running thoughts vol. 2: recovery.

09/30/2019

A big focus of my marathon training has been recovery. It obviously should always be a significant part of any training plan, but I’ve made extra time for this build because of my hamstring injury (now I just need to add more strength training into my schedule!). Here’s a look at my favorite ways to recover.

Swimming

It’s such a chore to get to the pool, right?! A 3,000-yard session is easily a two-hour production when you combine drive time, showering, and maybe a little apres swim in the sauna. But gosh, there’s something about being the water – especially the sunshiny outdoor 50m pool – that’s fantastic for recovery. (I swear I heard on a podcast once that the water pressure per square inch on your body is like wearing compression boots?! But I’m probably making that up! Regardless, swimming is excellent recovery.)

Legs up the wall

First thing I do when I get home from running? Lay down on the dining room floor and put my legs up the wall for 10 minutes or so. It stretches out the hammies, and it’s so restorative – I can feel my heart rate slow almost immediately. And it’s laying on the floor, which is pretty much the only thing I want to do after a long run anyway. 

Foam rolling

A PT friend often tells me that foam rolling is underrated. And while I usually loathe doing it because it’s always easier to sit on the sofa and watch Netflix, I couldn’t agree more. My legs are so much happier when I roll regularly (and by regularly I mean every night). I’ve also been making a point to roll before and after every run, and that definitely seems to help reduce inflammation, increase mobility and speed recovery (yay for myofascial release!). 

Compression boots

We recently bought a pair of compression boots, and whoa – I knew they were great, but I didn’t realize how great until using them consistently. Nick and I take turns sitting in them every evening, usually with a glass of kombucha and dark chocolate. 

Sleep

Hands-down the best recovery tool on the market and definitely my favorite one. After a few IM training builds where I didn’t get enough sleep, I adjusted last year for IMMT to make sure I was getting, at minimum, seven hours a night (which meant masters had to go). And this year, thanks to sleep tracking on my Garmin Fenix, I’ve been able to focus on it even more. What I’ve learned: I really can’t function and feel like garbage on less than seven hours, that my minimum is 7.5 hours, and that I feel best when I consistently get eight hours a night. 

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