Both are critical for recovery after training. Carbohydrates are the body’s main fuel and are stored as glycogen (in the muscle and liver). With limited stores, these need to be replaced before the next training session.

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Protein is vital for the growth and repair of muscle tissue. Hard training causes the breakdown of the muscle tissue (made from protein), taking it on board after provides the building blocks (amino acids) for growth and repair, and can reduce muscle soreness the next day! It is usual for some runners not to be hungry at this time, so use fluids in your recovery strategy.

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20 grams of protein is the magic number that you need to hit to optimise the recovery process after training. The following are good examples of recovery snacks. Consider combining snacks or increasing the portion sizes after heavy training: