Carbohydrates get all the attention in distance runningcircles. Carbo-loading is a well-known practice before long races. High schoolteams enjoy pasta parties before cross-country races. Most distance runners areconstantly downing carbs. There is no doubt that carbs are important forfueling distance runners, but sometimes carbs overshadow another importantnutritional component: Protein.
Most athletes never consider when exactly they get better.For runners, it is not technically during a run that our muscles gain strength.It is in between runs that we improve. During a workout, we work our muscles sohard that we cause them to tear just a little. After that workout, when we arerelaxing, our bodies fix those tears and rebuild the muscles stronger so thetears won't happen as easily in the future. This is how we get stronger andfaster. The reason protein is so important is because that is the nutrient thatallows our bodies to properly recover. Without protein, athletes would beconstantly breaking down their bodies, but then wouldn't be able to build themback up. So, protein is essential for every distance runner after each workout.
There are many ways to get protein after a run. You couldeat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or some hummus with carrots. For many,though, it is hard to eat food immediately after a workout because ofgastro-intestinal struggles or because it is simply too inconvenient to packfood when traveling to work out. For these runners, liquid nutrition is a goodsolution. Some people like purchasing powder to make a protein shake afterworking out.
One popular brand of protein powder is called "Muscle Milk."Personally, I find protein-specific powders less effective than other forms ofpost-workout nutrition. If a powder contains mostly protein, it is neglectingsome of the other nutrients necessary for the recovery of endurance athletes(such as glycogen). For distance runners looking to drink a powdered shakepost-workout, I recommend finding a shake that is developed specifically forendurance athletes.
Two popular brands are Enduroxand Hammer Recoverite.Both are incredibly effective and have a loyal following. The advantage todrinking a powdered recovery drink is that you do not need to refrigerate it,so you can store it in a locker at a gym or in your car. For those looking fora classic drink that is both delicious and protein-packed, grab a chocolatemilk, which will provide all the protein and carbs you need to recover after aworkout. Regardless of how you get protein, make sure that you take in at leasta small snack within a half an hour of completing a workout, so your body canbegin effectively recovering as soon as possible.
