What to Eat After a Run?

In an earlier post we gave advice on what to eat before a run. In this post we’ll detail what to eat after a long run in order to expedite recovery and ensure that you progress in your running. As a general rule of thumb you’ll want to consume replenishing foods/drinks immediately after finishing a run, especially after long runs. In the 30 – 60 minutes following a long run your body is most responsive to absorbing nutrients and consequently it is in that narrow time frame that the greatest gains in accelerating recovery can be made. The body is especially receptive to taking in carbohydrates so that it can store those sugars as muscle glycogen (the form of muscle fuel we all need for endurance performance).

What kinds of food or drink are best after a run?

Ideally you’ll want to consume complex carbohydrates instead of simple (aka processed) carbohydrates found in common sports drinks such as Gatorade. There are a few sources of naturally occurring fluids rich in both simple and complex carbohydrates such as coconut milk/water and chocolate milk (although the chocolate isn’t naturally occurring of course!). A lot of research has come out recently demonstrating that chocolate milk is as good as, if not better than, most laboratory created exercise supplements. You can read more about chocolate milk as a recovery drink in this article and you can read about the nutritional benefits of coconut water here. Perhaps the best part of both chocolate milk and coconut water is that they taste wonderful. The same can’t be said about many laboratory made supplements.

On top of carbohydrates you’ll also need an ample amount of protein to aid in muscle recovery and muscle building. The “ideal” ratio as determined by most studies on the subject of nutrition and endurance training suggests a ratio of 3 parts carbohydrates to 1 part protein. This would explain why chocolate milk is a top contender as a recovery drink since it comes loaded with a ton of carbohydrates and protein in about a 3 x 1 ratio. You can also consume your protein via solids like one of the dozens of available energy/protein bars but it is worth pointing out that it takes longer for your body to break down and digest solids. Keeping in mind that you need to consume recovery foods ideally within 30 minutes of a long training session, it’s ideal if you consume the most important nutrients in fluid form since your body can absorb cold fluids more readily than solids.

If you have an interest in the laboratory made recovery products then take a shot at one of the below options:

• Endurox R4
• Perpeteum
• Accelerade
• Cytomax
• Gatorade G Series
• Heed by Hammer Nutrition
• Gu Recovery Brew

How many calories do I need to eat after a run?

That can depend on many things such as the intensity of the run, the duration of the run, and the size of person. While running the average person will burn somewhere around 100 calories per mile. The average marathoner actually only burns about 3,000 calories so the math pretty much adds up. However, keep in mind that each gram of carbohydrate only counts for 4 calories. So in order to completely replenish your spent glycogen stores (assuming you ran 10 miles and burned around 1,000 calories in the form of carboydrates) You would need to eat somewhere around 250 grams of carbohydrates. A large banana has about 30 grams of carbohydrates in it so you would need to eat the equivalent of about 8 large bananas to fully replenish the 1,000 calories of carbohydrates you burned. I wouldn’t recommend fully restoring spent carbohydrates that way but it gives you a good idea of how much you need to eat if you’re goal is to completely replenish the glycogen you spent. But for the truly adventurous types you can always give it a shot. Dean Karnazes, the Ultra Marathon Man, recently shared that he ate about 20 bananas in one day in which he ran about 45 miles. Clearly that approach helps Dean perform before, during and after a long run.

Final tips on figuring out what to eat after a run

Always remember to hydrate immediately. If you were only ever given one option of what to consume after a long run you should probably go for water. You’re body can go without food much longer than it can go without water. Drink enough fluids so that within 1 hour of finishing your long run your urine begins to return to a normal color and is no longer yellow (a sign of dehydration). Here are some final tips for figuring out what to eat after a run:

• Experiment with different things. Pay close attention to how well you recover within 2-3 hours of finishing a long run and consuming food and drink. Note what settles well in your stomach and also what foods/drinks put pep in your step quicker than other foods. If you finish a long run, eat and drink a few items and then immediately feel like you’ve got the energy to go on another long run, you’re probably on the right track.
• Be sure to get plenty of electrolytes in following a run. You’ll sweat out a lot of sodium and potassium which can lead to cramping or generalized muscle discomfort. Try eating things like chicken noodle soup, pickle juice, bananas, coconut milk, salted peanuts and pretzels to get your sodium levels back up. And of course you can drink recovery mixes like from the list mentioned above.
• Don’t wait any longer than 30 minutes to get food and fluids back in you after a long run. You’ll dramatically extend your recovery time otherwise.
• Lastly, don’t hesitate to ask other experienced runners about what they eat after a long run. Find the runner who consistently runs long training runs or monthly marathons and ask them about their eating habits after a run. Chances are they have figured out a routine that works well for them and can offer some suggestions to you.

Do you have some recommendations on what to consider eating or drinking after a long run? Please share it in the comments field below!