It is the most wonderful, miraculous, non-intuitive beverage in the world. I've read about it being the perfect recovery food many times -- and scoffed at the idea in almost every instance. But after falling prey to lightheadedness and nausea after long runs (the result of not taking in some kind of food within 30 minutes or less of stopping), I thought I'd give it a try.
Let me say that there is absolutely nothing I want to put in my mouth after a really long run. And by really long, I mean 15 miles or more. A distance like that makes me feel like my stomach is eating itself. I feel so empty that I feel sick. It reminds me of early pregnancy -- the times when I felt so miserably queasy and knew the only way to feel better, ironically, was to make myself eat. It seems like exactly the wrong thing to do ... until it works.
That's how chocolate milk after a long run was for me. Even though I couldn't think of anything that sounded GOOD to put in my body after a long run, I could think of plenty of things that sounded better than chocolate milk. I tried many of them, without a lot of success. (If success as defined as "not feeling like barfing is imminent for a couple hours after a run.") Some foods helped; some seemed to make a bad situation even worse.
And then I tried the chocolate milk. Not only did it taste and feel surprisingly good going down, it totally calmed my stomach and helped pave the way for real food -- which, as I learned, should be consumed no more than an hour after the chocolate milk, otherwise the fantastic anti-queasy effect is totally negated and I'm back at square one.
For these last few super-long runs, I've been adding to the chocolate milk: I've tried bananas, rice cakes, Cheerios, frosted Cheerios, corn chips ... do you see the trend here? It's pretty much straight carbs. I don't know if the added foods are helping, but they're definitely not hurting. And I don't know if I'd still feel fine if I just went with straight chocolate milk; it just seemed to me that, since I was running farther and longer, I should increase the amount of calories I jammed down my gullet immediately after the run. (And again, by "immediately," I mean "within half an hour at the absolute most.")
I also have to be careful about what I eat after the chocolate milk has primed my pump and I'm ready for an actual meal. It has to have a significant amount of protein, but not a ton of fat -- otherwise I am on the diarrhea train (sorry for the TMI). Same for spice; it's got to be pretty mild for me to stay off the train whose name I won't mention again. Carbs are still important ... but if I focus too much on them and leave protein in the back seat, I end up feeling weird and woozy for the rest of the day. So far, I'm loving stuff like beef and barley soup, beef stew, chicken stew ... hmm, lots of soups and stews.
The last thing I'll say is that I'm realizing more and more how important it is to have a food plan BEFORE I head out for a long run. After I've knocked myself out is not the time to brainstorm about what would be good to eat or -- worse yet -- get into a bunch of involved food prep. I know from past experience that, if I have to figure out what to eat and spend a bunch of time making it after a really long run, I will keep putting it off because I am so tired, and end up feeling like crap. What I aim for now is making sure I've got chocolate milk fixin's and some kind of snack at the ready for when I get home, plus a plate of something that I can microwave about an hour later. Not having to think about it is total heaven.
My friend and fellow runner Letterpress N passed along a couple yummy-sounding recipes to me, saying she'd gotten them from a nutritionist who recommended them as ideal post-run meals. Truth be told, I haven't tried either one of them yet -- but I hope to one day. In the meantime, I'll paste them here, directly from Letterpress N's email:
Sesame Noodle Salad
8 oz Cooked whole grain noodles (I use buckwheat soba noodles)
3 Tblso Tahini (Sesame paste)
1 tblsp Peanut Butter (almond, cashew)(I use regular peanut butter)
1 tsp Maple syrup
2 tblsp Brown rice vinegar
2 tblsp Soy Sauce (Tamari or Shoyu)
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1 tblsp Water
Cook noodles according to package directions. Make sauce: Combine remaining ingredients (sometimes it helps to heat the nut butter in the microwave for a few seconds) and stir well. Add to noodles and mix well. Enjoy.
Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango
- 1 cup quinoa (about 6 ounces)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mango chutney, chopped if chunky
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 cup chopped peeled mango plus mango spears for garnish
- 1 cup chopped unpeeled English hothouse cucumber
- 5 tablespoons chopped green onions, divided
- 2 cups (packed) baby spinach
- (optional) I also put in chopped red bell pepper
Cook quinoa in medium pot of boiling salted water over medium heat until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Drain well; cool. Transfer to medium bowl.
Meanwhile, whisk oil and next 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
Add chopped mango, cucumber, 4 tablespoons green onions, and 1/4 cup dressing to quinoa; toss to coat. Divide spinach between 2 plates. Spoon quinoa salad over spinach. Garnish with mango spears and 1 tablespoon green onions. Drizzle with remaining dressing; serve.
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