Back in May whilst training for a 2 day cycle (West Highland Way) I ended up having major issues with my ability to eat or drink anything after circa 5 – 6 hrs. I posted on here and got some really good feedback / advice.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/endurance-eating-stomach-crampshelp

Well, we did the WHW last weekend and I found a solution, by chance, that might help others.

As per my previous experiences after 5ish hours, whilst coming down the Devils staircase I started getting the old familiar stomach cramps and my energy / power levels eventually dropped of a cliff. I honestly thought that the game was up and that I’d have to make ‘another’ embarrassing phone call to Mrs Rosscopeco asking for an early lift home 😳

We were by this stage at Kingshouse so I popped into the hotel and, against my better judgement and that of my co-cyclist (an ex-road pro for continental) I downed half a pint of milk.

Without exaggerating I started to feel better within 15min and within 30min almost felt like we had just started the ride. Over the next 2 days and 19 hrs of cycling I simply downed half a pint every couple of hours and ate my usual concoction of sandwiches / snacks etc. Admittedly, milk isn’t the easiest thing to carry with you given that it could go off quickly but on a route like this it was fairly easy to come by.

I guess the moral for me is that mother nature usually has the answer despite us humans trying to invent something we can thereafter cleverly market and sell for a fortune i.e. milk, merino wool clothing, etc etc!

Just thought I’d post this as it may help others out there with a similar issue.

Similar to you, I’ll take a yazoo milkshake on big rides, and reap the chocolatey milky goodness it brings!

DrP

I’nt Milk BRILLIANT?!!???!!!

did a 22 mile run on sunday and as soon as I’d finished I had c750ml yogurt milk and fruit blended together. Much nicer than sports recovery drinks and seems to do the trick in terms of refueling, did a long ride yesterday and still feeling freshish for a 10 mile interval session tonight..

Accrington Stanley?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pieK7b4KLL4[/video]

I tend to go for the Mars milk.

Doubt there’s any science behind it, but it just seems to work. ( rather well)

An accidental ‘find’ a few years back when out on a long long ride.

Chris

SnS – on the contrary there is lots of science behind it. Have a search.

Hmmmm – never knew that ! (scuttles off to Google).

Chris

Genuine question: why would I drink chocolatey milk rather than milky milk?

How about UHT milk in a carton. Use by date of a couple of months unopened. Will last a ride without turning to cheese.

Cos it tastes chocolatey?

I cant stand chocolate milk I would much rather have normal Semi skimmed or strawberry. A pint of strawberry milk and 2 pints of normal milk was what got me through the drive home after riding Snowdon in 26 deg heat back in March.

There was something on Horizon a few months back saying that milk did you more good than most of these “so called” sports drinks (fizzy water).

MILK FTW !!

Best recovery drink bar none. As for the chocolate stuff, I seem to recall there was studies done to show that cocoa had a good effect on reducucing inflamation on joints post exercise.

Not a doctor, so don’t take my word on that. I’ll see if I can find any articles to back that up with.

I downed half a pint of milk.

Without exaggerating I started to feel better within 15min and within 30min almost felt like we had just started the ride

If I downed half a pint of milk I’d be shitting through the eye of a needle within 15 minutes

Bah ! can’t get access, 😡 but if anyone has credentials and wants to get hold of a copy, then I’ll post details of relevant study below.

J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Dec;25(12):3456-60.

The effects of low fat chocolate milk on postexercise recovery in collegiate athletes.

Spaccarotella KJ, Andzel WD.

Source

Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Health, Kean University, Union, New Jersey, USA. kspaccar@kean.edu

Abstract

Spaccarotella, KJ and Andzel, WD. The effects of low fat chocolate milk on postexercise recovery in collegiate athletes. J Strength Cond Res 25(12): 3456-3460, 2011-Drinking chocolate milk between exercise sessions may improve recovery. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of low fat chocolate milk vs. a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage (CE) on recovery between preseason practice sessions among 5 male and 8 female Division III soccer players. The study used a randomized crossover design: between morning and afternoon practices, athletes received either an amount of chocolate milk that provided 1 g carbohydrate per kilogram body weight or an equal volume of CE (mean volume of 615 ± 101 ml). After their afternoon practice, they completed a shuttle run to fatigue. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon paired rank-sign test (for shuttle run time) and the paired samples t-test (for dietary intake). No significant differences in run time were reported for the group. For the men only, there was a trend of increased time to fatigue with chocolate milk compared with the CE (exact p = 0.03). Low fat chocolate milk may therefore be as good as a CE at promoting recovery between training sessions during preseason.

PMID: 22080318 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

I find milk to be a great recovery drink.

why would I drink chocolatey milk rather than milky milk

Contains more sugar, getting close to the 4:3 carb/protein ration or some science mumbo jumbo like that……!

DrP

/Wanders over to binner’s yard.

Stay away from Binners, he’s up to no good that lad 😆

My personal preference for post ride recovery drinks

http://www.forgoodnessshakes.com/

Mars drink drinker here on the trails, beer when i finish its the law!

Milk has gotta lotta bottle.

Nice cold, ice cold milk.

+1 recovery drink of choice