Recovery Foods/Drinks Suggestions

Muff Richardson

Came back from a long run and was ready to guzzle down a lucozade recovery signle portion mix and looked at the ingredients for no specific reason...saw it was 75% sugar, i know sugar is a carb but the idea of consuming a relatively heavy powder sachet which was 75% sugar really didn't appeal to so they've been binned...(bought off wiggle on a special sometime ago in case anyone is wondering)....so anyway, outside of bananas and the usual recommendations what's your recommended recovery drink or food??? I remember reading here sometime ago that some of the seasoned runners swore by those Mars drinks...yet to try them...looking for other ideas as I start to get into the serious longs runs on a plan...

Ososlo

If I'm lazy I'll have a chocolate milk yazoo drink but if I've prepared properly I'll have water with a nuun tablet mixed in and an free range egg sandwich on wholemeal bread once I get back to the car. If I get home quickly after a long slow one I'll have a homemade smoothie with banana, yogurt, chia seeds, apple, pineapple and a few nuts on the side. All these options work for me and I recover very quickly from long slow runs.

menoscemo

Muff Richardson wrote: »

Came back from a long run and was ready to guzzle down a lucozade recovery signle portion mix and looked at the ingredients for no specific reason...saw it was 75% sugar, i know sugar is a carb but the idea of consuming a relatively heavy powder sachet which was 75% sugar really didn't appeal to so they've been binned...(bought off wiggle on a special sometime ago in case anyone is wondering)....so anyway, outside of bananas and the usual recommendations what's your recommended recovery drink or food??? I remember reading here sometime ago that some of the seasoned runners swore by those Mars drinks...yet to try them...looking for other ideas as I start to get into the serious longs runs on a plan...

What do you want a recovery food/drink for? If it's after a particularly long or hard session then sugar/glucose is the best carb as it is quickly absorbed by the muscles immediately after excercise. No point eating a slow release carb as a recovery food/drink....Mars drinks/Yazoo are full of sugar too but sometimes sugar is good.

I wouldn't go taking recovery potions after every run though; just after soemthing that is really taxing (haven't taken one in several months tbh)...

mossym

Ososlo wrote: »

I'll have water with a nuun tablet mixed in s.

why have a nuun tablet after the run?

Ososlo

mossym wrote: »

why have a nuun tablet after the run?

replace lost salts if I've been sweating a lot. Only for long runs like 15 miles plus. Wouldn't bother if I'd been replenishing well on the run. Depends on the day and how I'm feeling.

mossym

Ososlo wrote: »

replace lost salts if I've been sweating a lot. Only for long runs like 15 miles plus. Wouldn't bother if I'd been replenishing well on the run. Depends on the day and how I'm feeling.

ah right, always considered nuun a during the event product, would take on something with carbs/sugar/protien after the run.

bambergbike

I don't need to make myself a classic recovery drink with loads of sugary carbs and a little bit of protein very often because when I come home from a long run or long cycle I'm not usually planning to go straight out and do another long/hard session in the very near future that will require fully topped-off glycogen stores. So I normally just run before breakfast, lunch or dinner and have one of those afterwards. When I make a recovery drink in the blender, it's usually a milkshake with squished snickers flavouring:

Glass of cold milk | 1 frozen banana | 1 teaspoon of honey or caramel | 1 teaspoon of peanut butter | 1 teapoon of cocoa powder

Or a variation with the milk and the banana, but with turmeric and chai spices (instead of cocoa powder) and tahini (instead of peanut butter.)

If I come home very hungry, but don't need to refuel for a tough upcoming session, I'll just look around for anything quick and vaguely healthy that will take the edge off my appetite and stop me hoovering up the entire contents of the fridge in the few minutes I have to wait for my proper meal. Maybe a mug of soup or a glass of tomato juice. Those few minutes are dangerous for my waistline: reason is at risk of going out the window because genuine hunger is paired with a sense of post-run entitlement ("I've earned it"). So seeing whatever I eat and drink in that period as "recovery" food is probably a good strategy for putting a bit of structure on my choices even on days when I'm not hell-bent on replenishing glycogen.

pointer28

Graham Obree says

for energy: Marmalade on Toast

for recovery: Sardines on Toast

mossym

pointer28 wrote: »

Graham Obree says

all the runners just went : Who?

ger664

No we didnt

mossym

ger664 wrote: »

No we didnt

only joking Ger, he's well known enough that a lot will have heard of him, especially those who saw him compete.

on the flipside i bet a lot of the runners could post names of famous runners and i wouldn't have a clue who the hell they were

pointer28

mossym wrote: »

all the runners just went : Who?

Never thought of that!

Anyway, google him, he knows a thing or two about endurance sports.

Completely anti sports drinks, energy gels etc.