Tuesday Training: Recovery

Happy Tuesday Training, followers!

It is a rainy day in Canton but the last few days have been wonderful with sunshine, 50+ degree weather and with the clocks moving forward, we get more daytime to get an evening run in.

Speaking of evening runs, this week’s tip for training is all about recovery, incorporating shake out runs and other tips to optimize your full potential.

For most of you half marathoners/full marathoners, the upcoming weeks are the most demanding. Volume is pretty high and your body is adapting to the toughest weeks of training. 

During a training cycle of frequent high intensity racing or training with a heavy proportion of anaerobic/aerobic work, your muscles are at higher risk of injury, breakdown and burnout. This means recovery runs are just as important as the hard days. I am here to tell you recovery isn’t only referring to your runs.

As runners, we often dismiss the importance of recovery. I suppose you could say it is in our nature to always be working and moving forward in the training process. Although, we often forget that sometimes in order to move forward, we must pause and slow the wheels a bit. 

The regeneration cycle consists of slow running, proper fueling (nutrition), an adequate amount of sleep and managing stress levels (mentally and physically) properly (keeping levels relatively low)

During these high volume and intensity weeks, the down days are crucial and can often be the key in maximizing our running potential. Here are a five tips to help your recovery process!

1. Keep easy days as EASY days - We often can get carried away on days that demand lower mileage. We think “ I only have this many miles” and before you know it, you are running at a faster pace. Slow it down! Understand that these really slow days are actually allowing your muscles to gain the fitness that you put your muscles through the day before. We do not need to prove our fitness on days that are supposed to be easy. Keep it slow and truly let your body recover. If you find yourself struggling with the “slow” days, find an accountability partner that you know will keep you true to the recovery pace.
2. Incorporate an evening “shake out” - Most of the time a “shake out” run is a run that takes place the morning of race day. Although, I have found great benefits in doing a shake out the evening of a hard workout day. I like to refer to these shake out runs as “regeneration runs”. The purpose of these short and sweet slow runs are to help flush out the toxins built up from an earlier work out and essentially help kick start the recovery process. These runs creates blood flow and allows for you to not feel as sore the next day. These runs can be as short as 1 mile- 4 miles.Understand your limits and what you believe will be beneficial. 
3. Focus on whole foods- There is always a new product out on the market convincing runners that they NEED this in order to perform better and recover properly. Hey, I am not saying I don’t enjoy a great protein powder and that you shouldn’t supplement. Though I have discovered that the main energy source a runner should be focusing on is the food they eat. Focus on replenishing your body with the right nutrients from food first and then consider supplements. I always tell runners to focus on whole foods, meaning 1 ingredient foods when it comes to proper fueling. Eat an adequate amount of protein after a tough workout, and make sure on those recovery days you are focusing on vegetables and other great sources of carbohydrates. Kick start your day with a good amount of protein and fats. My go to is eggs and a whole avocado with some blueberries. 
4. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep - This is the most important one. We often dismiss the importance of sleep and we do not realize that adequate sleep is essential! If you find yourself only sleeping 6 hours a night, I am here to tell you that it isn’t enough. When your body is under strenuous training it is incredibly important to be sleeping 8-10 hours a night. Sleep actually rejuvenates the broken down cells in your muscles and helps recharge them for the days to come. Did you know that deep sleep actually naturally produces human growth hormone? So this stuff is super real and super important. Turn your phone off and get that sleep!
5. Meditate -  Many people often do not take time for themselves in the day; and truly when you are working full time and have a family to support sometimes this seems unrealistic. Truth is, this is so important. Even if it is five minutes, taking time to stop and be still is crucial when it comes to training. Our minds need to be right first and foremost. Did you know that when you are happy, grateful and stress-free a positive chemical reaction actually occurs in our brain? This helps our other muscles (legs, arms, etc) to respond to what our brain will tell it. Remember that our brain is a muscle too and needs practice! The healthier our brain/mind is, the more we will have control over telling our legs how to respond when we are feeling tired.