Road to Recovery

Raleigh was alive this weekend both on the trials in the streets as the Rock'n'roll Raleigh marathon, half, and 5k meandered around the streets of Raleigh and the Umstead 100 took over the trails in Umstead. Quite a weekend for the Raleigh running community! The whole process to prepare for such races is a feat in itself but finishing the race is a whole new accomplish to be proud of. But now it's 2 days after the race and you barely rolled yourself out of bed yesterday. Your glutes are on fire, your calves are cramping, and you hurt in places you didn't know existed. You're immediately wondering why you thought running was a good idea and are regretting signing up for next years race. How will you ever recover?? We at RunRaleigh PT know the struggle, we've been there, and we are here to help! Read below for our pro tips on how to maximize recovery and get back to work!

The week after:

Try to get a long walk (30-60min) in, or a very very easy jog. Getting the blood flowing in the legs can help ease the muscle tension and aide in recovery. The use of compression socks that cover your foot and come all the way up your calf and light foam rolling can also help to increase blood flow. This walk should be taken very easy and as slow as needed. Get plenty of fluids including some electrolyte enhanced drinks. Running long distances in any kind of weather can deplete your electrolyte stores especially sodium. Continue to refill your glycogen stores with high quality carbohydrates and up the protein intake as well. Be mindful not to pig out solely on junk food after a race no matter how tempting it is. Yes feel free to have that slice of pizza and a cookie but also make room for quality grains like quinoa, brown rice, or sweet potatoes. These types of whole grain carbohydrates are better metabolized and provide more substantial steady energy. Pair a high quality, lower fat, protein with your grains to keep the muscle repairing process going.

Sleep:

Sleep is your most powerful recovery tool. Make it a priority this week to give your body maximal recovery. If your find yourself feeling restless or unable to get quality sleep, try having a light snack before bed like a banana and almond butter. Bananas are rich in potassium which is a muscle relaxer. They also contain tryptophan which much like your thanksgiving turkey will help you rest easy. Almonds also contain a small amount of tryptophan but their main benefit is their magnesium content which can relax muscles and make you feel calmer.

Streching:

Both dynamic (movement involved) and static (no movement) stretching can be beneficial in the days after a race. If you enjoy yoga try doing a very gentle flow moving through the movements slowly and gently, easing into the poses. Try this recovery yoga routine by Runners World, but don't over extend yourself. Incorporate stretching and light foam rolling together as they contribute and encourage healthy tissue.

When to resume training:

Runners tend to be excessive compulsive when it comes to our exercise routine but it is important to emphasize the necessary need for recovery after a race. Many runners try to resume training to quickly after racing and suffer the consequences down the road. In order to recover optimally so that you can come back even stronger, you must recover both mentally and physically. Pump the BCAA's (branched chained amino acids - essentially proteins) to help you muscles recover fast and be very in tune with how your body feels. You may also add in more probiotics to your diet. Probiotics are essential for gut health and a healthy immune system which is weakened during a hard race or training cycle. If you don't feel like running don't, this will help you mind recover so that you can get back on track when the time is right. Within this week you may want to partake in active recovery but take it easy. This could be going for walks, riding a bike, hoping on the elliptical, or even better an elliptigo bike. If you try to push to hard this week you risk interfering with your bodies ability to return to normal hormonal balance. It may be hard to rest but remember that proper recovery will help you make better performance gains in your next training cycle. After this week assess how your body feels and you may add a few short runs in. If you feel extended soreness that is a sign you need more time to recover. Err on the side of caution. At the very least you should be just fine beginning to slowly rebuilding your mileage after 3 weeks. The more races you have done, or the longer you have been running, the better able your body may be to recover. Recovery is a very personal thing so do what you feel is right.

If you feel any nagging pain at anytime during the recovery process get in to see a specialist. Running in nature is a very repetitive movement and during long races you notice minor weaknesses or imbalances much more. This often leads to hips getting out of alignment or localized pain from compensation. If you address it soon enough and take the right steps to correcting it you will not suffer the set backs from it going into the next training cycle. If you know where you have weakness then you will be better able to overcome it. From Run Raleigh PT a big congratulations to all of the competitors out there and don't forget to come by and see us!