It's All About Recovery

After J.T.'s big Saturday workour/race he left it out there wondering
how do you recover faster! Thats just it! Recovery is such an
important aspect to racing and training because you are only able to
perform at the level you recover and fuel your body. My husband and I
are really conscious of this because of his marathon training in the
summer and fall and all the marathon ski racing we do.

The last issue of The Master Skier ,Mid-season 2004/2004, has three
really good articals pertaining to recovery one is called "The Need
for Recovery" by Steve Born, "Putting Nutrition on the Table" by
Donna Marlor and "Fueling up for a Marathon" by Scott Loomis. These
articles really lay out the importance with more details in good
nutrition and recovery.

From my own knowledge and experiences I can offer some ideas in short.

1. Directly after a race, liquify with sports drink like Poweraid
about 16-20oz right after a big workout or race. This quickly
replaces glycogen and fluids. This is really key. Liquids are easily
digested and quick to enter the system. Also, have a Power Bar, Luna
Bar or the like that has a combination of carbos and protein. DO NOT
rely on what the races offer for there post race food. The last race
we participated in only had water, coffee, apples (90 cal 0 protein)
and cookies (which were gone after the first 30 or so skiers finished)
and those rare Nature Valley Granola Bars! Then at the awards we had
potato chips and pretzels! That was supposed to be lunch. All that for
a $50 entry fee each!

2. Eat regularly in the following hours and focusing on Carbos and
Proteins. In the 24 hrs after a race aim for 4.5g of carbs per # and
1g of protein for # of body weight. That may seem like a lot and it
is! If your race is during or finishes just before lunch, don't skip
it. A good pasta or potato dish would be ideal at this time. This is
no time to skip meals or try to lose weight. Have a late lunch then a
late dinner. But don't put off lunch for dinner.

3. Protein Smoothies: We use Whey Protein (Met RX is a good brand) we
make chocolate milk (23g protein in the powder plus 8g in milk) or a
smoothie here is a great recipe:
1 8oz yogurt
1 cup milk
1 banana cut up
2 scoops protein powder
Blend- thats over 40g of protein!! You can mix oj or other fruit in
that you like. In the days following the race focus on proteins (1g/#
of body weigh)with a balance of carbs. Not necessarily pasta and
potatoes at this time. Fruits, veggies are good choices. Until about
mid week, we really have our proteins and then about Wed or Thurs thru
Friday we ramp up the carbos to get a build up of glycogen stored for
the next marathon on Saturday!

4. Lots of Liquids! Water! Water! Water! A lack of it will leave your
energy flat.

5. Extra hours of sleep. If you don't get to sleep in, go to bed
earlier.

6. Don't have empty calories. There is barely enough time to get the
good stuff so stick with that and forget the rest!

7. If you aren't the meal planner or food planner in your household,
you need to take charge of your own fuel supply! It will benefit
everyone!

I hope all these tips help you get recovered faster, leave you feeling
less sore, more energy and ready for the next workout! Good luck
racing! AmyTodd

I've been thinking about Jay's story about recovery after he did two races,
one week apart.

I'm a middle to back-of-the-pack skier so I don't have the same level of
race experience as Jay does. I do listen and take notes, though.

A few years ago I hosted 4 Russians at my home in the Twin Cities and gave
them a ride up to the Birkie in Hayward, WI. All four were top level
Worldloppet skiers, and one of them was none other than Lubov Egorova,
6-time gold medal winner in the Olympics and accused doper.

They were traveling around the world doing ski marathons every weekend.
During the week, their workouts consisted of nothing more than a 45 minute
ski or run. That's it. It was explained to me that if you go over 45 minutes
during a workout, your glycogen stores will be used again. A person needs to
have enough time after a race to re-build those glycogen stores in the
muscles. This relates very closely to what Amy describes below.

Greg Fangel
MN Mora Vasaloppet next




"Amy Todd" wrote in message
om...
After J.T.'s big Saturday workour/race he left it out there wondering
how do you recover faster! Thats just it! Recovery is such an
important aspect to racing and training because you are only able to
perform at the level you recover and fuel your body. My husband and I
are really conscious of this because of his marathon training in the
summer and fall and all the marathon ski racing we do.

The last issue of The Master Skier ,Mid-season 2004/2004, has three
really good articals pertaining to recovery one is called "The Need
for Recovery" by Steve Born, "Putting Nutrition on the Table" by
Donna Marlor and "Fueling up for a Marathon" by Scott Loomis. These
articles really lay out the importance with more details in good
nutrition and recovery.

From my own knowledge and experiences I can offer some ideas in short.

1. Directly after a race, liquify with sports drink like Poweraid
about 16-20oz right after a big workout or race. This quickly
replaces glycogen and fluids. This is really key. Liquids are easily
digested and quick to enter the system. Also, have a Power Bar, Luna
Bar or the like that has a combination of carbos and protein. DO NOT
rely on what the races offer for there post race food. The last race
we participated in only had water, coffee, apples (90 cal 0 protein)
and cookies (which were gone after the first 30 or so skiers finished)
and those rare Nature Valley Granola Bars! Then at the awards we had
potato chips and pretzels! That was supposed to be lunch. All that for
a $50 entry fee each!

2. Eat regularly in the following hours and focusing on Carbos and
Proteins. In the 24 hrs after a race aim for 4.5g of carbs per # and
1g of protein for # of body weight. That may seem like a lot and it
is! If your race is during or finishes just before lunch, don't skip
it. A good pasta or potato dish would be ideal at this time. This is
no time to skip meals or try to lose weight. Have a late lunch then a
late dinner. But don't put off lunch for dinner.

3. Protein Smoothies: We use Whey Protein (Met RX is a good brand) we
make chocolate milk (23g protein in the powder plus 8g in milk) or a
smoothie here is a great recipe:
1 8oz yogurt
1 cup milk
1 banana cut up
2 scoops protein powder
Blend- thats over 40g of protein!! You can mix oj or other fruit in
that you like. In the days following the race focus on proteins (1g/#
of body weigh)with a balance of carbs. Not necessarily pasta and
potatoes at this time. Fruits, veggies are good choices. Until about
mid week, we really have our proteins and then about Wed or Thurs thru
Friday we ramp up the carbos to get a build up of glycogen stored for
the next marathon on Saturday!

4. Lots of Liquids! Water! Water! Water! A lack of it will leave your
energy flat.

5. Extra hours of sleep. If you don't get to sleep in, go to bed
earlier.

6. Don't have empty calories. There is barely enough time to get the
good stuff so stick with that and forget the rest!

7. If you aren't the meal planner or food planner in your household,
you need to take charge of your own fuel supply! It will benefit
everyone!

I hope all these tips help you get recovered faster, leave you feeling
less sore, more energy and ready for the next workout! Good luck
racing! AmyTodd