About Energy Drinks (part #2)

I was at a nearby Running Room store Saturday and grabbed some energy drink supplements which I had heard about from listening to Coach Brett's podcast:

• eLoad FLY (carbohydrate fuel)
• Nuun Active Hydration (electrolytes)
• Chia Seeds (proteins & fat)

While I'm still trying to formulate (I got the Chia at another store BTW) the most appropriate drinks for my running and cycling (see previous post on the subject), I though I'll give these a try during my Sunday's ride and assembled the drink as follow:

• Russian Earl Grey brewed overnight in 800 ml of filtered water
• 3 tablespoon of Agave Syrup
• 1 Nuun tab (orange flavoured)
• 1.5 scoop of carbohydrate powder (so 120 kcal of carbs)
• 2 tablespoon of grounded chia seeds (which may have been too much according to a twitter exchange I had with Coach Brett)

The Orange flavour of the Nuun tab was very pronounced, and I probably should have used a tea that marry better with it; but overall the drink didn't taste bad and I didn't get any stomach issue as the result of consuming it (yay!). As the weather was on the cool side, by the time we were done our 2:47:00 ride I had only consumed about half of it and finished the bottle on my drive back home.

So, did it help? ... Maybe. My legs felt a little less sore and I didn't feel hungry for a while after the ride (I skipped breakfast when I came home and instead had a late small lunch before an early dinner couple of hours after) ... but that could have been coincidental. This week long run (+28 km) may serve as a better test platform for that drink ...

to be continued ...

About Energy Drinks (part #1)

According to my wife, I have been obsessing a lot about energy drinks lately ... From all that I have seen and heard (in articles and podcasts) what you drink during a workout (or a race) is very important for anything longer than one hour so it's definitely an interesting subject for an inspiring endurance athlete, therefore my OCD.

So what's the deal with energy drinks? What is their purpose? 

• combat dehydratation
• replenish electrolytes (necessary for muscles)
• metabolic stimulation
• refuel the body (for continuing efforts)

While there is a LOT of various sport energy drinks on the market that will fills this list of requirements, I found that it is more interesting to come-up with your own recipe. It will also be better suited to your particular needs (e.g some energy drinks pack a lot of sugar) and tastes and probably cheaper overall. Such an home-made drink should be based on the following contents:

• water (filtered, e.g. with a Brita filter)
• calcium/sodium/potassium additive
• caffeine (from coffee or tea)
• fast and slow acting carbohydrates as well as some proteins

Depending on the type of workout and the duration, the amount of water, electrolytes and fuel to be mixed will, obviously, vary.

to be continued ...