

Taste:
I thought the Pineapple flavor was delicious and with no aftertaste.

My Overall Thoughts:
Like all components of nutrition, I think each person has to do some trial and error to determine what works best for her or him. This product is marketed towards endurance exercise. Performance wise, this product worked for me as well as others. I would have to use it on a longer run to see if it improves my recovery time. The taste, though, was great.

Now onto my run report. After dropping off my kids at school, I drove a bit to an area with paths that wind through neighborhoods and parks for my run. The 10 miles felt slow, though my legs felt decent. I worked on forefoot striking the first third of the run and found it really works your calves in a different way. When I get tired during longer runs I am a heel striker and am working on improving that. A few interesting things happened during my workout. At one point, a Frisbee golfer shouted as his Frisbee veered off its intended course towards me. I ducked in the nick of time. Whew! At another point of the run, my path was blocked by a filming crew which took over 2 parking lots and a soccer field. I'm not sure what they were filming, but there were kids and a guy dressed as a coach standing on a soccer field. There was a yellow sign reading "Soccer Tournament" on the bleachers. There were a lot of cameras, lights, light reflectors and chairs about in the parking lot adjacent to the soccer field. In the next parking lot there was an RV with wardrobe and a food truck with tables and chairs outside of it. I had to divert my path a bit, but it was an interesting aspect to my run nonetheless. As the runs are getting longer, I admit that I'm starting to wonder why I signed up for the full marathon and not the half. I had forgotten how much more time is dedicated towards training with the full. I know I'll be glad I did the full after the event, so I'll keep focusing on that.