Running recovery tips

crux

Recovery is just as important as the workout! It’s when your body adapts and improves!

This is my strategy/routine for recovering from hard running or tired legs even some running niggles like mild shin splints.

Recovery starts before the run by eating well and being hydrated, that means hydrating through the day, not just an hour before the run

But hey we are all MFP’ers here so we already eat great and drink our water! Let’s move onto during and especially after the run.

I hate carrying anything but if you can keeping your fluids topped off during a longer run (over an hour) is very beneficial to your recovery effort, as can be gels and other fuels, just remember they are full of sugars and the calories do count! Just take care to account for them in your food diary. Try to sip water regularly once you get into your rhythm, don’t try to drink too much too fast your intestine can only absorb so much at a time and you don’t want your stomach acting like a washing machine while you run!

Because I don’t carry much, my area of expertise is post run recovery.

Warm down

It all starts with warming down, now when I stop running the Idea of a gentle jog to warm down is not top of my list of fun things to do, but I try to make sure that I finish my run approx. 10 min’s walk away from home. The first few min’s are walked fairly briskly then I gradually slow down. This helps by keeping the blood pumping through the body while gradually letting your heart rate and blood flow return to something like normal, without a gradual warm down the blood can slightly pool in the legs causing extra inflammation and adding to recovery time.

Recovery drink

As soon as I get in the door I’m in into the kitchen and making a recovery shake, for me this is 300ml of skimmed milk and a 30gm serving of Whey protein powder, that works for me personally but your shake can be anything from Chocolate milk to commercial recovery drinks, main thing is to get something down you with some simple carbs and a bit of protein asap. At this stage I sometimes pop a mild anti-inflammatory like Ibuprofen, only if I just did a very long run or I’m sore from a previous work out. Don’t take these pills too often they can be bad for your stomach.

After chugging the shake I refill the bottle with water and head upstairs to shower.

Hot & cold

On entering the bathroom I start filling the bath tub with cold water only. Then first thing for me is a quick hot shower to get rid of the sweat and relax me. Next after drying off I put on a tee shirt and stretch for a good 10 min’s. Lots of good stretching of the calves, quads, hamstrings groin and hips. Even a few upper body stretches to relive tension. This is possibly the single most important recovery tool after the refuel shake. Don’t skip it!

By then the tub has half filled with cold water and it’s time to grit your teeth and lower into the ice cold bath! I only want the water to cover my legs and I continue to wear a tee shirt or towel to keep my upper body warm. It gets easier with familiarity but it’s never fun. The benefit is well worth the discomfort! The cold constricts the blood vessels in the legs, acting like Ice on an injury, reducing inflammation and together with the next stage doing great things to the blood flow, I try and either sip my water or eat a prepared snack while in the cold tub to take my mind off my quickly numbing bits!

4-5 min’s in the cold and then it’s time for the hot shower again, stand under the hot water till your feeling warm and comfortable.

Don’t continue stretching after the cold treatment! It can be too much and lead to injury.

Rest, food and drink.

After a final drying off I put on compression tights and get my feet up with a meal if the time is right. All that remains is to drink water and get a good sleep that night. You can also use an Ice pack again a few hours after then run if you have shin problems or any niggling potential injury.

This routine normally sees me able to recover well from running consecutive days.

Hope it helps someone!

kendib

Bump. So I can find it later.

Beatrix0810

You seem to know a lot about running, so maybe you can help me with something. Recently, my left knee has started to bother me when I run. I used to be a 10 min. mile runner and now I'm down to 11 to 12 mins. I'm going to make an appointment with a doctor to make sure nothing serious is wrong with my knee, but my question is: How important are running shoes? Some people have told me that my knee could be bothering me because I'm not wearing the right shoes. There are all these stores that video tape your run to gague what shoe would be best for you, but the shoes are usually SO expensive. Just wondering if you think it would be worth it for me to try that out.

Thanks!

B

crux

It's probably worth it, even if it does not instantly fix your problem. At least you know it's not your shoes!

Some new stability shoes I brought to try out started to give me mild shin splints a while back, after a visit to the running shop and a quick video analyses, I changed back to standard cushioned shoes and the pain disappeared in two runs despite increasing mileage. As a bonus my new shoes cost less than the ones they replaced.

One word of warning, new runners don't always get the service they deserve from stores. It helps if you go forearmed with a little knowledge of your own.

Worth checking out http://www.runnersworld.com/shoeadvisor