Howzeeet crew, Don't mean to change the current strap talk but through some of the proper recovery solutions I've been researching I stumbled on this and thought it may be useful for those of you adding mileage in the run up to the big day. (The pun is deliberate...hehe) It's from some chap in the US called Jason Fitzgerald who seems to know his stuff and puts out a useful amount of info! This is his personal routine that has taken him 12 years to develop. When you finish running, the real recovery starts. Here is my routine that I stick to for every long run: Within 10 minutes of stopping, I make sure to have a lot of protein and simple sugars. I have an iron stomach so I like a glass of chocolate milk with a protein scoop (my favorite running recovery supplement) and a piece of fruit. Within 30 minutes of finishing, I’ll have at least 3 full glasses of water. This is so important if it’s hot out. I also do 10-15 minutes of light strength exercises and drills – dynamic stretching helps me avoid getting too tight. Within 45-60 minutes, I have a full meal focusing on protein, low GI (glycemic index) carbs, and healthy fats like olive oil or avocado. I try to eat a lot of veggies in this meal to reduce inflammation and get my vitamins. American record holder in the half-marathoner Ryan hall knows the importance of vegetables for recovery. One of his latest tweets on twitter (@RyanHall3) read “Kale, spinach, ginger, carrot, beet juice to kick off recovery after a HARD 23 miler.” He knows his stuff. Within 90 minutes, I take a shower, continue drinking water, and start winding down. This is more of a mental recovery period for me. After 2 hours, I take a 1.5-2 hour nap. Ryan Hall calls his naps “business meetings” because they are part of his job to get faster. This is when your body starts to really repair the damage from your hard workout or long run. Take this seriously! After the nap, I have some green tea or coffee. Caffeine speeds recovery and both are perfect running recovery drinks. Next I’ll go for a 10 minute easy walk or do some light drills to loosen up.You might have noticed that I don’t ice bath. I used to, but I’ve read some recent research that is showing it’s counter-productive. This could be another post entirely, so I’ll keep it brief: you exercise to put stress on your body so that it responds with adaptation. Then you get stronger and faster. Ice baths reduce that adaptation because they prevent a lot of the muscle damage that’s actually a good thing. When ice baths prevent the damage, they’re also preventing your body from responding to that damage. And then you stay the same speed. Now, who wants that?! (It's info from this page: http://strengthrunning.com/2010/08/running-recovery/)
