Soreness and recovery time

wabmester

I ran my first 5K last weekend (woohoo!). It felt like an easy pace. I wasn't breathing hard, and I felt great at the end. Until the next day. I was sore for the next 3-4 days.

I'm usually a slowpoke, but I finished the 5K in 30 minutes, which is a pretty fast pace for me.

So, a few questions:

Anybody else find that their race pace was faster than their training pace? How's that work? Is just being caught up in the crowd?

I assume soreness means new muscle growth, and I want to encourage that process. So rest or just walk till the soreness goes away? Consume lots of protein?

Finally, I'm not finding that my recovery time from runs is getting much better. I'm typically sore for 1-2 days after a run. Normal? Does it get better with time/training?

GlindaGoodwitch

My race pace is always faster (always as in the two times I have raced) - adrenaline, and speeding up when you see the finish line, moving with the flow of the crowd, etc.

I have found that bananas (potassium), lots of water, and a foam roller, are my best friends Good job on the 30 minutes!!

ftrobbie

Well done on your time, re training and finishing it depends on how you set your training paces. The first 10k I did, slower than training pace, the first half marathon faster than training pace.

Re soreness, if it is DOMS, not really a lot you can do now, protein would have been good in the first 30-60 mins after the race. Now, it's probably worth doing some slow pace running just to help flush whatever waste product is left. Next time keep moving after you finish just the help your body remove the waste products your running has caused.

When's the next one?

wabmester

Thanks for the info and kudos.

Next race? I was checking the race calendar as soon as I finished the last one, but one of my running pals injured his knee, so the next race may be a bike race. Where's the couch-to-century-ride group?