I’m trying out a product I recently found out about through Philip Werner, the author of the blog Section Hiker (which is great, by the way). He recommends using an electrolyte replacement mix called Cytomax to speed recovery during exercise. You start drinking before your activity begins and then more regularly throughout the day.
Champions powered by Cytomax?
I decided to test it out during my ultimate frisbee tournament this weekend. We played two games on Friday and then four on Saturday. I dutifully drank my Cytomax every half hour. Also, I supplemented the drink with GU (which Werner also recommends). The chocolate GU is not so bad, but the fruit one tastes like strawberry flavored rubber cement.
I found that even after several hours of running, I had a lot of energy and even felt hyper. For my next trial, I am going to munch on some protein throughout the day, because I think having that much sugar made me a little jumpy. (Although, as a personal shout-out, my team did win the championship!)
Sunday is the true test. I’m going to climb Mount Defiance. How energetic I feel will give me a good indicator of whether the Cytomax helped me recovery from my previous activity. It’s also a pretty strenuous hike, so I’ll be checking out how my energy holds throughout the day.
**As an update, I got sick right after this post and stayed sick for a week and a half. I am better now, but I feel like I’ve lost some of my training. Nonetheless, I’m psyched to be starting the Appalachian trail soon!
