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The Whys of Post–Long Run Nutrition

After, not during, a long run is the time to take in frequent calories. In the first half hour after a long run, your muscles are extraordinarily receptive to refueling. Glycogen resynthesis occurs at three times the normal rate during this recovery window. After the first half hour, your muscles’ receptivity to refueling starts to decline, but remains elevated for another 90 minutes.

This is important for two reasons. First, beginning to refuel while this above-and-beyond resynthesis is possible will induce your leg muscles to produce the desirable adaptations I described above. Given that causing these adaptations is one of the main reasons to go long, why wouldn’t you want to reap the maximum benefit from your hard work?

Second, the sooner you start refueling, the faster you’ll recover from your long run. It might not seem important at the time, but trust me, if you lag on refueling after a Sunday long run, you might well be kicking yourself come Tuesday. When you’re lackadaisical about post–long run nutrition, it’s common to find yourself zapped later in the day. The next couple of days, you might realize you’re more tired than you think you should be, and your enthusiasm for running will be low. You’re also more likely to feel sore the day after a long run if you didn’t start refueling soon enough.

: Joel Wolpert