How do you recover muscles quickly after a big workout

Dom_m

I'm training for a big race in 5 weeks (very short time left) so I can't really afford too many down days at the moment. But I found on Friday after a 10mile run it took me nearly 3 days to recover, and on the third day I had to cycle since I still could barely run. Today I did 12miles (and started carrying a pack) but the 3 day recovery is too long - I don't want that again.

I try to eat as much as possible after the training - mostly nuts, seeds and oils, lots of protein and a decent amount of fat (especially from flaxseed oil) and I try to drink about 8 cups of water after the training, plus a few before. I also eat carbs prior to running. I spend about 15 minutes stretching, mostly my legs since its running.

Any ideas about what I can do differently to reduce recovery time? Obviously there's something to be said about pushing myself too hard, but during the run I feel like I have energy to go faster and farther. I don't drink or eat much during the training - would that make a difference?

Anyway, anyone who has tips along these lines, much appreciated.

Azdak

The biggest concern after a long run is making sure you are replenishing stored muscle glycogen, rehydrating, and consuming adequate protein.

After a longer run, it can take 20+ hours to completely resynthesize muscle glycogen. You should consume 100g of carbohydrate within 15-30 min after exercise, followed by additional 100g feedings every 2-4 hours afterward. The post-exercise feeding should also contain 15g-30g protein. Daily protein intake should be about 1.5g per kg body weight. There is also evidence I have been seeing that maintaining 30% of calories from fat also helps running performance.

Now, that is only one part of recovery time. If you are doing these things and still taking three days to recover, you can also look at your shoes. Worn shoes can increase recovery time--if you have more than 350-400 miles in your shoes, I would get new ones.

After that, it just may be you are asking your body to do more than it is capable of at this time. It sounds as though you have set an arbitrary goal (i.e. " a big race in 5 weeks") that may or may not be within your capabilities. One of the surest paths to injury is to ignore your body and to keep pushing to meet some arbitrary "goal" or date in time.