The volunteers yesterday at Clearwater 70.3 were referring to it as “Gatorade” on the run course as they were offering it to runners on the run course. I guess some habits are hard to break. Poor PR for Gatorade however.
I also had my first taste of the Perform and I was expecting it to taste atrocious after all the negative publicity it received here on the “twitch” but I was actually pleasantly surprised. The orange mango tasted ok. Although I don’t train or race with either Gatorade or Perform, I could use it in a pinch if needed while out on the course.
I had my first taste of it at the expo at Boise 70.3 earlier this year and thought it was pretty good. Then I used it for part of the bike and the run at Clearwater yesterday and it seemed to work great. I like all three flavours and especially like it when it’s cold.
The Berry flavor is NASTY.
Lemon-Lime is decent. Orange Mango is okay.
I also prefer Lemon-Lime Gatordade (the Fruit Punch has too strong of a flavor).
I have been training with it for about a month in prep for IMAZ. I have been drinking it warm during training rides. I don’t love it, but I can drink it without puking.
I love the taste of the berry and orange-mango, but have yet to taste the lemon-lime. I had to use it at IMCDA and had disastrous results, but I blame myself for not bringing my own fuel (EFS. The expo didn’t have any) and not having a chance to get used to the Perform stuff.
I’m gonna use it exclusively this winter and see how it goes.
P.S. I’m sure somebody will jump on me when I said "get used to it. What I meant was I didn’t figure out how much/how often was right for me, like I had done with EFS.
It’s “allright” when it’s cold, but unlike Gatorade, it turns downright disgusting when it reaches room temperature.
This. It does need to be diluted a bit because it is rather sweet and thick.
I’m liking it quite a bit right now; I’ve been using it for several months. It’s okay full strength, but I too prefer it a little diluted. My current mix is two servings Perform (140 cals) and half a serving of carbopro (112 cals) in a normal 24 oz. water bottle. I like this much more than full strength Perform (which would be three servings in that same 24 oz. bottle). While I prefer everything cold, I don’t have a problem with this stuff after it’s been on the sun. I like my mix so much better than full strength that I’ll be putting a couple of bottles in special needs at IMAZ next week even though they have it on the course.
So how do you explain getting sick during training with the stuff??? Am I over-biking my training sessions?
My first two attempts training with it ended with a trip to the bathroom. I lowered the concentration to 2 scoops per 24 oz bottle and was able to complete a hard training session with that mixture. The experience though made me decide to stay away from this stuff. I will be bringing my own highly concentrated mixture of Accelerade to IMAZ.
My guess is fructose. Have you ever had trouble with fructose-based sports drinks before? There’s nothing else in it that is really a typical culprit for “issues.”
I really have not given it that much thought but I will look into it. I would like use it because I believe in using what is on the course but it was a significant change from Gatorade. Anytime you introduce a change there is a chance that it “breaks”. Perform was a solution that replaced Gatorade because of Sponsorship - I understand the reason for the change. To be fair I understand the product underwent “extensive” product testing, but anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that some have actually had GI issues with it.
Yeah, I’m a bit baffled on the GI issues. Looking at the ingredients only, there’s nothing that should cause GI problems for most people. In fact, it looks like a better thought out formulation than Gatorade.
My second thought is to inquire as to what specific kind of maltodextrin they used. I’ve used PowerBar’s regular electrolyte/sports drink (powder) without issue, which has the same C2 blend. But CarboPro gave me serious GI issues.
In any case, my own impression is that PowerBar at least was a more focused company on endurance sport. Gatorade is football/basketball/baseball. I think this should have been a good thing. But maybe not.
Got some with Clearwater registration package. Nasty. Went with water during the race. Got another bottle in the 'chute, and it was a bit better the 2nd time around. I won’t go out of my way to use it, but if it’s all that’s available…