Approximately 8,000 athletes descended on the Lawn at Reunion in Dallas for the annual Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon on March 19, 2017. It was an unseasonably warm day and marathon runners knew they had their work cut out for them.
They also knew that at the end of the course there would be a cold sample of Oak Farms TruMoo chocolate milk waiting for them to refuel their bodies.
Javier Vilchis, an Irving-based web developer, ultramarathon runner and Team CHOCOLATE MILK ambassador, participated in the Dallas Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon. Vilchis has been a marathon runner since 2010 and participates in five marathons a year, but has previously run in as many as 24 half and full marathons in a year. He decided to focus on five to improve his chances of winning or finishing in the top 10.
Vilchis kept hearing other experienced runners talk about chocolate milk as a recovery drink after a strenuous workout. He was skeptical at first, but started to research the nutrients in chocolate milk and how it helps the body recover. What he found was surprising:
Chocolate Milk’s 3 R’s of Recovery
- Rehydrate: Chocolate milk helps you rehydrate. Made of almost 90% water, nature’s sports drink also has the electrolytes you need after breaking a sweat during your exercise routine.
- Repair: Chocolate milk helps repair your muscles. With 8 grams of high-quality protein in every glass, you can build lean muscles. Not only is it a good source of protein, there are two different kinds: casein and whey. One is absorbed slowly, the other quickly – so one glass of milk provides both short-term and long-term benefits to your muscles.
- Replenish: Chocolate milk helps replenish muscles. When you exercise, you use energy in the form of stored carbohydrates called glycogen. If you don’t put more carbs back into the muscle after prolonged exercise, you might not have the energy to push harder during your next workout. The small amount of added sugar in chocolate milk achieves the perfect carbs-to-protein ratio to accomplish this.
“I changed my diet and started to train to lose weight without losing energy, and use low-fat chocolate milk after every hard workout,” said Vilchis. His involvement with Team CHOCOLATE MILK furthers his belief in the post-recovery beverage, and he now considers it part of his nutrition plan.
When asked what he enjoys most about being a marathon athlete, Vilchis mentions the camaraderie he experiences running with other athletes in a “fast-moving bubble” and catching up on life and knowing that they all have trained and worked hard to get to this point.
Javier Vilchis running the Dallas Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. Photo credit: Shama Satter
Marathoners stopping by the chocolate milk tent to recover.
Built with Chocolate Milk tent.
Ice-cold TruMoo Chocolate Milk.
Learn more about chocolate milk nutrition.
