18th August: Recovery

I've been necking a couple of bottles of Multipower strawberry recovery shakes after each race, but with my limited time to get in to the store that sells them in Basingstoke, GNC, combined with the fact they never have strawberry for sale on the website for me to order in and use my discount card, I took the plunge and decided when I did manage to get there in person to buy a tub of protein recovery shake to mix up myself after each race.

Perusing the selection of recovery shake powders, the stoner in me was delighted to see one that was derived from hemp, so naturally after careful consideration I came home with a tub of the strawberry flavour Braham & Murray Natural Hemp Protein Powder.

Mistake!

I had my first try of this after the South Downs Marathon… My god it fair fucking mings… Strawberry flavour?.. More like pond scum with an irritating hint of strawberry and the colour of it looks like what gallops out of your ring-piece the morning after a particularly feisty curry, which makes it doubly appetising.

Now the Scot in me refuses to waste my money and chuck this aberration away but will stubbornly drink it till it has all been consumed - although saying this, the taste gets less worse the more often you have it through acclimatisation!

Having been burned by this experience I went and found something more refined (I hope) for my recovery shakes. I use Science in Sport (SiS) 'Go' gels as part of my fuelling regime so during the Tour de France I spotted that SiS were doing some special offers and I took advantage ordering a tub of their Rego.

Can't be any worse!

It's now sitting on top of the kitchen cupboards awaiting the demise of the shit-mix… I'll tell you what it's like once I try it, and needless to say I'll be recovering naturally in Iceland leaving that foul powdered concoction a good thousand miles away.