Mostly harmless
I drink 8 oz of chocolate milk after my 2-hour long runs because it may aid recovery....but mostly because I like it and it's my reward.
*DING! That's me exactly. I drive about 30 minutes to do my long runs. There is a little country store about 5 minutes from where I park. I like to stop there get a chocolate milk and drink that on my way home along with a fruit & nut bar (or two).
"It doesn’t matter how often you do it or how much you accomplish, in general, not running is a lot easier than running." - Meb Keflezighi
I usually time the end of a run to coincide with a meal. Crisis averted.
+1
This is mainly because I don't like to eat right before I run, and I feel like I am pretty much eating all the friggin' time, so after I run it is usually time to eat again. When I run first thing in the AM, I go without any food or drink in my system, even up to 12+ miles. Maybe not the best thing, but hasn't killed me yet either.
The closest thing I ever have to a specially designed sports food or drink is Gatorade once in a while. Otherwise just reasonably healthy eating - whole grains, fruits/veggies, low fat, lots of water. I like to eat a lot of carbs and a little protein as my regular diet, so maybe that is the right ratio anyway.
The article sounds like information overload. Maybe more critical to elite athletes, or people trying to squeeze every ounce of performance out of themselves. Of course I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I just like to run. And spout off on the Internet sometimes.
Dave
Barking Mad To Run
No matter how long after I run that I drink my post-run drink, that cold beer always hits the spot!
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt