Running recovery is just as important, if not more important, than the physical act of running. Recovery is not only found in rest days. It comes in various forms. Every time you run, your body has to work even harder to strengthen. For runners, recovery not only strengthens your body but also helps keep your mind in check. The sooner you recover, the sooner you can get back after it! We created a list of ways to help speed up the recovery process and help you train like a pro!
MAKE YOUR FEET SAY OOH
Running recovery footwear is one of the simplest ways to speed up the recovery process. Finding the proper recovery footwear is easy; you want a shoe opposite of your running shoes. Your recovery footwear should allow your toes to spread out, foot to sink into the shoe, and provide breathability. Recovery footwear like Oofos is more cushioned and offers better support than your typical flip flop that you might slip on after a run. Oofos’ revolutionary Oofoam technology absorbs 37% more than the traditional foam found in average sandals, which places significantly less amounts of stress on your already damaged joints and muscles. Muscle tightness, fatigue, and soreness are all unfortunate results of running, so incorporating recovery footwear like Oofos is essential to a runner’s routine if they want to keep running. Fit2Run offers many different styles of Oofos recovery shoes, including sandals, slides, and clogs, so there is a pair for every runner.
- Utilize recovery footwear on your rest days or pre/post-run to decrease the stress in your muscles and joints
- A good recovery shoe should be opposite of your running shoe and should allow the toes to spread and foot to breathe
MONITOR YOUR RECOVERY AND REST DAYS
Sometimes you need a friend or a smartwatch to remind you to rest and keep you on track. Garmin offers a variety of running and fitness tracking watches that do various tasks. In particular, they enable you to plan and track your recovery and even provide some insights and advice about how to recover best. Garmin watches can monitor your runs and advise you how hard you should work out or how long you should run based on your level of recovery. Garmin watches offer training plans and measure the “load” of your runs or workouts and how you should adjust accordingly. They display quotes like “Your overall load is high, try scaling back the duration and frequency of workouts” when the runner should maybe take a rest day and “Train As Usual” when recovery is complete. Garmin devices use your wrist-based heart rate and VO2 levels, sleep, stress, relaxation, and physical activity to determine recovery time.
- Pay close attention to your rest days and training “loads.”
- Scheduling and monitoring your rest days with a smartwatch is a great way to ensure your body is recovering fully.
KEEP THE BODY MOVING
For those of us who can’t fully rest on “rest” days, active recovery is for you! Runners put substantial pressure and strain on their feet and legs, making recovery and, in particular, active recovery vital. One workout that allows runners to recover and heal and still get in a good sweat sesh is cycling. It helps runners develop stamina, endurance, and fitness and doesn’t damage leg muscles in the process. Cycling allows you to stay active while giving your body time to de-stress and use less tension on the muscles in the legs and feet. Cycling also helps aid recovery because it increases the blood flow in the calves and feet, which helps move lactic acid and relieve muscle stiffness. Cycling is also suitable for runner’s who are recovering from an injury due to its low-impact nature. The F2R Bike Shop offers a variety of bikes ranging from cruisers to road bikes. We also now offer the option to buy online and pick up in your closest Fit2Run store!
- If you are someone who simply can’t stop moving, practice active recovery to assist in muscle recovery while still being active.
- Cycling is an excellent alternative to running and provides the muscles with a much-needed release on recovery days.
USE RECOVERY INSTRUMENTS
When a massage with your hands just won’t cut it, try one of these recovery products to massage and cure exhausted sore and injured muscles. Fit2Run has recovery devices for all price ranges and needs! The Hyperice Hypervolt is a handheld percussion massage device that even has Bluetooth to pair to your phone, allowing the speed to adjust automatically based on which routine you choose. This handy instrument is perfect for on the go recovery. To find your ultimate wellness partner, check out Theragun by Therabody. The Theragun mini, Theragun pro, and Theragun Elite all offer premium percussive massages and are now more personalized than ever with guided app experience to reduce your deep muscle tension, whether it comes from everyday life work or workouts. For the avid runners and on the days when your body just really isn’t feeling it, NormaTec Recovery will save the day. The NormaTec leg and hip recovery systems offer dynamic compressions that mobilize fluids, prevent fluid backflow, and allow normal circulation.
- Percussion instruments and recovery systems intensely target sore muscles and help speed up the recovery process.
- Use these instruments when you need that extra depth to your recovery routine.
DRINK UP
One of the most important aspects of runners’ recovery that is often skipped over is hydration. Hydrating during recovery helps with muscle repair and aids in digestion, heart rate recovery, and lowers your level of fatigue. Sometimes, water isn’t enough, and you might need some electrolytes to help you recover quicker. During a physical activity such as running, we lose valuable electrolytes. In particular, we lose significant amounts of phosphate, magnesium, and calcium, which are all needed for adequate recovery and building strength. Nuun Sport Hydration Tablets are packed full of these electrolytes and can be added to any 16 oz bottle of water, dissolving to create a nutrient-rich drink to heal any fatigued body. Athletes are supposed to replace at least 50% of their electrolytes lost on their run for ultimate recovery and performance, so popping one of these nifty little tablets in your water bottle is a great way to be sure you reach this. However you choose to hydrate, Fit2Run has what you need!
- Hydrate after a run and replenish electrolytes for ultimate recovery
- Nuun Sport Hydration Tablets help to speed up recovery times and replenish your nutrients lost during running
The recovery process for runners looks a little bit different for everyone. Whether you just need a bike to help work out those sore muscles or need a percussion instrument to do the trick, you can find it all at Fit2Run.
