Saturday, February 18, 2012

Why You Should Drink Chocolate Milk After a Tough Workout


Hey!
I’ve been pretty productive today.  My biggest accomplishment so far has been running nine miles.  My training plan suggested running 8 miles, but since I was feeling pretty good and the race is in two weeks, I decided to do nine.  It took me 1 hour and 29 minutes (9:58 pace).
 

At mile 6, I took an energy gel since I was starting to lose steam.  I think it helped.  It did make me really thirsty since it’s so sweet, but that was the only negative thing I noticed.  At nine miles, I started my cool down.  I walked a little bit, then stretched my legs.  Afterwards, I iced my knees because they were a little stiff.  And by ice, I mean frozen corn and peas. :)

Did you notice that my Nike plus report is green now?  That's because I made it to the green level! That means I have ran 162 miles with Nike Plus, and 104 of them I ran in 2012.  That seems like pretty big news to me!

To refuel after the run, I made a turkey and cheese sandwich with carrot sticks and a side of cottage cheese.   

I love toasted bread!
I mixed up a big glass of chocolate milk to drink.  When I was in college, I took a sports nutrition class and I remember learning that chocolate milk is the perfect thing to drink after a workout.  The ratio of carbs, protein, and fat, is just what your body needs to start recovery.

Fitness magazine says, “Compared to plain milk, water, or most sports drinks, [chocolate milk] has double the carbohydrate and protein content, perfect for replenishing tired muscles. Its high water content replaces fluids lost as sweat, preventing dehydration. Plus it packs a nutritional bonus of calcium, and includes just a little sodium and sugar -- additives that help recovering athletes retain water and regain energy." Source

As an added bonus, it’s delicious, and it really brings me back to my childhood when I used to chug chocolate milk like it was nobody’s business.


In unrelated news, I just bought myself a 5 quart cast iron pot and I plan on making some bread in it.  I just made the dough and now it needs to rise for 18 hours since I’m trying out a “no
knead” method.  I’ll post about that tomorrow!