Hi, my name is Kati and I have a liquid shot problem. I have never been a gel eater. Even at mile 9 of a half marathon, running out of energy with no other nutrition available. I just can’t do it. For the last few years I have used different gummy versions of gels, Luna Moons, Shot Blox and Carbboom chews. They worked just fine, but it’s not all that pleasant to have to chew them up with a dry mouth while you are panting.
When our mama bear told us that using First Endurance products was part of our sponsorship deal I was a bit nervous. Celiac makes my stomach finicky to put it mildly. My first interaction with First Endurance was when I emailed Carole (our mama bear who is responsible for making our team, well, awesome) asking if the First Endurance product was gluten free. I didn’t get a response back from Carole, I got an email directly from Robert Kunz, the co-founder of First Endurance. He assured me all products are gluten free. Simply Awesome!
I decided to give liquid shot a try, assuming my husband would probably be the one to use it. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Liquid shot is not a gel. From the First Endurance website:
It’s called a liquid shot because it doesn’t contain gelling agents that can slow down absorption and digestion. Features include our exclusive 400-calorie supercharged endurance formula that boasts over 1500mg electrolytes, 1000mg amino acids and 100 grams of simple & complex carbohydrates, all in clinically effective doses.
When refrigerated Liquid Shot has the consistency of hot fudge topping. BUT instead of fudge, it’s my favoritest flavor – VANILLA. I love, love, love vanilla. I was a little nervous to use it warm after sitting in my pocket for an hour. Turns out I like it even more then. Warm it has the consistency of Hershey’s syrup. This stuff is like candy to me.
Usage: I use my liquid shot in 1 oz. servings which end up being 100 calories. On a long bike I take 1 oz. per hour, along with drinking a third to one half of my 200 calorie EFS drink. When I hit the run I take a flask and sip on the liquid shot every 15 to 20 min., coming out to about 75 calories per hour. That is, in a nutshell all there is to my half ironman nutrition. It’s so easy, which is of course what makes it work.
Now I must admit to my other uses of liquid shot. When kept cool in the fridge, liquid shot is almost like icing to me, but not as horribly sweet. My husband, who I thought would be the one to use all my liquid shot doesn’t like it. Seems he’s more of a chocolate guy, and prefers the gel consistency. He walked in the kitchen one Sat. afternoon to find me with a serving spoon full of liquid shot half eaten. Busted. Then last night I was baking cookies for my JMU tri club kids that are leaving for Nationals today. Those cookies smelled SOOOOO good, but alas they were filled with gluten so they were off limits for me. With no other sweet and yummy treats I got out my serving spoon . . . I think I might be developing a bit of a liquid shot problem!
I would like to again point out that First Endurance is one of my sponsors. They provide a discount on their products to me. I will also say that if I didn’t like it, and wouldn’t buy it at full price without sponsorship I wouldn’t be reviewing it here.
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