Hi Dave Thought we could assist with some info on our products to make you triathlon fueling a little easier. GUd to see you love the Espresso Love flavour, we're all coffee lovers too! Peanut Butter flavour GU gels also contain some fat and protein if you are looking to incorporate those into your fueling plan. GU gels do also contain electrolytes, but best is to combine the gels with the GU Brew Electrolyte Tabs (an effervescent tablet that mixes in your bottle with water) so you have both your energy and hydration needs covered. On the differences between GU and Roctane gels; you're right, the GU and Roctane gels are the same calorie wise, as well as the mix of Fructose to Maltodextrin they contain which makes up the GU Carbohydrate Blend. That is roughly a 1 to 4 ratio of Fructose to Maltodextrin depending on the flavour. This blend works well as it's taken up by the body better than a single carb source and also the Fructose (fruit sugar) uptake is quicker than that of the Maltodextrin (Glucose polymers) so you get some initial and slower releasing energy. Also 100 calories an hour is a good starting point being enough to fuel a slower metabolism but not too much to stress the stomach, thus why it's kept consistent in both products. You can increase the intake if you feel you need more calories (depending on what other calorie sources you use with the gels), best is to try it in training to see what works for you. In a racing situation we find a Roctane gel every 30 minutes works quite well! You can also look at the Roctane drink if you need an all-in-one calorie dense fuel and hydration source, at 240 calories for a 612ml/65g serving. (@Snytjie this could be your solution) On the other differences between the GU and Roctane gels it's explained quite nicely here. Basically Roctane is for a) Hard efforts where you are mostly in the anaerobic zone and b) very long and sustained ultra-endurance efforts (generally 4 hours and up) like the Epic, Sani, Ironman etc. For shorter or easier efforts the normal GU range is better suited and more cost effective as well. The more you enter "the pain cave", the more benefit you will get from the added ingredients in Roctane Roctane gels have: 3 times more Branched Chain Amino Acids 10 times more Histidine (one of the BCAA's) 2-3 times more electrolytes OKG OKG is an anti-catabolic so basically helps prevent muscle breakdown during intense and long endurance activities, so you recover better and have less soreness later on. Amino Acids are also one of the most expensive ingredients in our products (hence the cost jump to Roctane products) and are shown to serve as a fuel source (when taken with carbohydrates), reduce muscle damage, enhance recovery, delay fatigue and can promote muscle buffers to prevent accumulation of lactic acid in muscles during exercise. There is a good article on them here. Shew that's quite a mouthful, but we trust that will help you figure out your triathlon nutrition a little easier! Cheers, The GU Crew. PS. While there's no whiskey flavour in the works (yet!), we have something new on its way, so keep your eyes peeled
