Monday, September 12, 2011

How Do You Like Them Fins?

I have compression sleeves!!
 
And I'm starting to look like the little mermaid!


 We are almost like twins, right? HAHA!

Ok... maybe that second part isn't entirely true, but I've got a good start to my outfit for the Disney Princess Half. And, it's all thanks to Kristin @HollyWood Runs. She did a Zensah sleeve give away and I won! Woohoo! Since we live relatively close to each other, she decided to stop by my store to drop off my prize to me. It was nice to catch up with her again as I know she has been too busy to keep up with her blogging. (Which is sad, because her blog is a lot of fun!) As soon as I was on break, I slipped my sleeves on and I felt instant relief and comfort for my legs (feet not so much, retail is a killer, but my legs definitely felt awesome). I cannot wait to use them on my long run tomorrow!!

My entire running schedule has, once again, been thrown out of whack because of work and rehearsal. But, I've stopped worrying over it. I have just enough time to run 13.5 miles before my rest week for the half marathon so I'm not going to stress. Stressing over getting my long runs in makes me not enjoy the actual runs and I don't want that to happen.

On another note, I was reading an article in Runner's World that mentioned how a study was done on athletes who drank chocolate milk after intense workouts. It was quite interesting, so I figured I would share it with you and get y'alls opinions on the matter. The article stated that: "About 30 men and women participated in a four-and-a-half week training program at the University of Texas at Austin that included cycling hard for an hour a day, five days a week. Right after their ride and again an hour later, subjects drank chocolate milk or a carb beverage. The 2011 study found that chocolate milk? drinkers gained more lean muscle and lost more body fat (thanks to milk's protein) than those downing the carb drink.
ACTION: To help shed body fat and boost muscle gains, follow long workouts with a tall glass of chocolate milk." (source)

One of the blogs I follow,  RDM (Running Diva Mom) has used chocolate milk as her refueling beverage of choice for a good long while and she loves it! She was even contacted by Refuel with Chocolate Milk to see if they could sponsor her for a race. How cool is that?! Read all about it on her blog HERE. So, apparently, chocolate milk is the thing to drink after a long run or race. But what about for those of us who can't have chocolate? (Chocolate literally makes me ill. It sucks.) Will regular milk do? How about strawberry? Or should I just stick with a Gotein powder or Gatorade?

7 comments:

Tricia said...

Love the compression gear!

chocolate milk is my go to recovery drink for long runs. Its the ONLY time I drink it :)

Vanessa @ Gourmet Runner said...

I just tried some compression sleeves this weekend too and I'm in LOVE! I don't like milk so I skip this, but I have heard a lot about how good it is after runs!

Lisa said...

both of my running partners drink chocolate milk after runs. Our dietitian also says it's the perfect recovery drink. Strawberry milk would do much like the chocolate except without the small caffeine boost. It's the carbs, protein, fat, and caffeine that makes it perfect.

Lisa said...

Ohhhh and I LOVE the color of your compression sleeves - NICE!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Love compression sleeves and socks!

I avoid milk in general, but the reason that chocolate milk is so highly regarded after a workout is due to the ratio of carbs to protein, not really the chocolate itself. You could just as easily do a vanilla or strawberry milk, or I prefer a recovery/ protein shake such as advocare, eas myoplex,ect. Those come in flavors other than chocolate. I have had all the eas flavors and they are all good. I have only tried advocare's chocolate shake, but they make at least one other. Vanilla soymilk is close, but not exactly the same as chocolate milk. Beth from suar is a refuel w/ chocolate milk athlete too. I like when they are at events, and will throw one down post race if it is there.

Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's Blog said...

Love the sleeves, you picked a great color! I would think strawberry milk or gotein would work as well?

Stephanie Anne said...

lOVE the sleeves!
Are you doing Disney Princess? Jealous! It was a lot of fun last year!!