Tip for Marathoner Wannabes - Drink

4 weeks more to go to the big day for all Singapore marathoner wannabes and I am back with another series of posts for marathoner wannabes. But you gonna take these with a pinch of salt. Hmmm actually you should. Take the salt that is. It will come in useful when you run the final 10km of the marathon. For the other pro marathoners, the seasoned marathoners, the atas marathoners, you can read, you can dissect, you can criticize, you can add your comments, your advices, in fact you can do anything you want including go away but if you really 吃饱没事做, by all means, carry on reading.

This 1st post shall be about drink - what to drink during the run up to the marathon other than your usual coffee, tea, milk, isotonic drink and sky juice.

Vitamin C. You trained and trained and 1 week before the big day, you catch the damned bug from some idiot standing in front of you in the train and who sneezed big time into your face! And there goes your race. So what to do? Load up on vitamin C now. Build up your immunity. Eat fruits rich in vitamin C. Better still, pop a tablet of soluble C into your pre-run/post-run water and drink it. And don’t worry about Vit C overload. Our body will know how to flush away the excess (smell your pee if you don’t believe me).

Honey. You see bees flying around non stop the whole day? Guess where they get all the energy from? From the honey of course! Studies have shown that honey builds up energy and helps wounds recovery. All the better to help you recover quickly from all the running.What more do you need? But wait, Like Vitamin C, honey helps build up immunity. It contains anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal substances. So what are you waiting for? Go get one bottle now. Better still get Royal Jelly if you can afford it!

Ginseng. The Chinese and Koreans and Japanese take ginseng routinely as part of their diet. If it is good for them, it is good for you. And really, ginseng is almost like a miracle herb. Instead of plain water, drink ginseng tea. Put a few slices of ginseng into warm water and drink like you drink tea. What if you don’t like the taste of ginseng. Remember the honey? Mix them together and get a refreshing ginseng honey drink! 

Ginger. The humble little ginger is as much a miracle food as the ginseng and it is dirt (literally) cheap too. Ginger aids in reducing swelling and muscle recovery. And some studies have shown that it helps to improve the condition of people with osteoarthritis, a condition that most runners get sooner or later. Good for the knee. Try a cup of tek halia after long runs and feel the effect! And oh this is my favourite recovery drink 

Beetroot. Recent studies have found that beetroot can help increase stamina. The only problem is the darned thing taste horrible by itself so why not try honey ginseng beetroot juice and while you at it, throw in an orange or grapefruit as well for the Vit C? More potent than ABC!

Okay so how to put the whole lot together without getting LS big time? Try this:

Non running days: Steep a few slices of ginseng in a thermos of water and take that as your daily drink in place of plain water. Take a spoonful of honey every morning before eating anything else. Drink a cup of beetroot juice or some mixture after lunch or dinner. Pop a vitamin C tablet into a glass of water mid afternoon and drink.

Running days: Fill one of the water bottle in your hydration belt with a honey ginseng mixture. Guarantee to give you an instant lift during the run. Drink a glass of Vitamin C before your run. After run, drink a cup of ginger tea or teh halia.

Continue on a daily basis until after the marathon or better still make it a daily routine.

Does it really work? You tell me after you try this okay?