Can Gatorade Make You Faster?
I’ve always used Gatorade on my long runs, but after reading a couple of books by Matt Fitzgerald, Performance Nutrition for Runners: How to Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever and Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance, I’ve started drinking Gatorade before going on almost all my runs.
In his books, Matt makes the case that you should drink a carbohydrate/electrolyte solution like Gatorade before, during, and after your runs (no matter what the length) to maximize workout performance and recovery.
I usually drink Gatorade only on runs longer than 90 minutes. It’s really just a matter for convenience. I don’t like to be weighed down by a few pounds worth of liquid. In the long run, I could be compromising the quality of my workouts by going without it.
I usually drink about 16 ounces of water before I go out to run, but after switching to Gatorade, I’ve run some particularly strong workouts. Over the weekend, on a hilly course, in the wind and rain, I ran a 7+ mile run at a 6:54 pace. That’s unusually fast for me, especially this early in the season.
Is it just a psychological effect or is it real? If it works, does it really matter?
What do you drink before your workouts and why? Tell me in the comments.
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