By: Diana Davis, RDN Without Limits Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
April 17, 2020

Athletes need to be intentional about the way they fuel, hydrate, and refuel around the “training window.” This refers to the block of time just before, during, and after any hard work-out or long run, defined as 90 minutes or longer. During this training window, what you eat and drink makes all the difference in the quality of the workout, how well you will tolerate the training, and the recovery and adaptation your body and your muscles make in response to the work you are doing. I work with clients to help them find what is their best pre-workout meal, which sports drinks or electrolyte replacements meet their fluid and electrolyte needs, and which carbohydrate foods, gels or chew they can tolerate while training and how to properly recover after they are done.

The immediate need for a recovery drink which is ideally consumed within 30 minutes after finishing a long run or long workout is best satisfied by a new product: Runners Essentials Long Run Recovery shake. The nutrition profile of this shake matches what research shows an athlete needs after a long effort (90 minutes or more). It contains a combination of fast and slow carbohydrates to replace spent glycogen stores, in a ratio of 3:1 with high quality protein, along with branched chain amino acids to repair muscle damage, electrolytes potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium to replace sweat losses. 

But what makes this recovery shake perfect for endurance athletes is the combination of 5 special ingredients not found in any other product on the market: L-Glutamine to reduce post-exercise fatigue; Alpha GPC to enhance brain function and increase human growth hormone; L-Theanine to promote relaxation and mental calmness; Ashwagandha to decrease exercise induced muscle damage; and Tart Cherry to reduce inflammation, lessen muscle soreness and pain and speed strength recovery. The science behind each of these ingredients is convincing and in combination they facilitate recovery, strength, energy and relaxation. It is a new product that I am shaking up after all my long runs! Click here to read more about Runners Essential Long Run Recovery Nutritional Shake.