New Sports Drink Report!

Holla!  This morning I did some elliptical and yoga in an attempt to take it easy and keep myself from getting sick / ridiculously sore for days again.

I have also been eating huge portions of everything just in case that was the problem.  Even if it's not, I'm definitely enjoying it =)

Let's talk about all the new sports drinks on the market this year!    

I've run two long races in the last month and one things I've noticed is that when I finished, I got handed random Gatorade products I'd never seen before....I also did a race last fall (malibu half) where they gave out coconut water as the sports drink.
Add that to the G2 (Lower Calorie) Sports Drink that is in all the 7-11s, what's a girl to do?

Wassup with Gatorade:
So along with the regular Gatorade (50 cal / 8 oz), Gatorade has come out with the lower Cal G2 (20 Cal / 8 oz) as well as the the Pro series that includes the dairy based shake drink in the upper right (200 Cal, 15 Grams Protein, 30% Calcium).  The other recovery drink in the round bottle is Gatorade 3 Recover (60 Cal, 8 Grams of Protein).  They've also come out with the "Fit" series that appears to be lower calorie, as well as a Natural series (this sounds awesome!) that's in test markets right now.

My Thoughts:  I actually think that G2 is pretty awesome.  While I can't shake the feeling that I could make my own G2 at half price by just watering down regular Gatorade, I think it's super refreshing.  And unless I've just run 15 miles, I don't really need 200 calories in beverage anyways.  I've mainly purchased it at random convenience stores at exorbitant prices.

As far as the other stuff....I really wasn't impressed by Gatorade 3 Recover (I had mixed berry) or the Pro Series Protein Shake.

The Gatorade 3 has a good combination of protein and carbs, so if you actually like it, I'd say give it a try.  I thought it was way too sweet but palatable.

The Pro Series (I had chocolate) seems to have the nutritional content of a Slim-Fast Shake and it kind of tasted like one too.  Since it's got 200 calories per 8 oz, I'd definitely only drink it if I'd just run a ton of miles and had no real chocolate milk nearby.

Wassup With Coconut Water:  So I had my first run in with coconut water at the Malibu Half Marathon.  I was surprised to find that that was their sports drink of choice (only in Malibu!) and totally avoided it after one surprise cup at mile 4.  Nutritionally, it looks pretty close to Gatorade (45 Cal, 250 mg sodium), only it's a natural product and has 10% of your vitamin C.

My Thoughts:  Honestly, I don't like this stuff, but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority with this one.  My mom loves it and it's growing popularity must count for something!  I'd say if you like this stuff, go for it!

Soooo....
Has anybody else gotten these drinks at races? What did you think?


What do you love to drink when/after you're working out?  
(I constantly crave diet coke after running even though I know it's baadddd.)