5km run energy boost

Carnmore

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Doing a 5km run on Saturday and need to do a good time.

I run regularly, have a healthy diet and lifestyle yet am lacking in running energy.

I usually get my nutrition from food but what can I take for an energy boost for the run at the weekend?

Preferably from Holland and Barrett
 
I don't think anything from Holland and Barrett is the answer. Why do you need to do a good time? Maybe you're getting yourself too worked up. Plenty more 5Ks if you don't get the time you want this time.
 
5k is aprox 3 miles, don't know what age or fitness level you're in/at and when you say you run regularly that can mean anything. Like someone said, what's your best time for a 5k, 10k, 5 mile, 10 mile, etc, and we might be able to tell you more. Running is a very individual thing, different standards for everyone depending on a lot of things. You certainly shouldn't need any boosters for a 5k. Tell me a bit more about what i've asked you, this is one thing I can help you with but I think you probably need something other than a booster, believe me.
 
When I entered the Great Ireland Run this year, I sent off for the free samples offered to entrants from
https://www.scienceinsport.com/eu/
Whilst I don't run long enough distances to need carbohydrate gels, I did try the caffeine shots. I can't be sure if they helped, but I definitely ran well on the days I took them. Even if it's only a placebo effect, something like that might be worth a try. Don't know where you'd find them on the high street though.
Is it a parkrun you're doing on Saturday, or something more serious?
 
To echo what others have said, I don't think energy drinks/shots will make an ounce of difference to 5k. Sounds to me like a lack of stamina and what made a big difference for me was starting to run longer distances during one of your mid-week runs. So for instance doing a slowish 10k run on Tuesday, mid-paced 5k on Thursday then your 5k "race" parkrun on Saturday. My 5k pace had stagnated for months before I started doing the 10ks...
 
Yep I think your confidence to really push it increases once you know you can go much further
 
I agree you need to be have confidence in your stamina, by doing longer runs some of the time. But I also think it’s important to run faster than your current 5k race pace, at least once a week.
For example you could do a warm up, then a run of say 2 or 3k at faster than race pace, then a cool down. Or you could do an interval session alternating running and jogging.

How did your run go today?
 
I get the feeling that the OP is training pretty hard and there may not be a notable improvement in racing times. Energy drinks may not be the answer. I recommend you get a good medical check-up with prominence given to your heart condition. There might be something hidden that is causing loss of energy. Before you get insulted, I speak from experience. Get your heart checked out fully. (You heard it here first).
 
Doing a 5km run on Saturday and need to do a good time.

I run regularly, have a healthy diet and lifestyle yet am lacking in running energy.

I usually get my nutrition from food but what can I take for an energy boost for the run at the weekend?

Preferably from Holland and Barrett
There's no magic pill for what you're looking for. If there's something missing in your diet then the best advice is to talk to a specialist and get tested to identify what if anything is missing. Iron would be the first thing that would come to mind if energy is low ... but a health professional is your best bet rather than taking advice from randomers on the internet.
 
Bit late now, but over a 5k, you're not going to come anywhere close to exhausting the muscles' glycogen stores assuming you're well rested and have even a reasonable diet. You should steer clear of gels or carb powders unless you have trialed them in intensive training sessions as they can cause gastric distress. Gels in particular need to be consumed with the correct amounts of water to ensure proper dilution, once you get towards 10% concentration of sugars, absorption into the bloodstream slows.

3-4 jelly babies contain the same energy as a gel, are a lot cheaper and easier on the stomach. For a 5k, a good warm up and mental preparation will have a greater impact than any energy source you consume before or during.
 
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