I have started my base training for my crazy challenge next year and in effect, am 4 weeks into it at this stage. It involves training twice a day, watching what I eat, sleeping well, etc. All basic stuff to achieve the 4 pillars of endurance sport:

Aerobic capacity
Nutrition
Flexibility
Recovery

If I can get those 4 things right, all else seems to just fall into place.

But man, you get tired. I have been a Whasp ambassador since before there was Whasp (read: when there had to be guinea pigs to test gels, I was one) and have continued a loving relationship with the brand. I recommend it to everyone I know as it works. There is not 1 gel on the earth which tastes great after the 10th one, and at Ironman, I chomp around 20 of these bad boys during the 9 odd hours it takes me to complete the race. I go for what digest properly, and what works. Whaspgel does both.

I took a side step from the official Whasp team around a year ago to pursue this Urban Ninja vibe, and in so, had to cut my Whasp “allowance” per month. I felt the effects on my training (read: not hitting the sessions quite like I was when I was on the magenta 50mg gels) and may have mentioned this to The Owner of Whasp. I may have even complained.

a little.

I may have been tired ok!

To my UTTER surprise there was a knock on my door last week, and there was a man with a box.

“Delivery for Mr de Jongh”.

Over the moon, I thought it may be something from Puma, but indeed, it was way better. It was a fresh stack of Whaspgel. I was about the close the door when Delivery Boy chirped “Want to help me carry the other boxes?”

There was a note on the first box, which I had missed earlier. It read: “For Brett & Raoul – now you can Roco on every session till the end of the year. Mad love. Whaspgel”

4 boxes later and we have enough product to keep us going till the end of the year. It involves a monthly “Basic Pack” as Whasp calls it, of the following;

One bottle for training over 60min sessions.

One bottle for recovery of sessions over 90min or meal replacement after morning swims.

My favorite pink gels. 50mg caffeine per gel. I use them on bikes over 2 hours, and runs over 1 hour. On my focussed long rides, its 1 every hour. Then the grand daddy product:

On the long rides and runs, I make sure to carry at least 2 of these for the last 2 gels of my session. The bit of protein towards the end is a huge help for me towards the end, and seems to put a bit of spark in my step. Barring that, a Green Mumba 100mg caffeine gel always lifts “the vibe”.

Want to know whats in the gels… I have a handy table format comparison chart for you…

#BOOM! now that’s music to my ears.

thanks Whasp, for the 4 x month packs. They will be done before the end of the year, I assure you. Just this morning, I cracked a gel at 70min into a 90min indoor session, polished a bottle of Naartjie AminoCarb, and smashed a serving of ProAmino Strawberry, with some Recoup in, for good measure, in the shower.

That’s how we roll around these parts.