According to people who know stuff, training plus recovery equals performance.
Those people might be pro triathletes or whatever, but in my stubbornness I thought I could do without one half of that equation.
For me, recovery after a race was a day of no exercise. Now that standard distance triathlons, trail races and half marathons are a regular feature of my calendar – in no great time I might add, I just do them for fun – the idea of recovery seemed even less relevant.
Contrary to my earlier ignorance, post-race eating is good.
Eating x amount of protein y minutes after a race seemed not only overly complicated, but counterproductive if I wasn’t hungry. Why have rehydration fluid when I could have a nice pot of soul-soothing (and unfortunately, diuretic) tea?
Foam rollers and stretches? Nope. Busy. Things to do, people to see.
Ice baths, compression gear, protein-shakes, a bit over the top isn’t it?
And the truth is, I kinda like feeling a bit broken the next day. Much like a finisher’s medal, sore muscles are a reminder of what I achieved the day before.
But I’ve done a complete 180, and it’s all because my coach is mean.
OK no, it’s all because I’m training for my first Ironman and I’m constantly training on tired muscles. When I have a half marathon or a triathlon lined up for a Sunday morning, my coach thinks: “Great! Do that! And on the Saturday before, I want you to smash yourself on the bike.” Awesome. Thanks coach.
And so when I finish that hard cycle, I’m now mindful that what I do in the next 18 hours is going to determine whether I enjoy or endure Sunday’s race.
So what is it the pros are doing exactly?
According to a Runner’s World article, training is all about straining our bodies to go longer or faster. We’re depleting our fuel sources and causing microscopic tears in our muscle tissue. Our body goes into a period of adaption where our stores are opened for maximum refuelling and our veins deliver white blood cells to repair the micro tears. Apparently, there’s a two-hour window after your race when this is occurring. If you wait until you’ve driven home, showered and called your mum, you may have missed your opportunity.
The article goes on to say: “It’s not in our workouts that we become better athletes, but in the time between them. Neglecting to take sufficient rest or to answer our depleted bodies’ needs not only limits our improvements, but can start a spiral of a very different sort.”
Noted. In order to go faster tomorrow, I need to stop today.
Rest is the easy part of recovery. This is time spent sleeping and not moving. Have a nap, resist the urge to babysit your beautiful niece. Read the paper instead.
Compression gear may just change your life.
Recovery is harder to implement: hydration, compression, nutrition, trigger-point release, heat, ice and even stress management.
There’s a tonne of science out there on optimising recovery. American coach, sports nutritionist and Ironman triathlete Ben Greenfield starts his Ironman recovery before his race even begins. And even he admits, it’s pretty complex (topical magnesium, amino acids, cold showers, etc).
For us non-competitive, average Jo types, I say do what you can. Ignoring recovery altogether is foolhardy. You’re only hurting yourself. Rehydrate, eat some good food, stretch, chill out.
Oh, and FYI, compression gear feels heavenly. After a hard workout, it’s more soul-soothing than tea. I promise.
runningwithabook 