BOOST YOUR RUNNING RECOVERY

10 ways to boost your running recovery

Training is all about pushing your body to the limit. You will strain every sinew to go further and faster week on week and then expect your body to catch up quickly. But don’t panic. There are several ways we can help our body and mind keep up.

Rest

It may sound slightly counter-intuitive, but when you’re training hard, rest and relaxation are just as important as your long runs. If you want to keep increasing your race distances, your body needs time to adjust. An intense running programme of 4-5 months will constantly ask your body questions it needs to answer. Your fuel sources will be regularly depleted and sessions will leave you with miniscule tearing of muscle tissue. Because our bodies are such wonderful machines, they spring into action and make every effort to repair damage and replenish necessary vitamins and minerals. But you need to help it along the way and by refuelling properly and resting, you will assist that process, as well as help injury prevention. A lot of runners take a power nap after a long session, because they enjoy it and it helps the repair process.

Refuelling

There is a two hour window after each session to efficiently recover what the body has lost. This is especially important after your long run, when your glycogen stores will have been raided. Your body will automatically start the recovery process, but that two hour window post run is the optimum time for the right kind of refuelling, because your system is at its metabolic peak. Carbohydrates are essential for glycogen production, so make sure you eat something healthy with carbs and protein, which assists muscle repair. A lot of runners take a high protein snack with them to eat straight after their workout, or a liquid carbohydrate-based drink, before eating something more substantial an hour or so later.

Rehydrating

Your muscles need to be hydrated and so do you if you’re to maximise your performance. Experts say your muscles need to be bathed in fluid if they are to function effectively because if they aren’t, they will start rubbing up against each other. Fluid aids the body’s recovery, so you must be properly hydrated. This begins before your even go on a run. Make sure you have drunk something substantial before you go out and on your long run, take a drink every 20-30 minutes. Maintain that process when you have finished exercising. 

Stretches

There are two types of stretches used by elite athletes. Dynamic stretches come before a run to stimulate the muscles and warn them that some intensive activity is imminent. These would typically involve leg lunges, hip flexing and a variety of stretches that involve movement. Static stretching, as its name suggests, is the opposite. This involves a gradual extension of a muscle group from a standing or sitting position and a holding of the stretch for 30 seconds or so. This is typically used at the end of your workout to assist the recovery process as well as providing greater flexibility and injury prevention. 

Keep your muscles warm

A common mistake made by lots of runners, is to allow their muscles to get cold straight after a run. Bear in mind that your body is functioning at its optimum metabolic healing rate at this time, so staying warm and keeping your muscles warm, will assist this process. So pop a warm dry layer on and stay warm while you’re doing your stretches. It will help keep your muscles flexible, which means you’ll get the most out of your stretches.

Compression wear

You will probably have noticed this latest trend in running fashion, with runners regularly sporting socks and tights on training runs and in races. Why? Well the theory is that it stimulates blood flow, provides oxygen to the muscles and helps pump blood back up to the heart. All this as well as speeding up the disposal of toxins and waste material which build up in your legs during long runs. Although it won’t make you run any faster, it can help avoid cramping and muscle damage which in turn could affect your performance. 

Ice baths

Ah the dreaded ice bath. Feared and loathed by some of the top athletes in the world, but essential, it is thought to a speedy recovery. A hot bath after a long run will add heat to already inflamed muscle groups trying to repair the muscle damage sustained during the workout. An ice bath will constrict the blood flow and flush out any lingering toxins and lactic acid.

Recovery runs

In the past it was thought that a recovery run, which is a slow, not very taxing run the day after an intense session or long run, was a good way of flushing out lingering toxins and lactic acid and stimulating blood flow to the legs. But that view point is questioned by some (including runner and author Matt Fitzgerald), who claim that lactic acid levels are back to normal within an hour or so of your long session. Most agree though, that activity is beneficial to recovery. In a study published in The International Journal of Sports Medicine, cyclists who exercised at a low intensity and got a massage on their days off recovered faster and performed better on their next training day than those who did no exercise at all. A recovery run will certainly act as a bridge between the stress and strain of your hard workout and the overall accumulation of running volume. In short it helps get you fitter, which is where you want to be.

Hills

Another way of easing the ache in your legs is to vary the surfaces/types of training you use. If you feel ruined after a 15 mile (24km) run on the flat, make your next session a hill run. You will use different muscle groups for that particular workout and rest fatigued areas. The same is true in reverse. If you do an hour session on hills, follow it up with a run on the flat. It will feel completely different and easier!

Massage

There is nothing like a good rub down or deep tissue massage after a long run to reduce muscle tightness and that sore feeling in aching legs. You can either do it yourself by using some of the huge range of products on the market. Or if you can afford it, see a specialist sports masseur on a regular basis. Think of it in much the same way as taking your car to the same mechanic. It will work wonders.