Leadville 100 Educational Series: Post-Leadville Fueling & Hydration
By The Feed.
The Race Across the Sky is all wrapped up...but that doesn't mean the care of our body is. Often, the time following a massive event such as Leadville is when athletes are vulnerable and can greatly benefit from a solid nutrition plan. Part 4 of the L100 Series is here to help you get back on your feet faster.
After you have had a moment to stop, breathe, and take in your amazing accomplishment it is time to tackle the last important key of fueling your day. Your recovery nutrition. It's critical to not only start replenishing the tank as it’s very low on fuel, but to also aid in your body's recovery processes. After finishing a hard effort such as Leadville our muscles desperately need protein and carbohydrates.
Recovery Shake
We know it can be hard to take in more fuel following your race, and the easiest way to overcome this is by using a drink mix that provides you with a liquid source of protein and carbohydrates. This is your first goal. We recommend getting this in within 30-60 minutes of finishing your race. This window of time is when our muscles act like sponges to soak up all the nutrients they are craving!
Your goal should be to get in around:
- 20 grams of protein -> helps improve what's called muscle protein synthesis, or your body’s ability to replenish your muscles
- 60 to 80 grams of carbohydrates -> helps to begin restoring your body’s glycogen stores
Some great options include Flow Formulas or REGO from SIS, but you can also make your own with the nutrient-dense SwissRX Total Recovery or NEVERSECOND's Whey Protein.
Pro Tip: have your crew at the finishing line with your ice cold recovery drink mixed up… and while you sip on that, make sure to thank your crew!
Hydration
Throughout this time while you refuel, it is also important to keep hydrating! Dehydrated muscles have a more difficult time recovering. This means you will want to focus on getting in fluid with electrolytes, too. A liter of ice cold salty electrolyte drink mix can be very refreshing after so many hours of sweet carbohydrate drink mix and gels! A surefire way to get back on track is an LMNT mixed into some ice cold water.
Now, Food!
After you have had your recovery drink, it is time to find some food. Your second goal should be to get a meal within about 2 hours of finishing your race. This will continue to aid in the recovery process and hopefully by this time your stomach is feeling better and you are able to eat more solid food.
One of our personal favorites is thick crust pizza… it's packed with carbs, fat, and protein - what more could you ask for! However, if this isn’t your style you want to make sure you are still focusing on getting a nutrient dense meal that has carbohydrates, protein, and fat. And don’t forget to keep hydrating throughout the remainder of the day!