Saturday’s long run was the longest I have run in awhile (although not by much) and it felt HARD. Maybe it was because of the humidity (it wasn’t particularly hot out) but I also just felt like my head wasn’t in the right place. When I was done I was glad it was over but proud that I had pushed through.
It got me thinking about how I will have runs that are even more challenging than that during marathon training. I will need to be able to decide when to push and when to back off. I will need to recognize the difference between “sore” and “painful”. I wish also need to make recovery a priority.
I figured, why not start now? So since the last step of that 11 mile run my mind has been on recovery…to prevent injury and get me ready for my next run. And it’s been marvelous:)
Marvelous is… making a cold smoothie as soon as you walk in the door from your run.
Smoothies are my favorite thing to eat right after a run. They only take a few minutes to make and are perfect for after a run in the heat. I can drink it while I do my cool down routine and foam roll. I also make sure to start drinking alot of water at this point. I am thinking about buying some glucose that I can add as my mileage gets higher.
Marvelous is…. That first real meal post long run.
I had some eggs about 30 minutes after I finished my smoothie, and then made a salad with leftover chicken from Michele’s recipe a little bit later.
picture was from Thursday, but you get the point. And do you see the avocados in there?!
Marvelous is not…. being on your feet all day after a long run.
Should have thought this one out better. After eating I was grocery shopping, food prepping, and walking to and from church. Not an ideal way to recover- but lesson learned and I made up for it on Sunday!
Marvelous is… going out for burgers.
I really appreciate the nights when I don’t have to cook:) Usually there would be lots of wine consumption the night after a long run, but I was really thirsty. I decided to be smart for once and drank lots of water instead of negating all my hydration efforts with alcohol.
Marvelous is… sleeping in on Sunday morning.
OK, so “sleeping in” means 6:30 but I did go to bed at 9:15 so I got lots of sleep!
Marvelous is… taking an Epsom salt bath and then spending 30+ minutes with the foam roller.
I wasn’t feeling like going to yoga (it was supposed to rain) so I decided to get my muscles nice and loose by taking a hot bath with Epsom salt and then getting deep into the muscles with the foam roller, tennis ball, and stick. I’m telling you- this MUST be what happens the day after every long run…it really made such a difference!
Marvelous is… laying on the couch all day catching up on all the blogs I read.
I missed you guys!
Marvelous is… taking a walk.
For frozen yogurt. We figured we should get outside at some point during the day, but then sabotaged our well intentioned plan by getting huge cups of fro-yo. I think we had just has much toppings as yogurt.
Marvelous is… eating homemade pizza for dinner.
It’s been way too long.
And that, my friends, is how I recovered from my long run. Lots of good food, resting, and working on loosening up those tight muscles! I also spent a good 4-5 hours in compression shorts and compression socks, but there is no picture so you will just have to take my word for it.
How do you recover from a long run?
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I need to get better at developing a good recovery routine. I also wasn’t a huge fan of my long run this weekend, but I think I could have made the experience better if I had a nice cooldown routine to look forward to. I need to get one of those sticks! I hate foam rolling because I’m lazy and it hurts my arms. But I think I could handle that! Where did you get yours?
Also, it isn’t fro yo unless you have FAR more toppings than actual yogurt 🙂
I think I got the stick on amazon. I actually think it hurts more than the foam roller for my calves and hamstrings! But in a good way, of course:) and its a little easier to use because you don’t have to hold your whole body on top of the foam roller.
YUM. What all is on your pizza??
We bought a crust and then topped it with tomato sauce, chicken, broccoli, spinach, and mozzarella…and Rob’s side has pepperoni which I don’t like:)
My “recovery days” usually consist of me walking a ridiculous amount, thus probably why my hamstring cried foul this past week! I do lllooooove a good epsom salt bath–they work wonders. I still think that using the bottle of wine is a genius rolling idea. And I solved the problem, too–buy a cheap one, use that, drink a better one (hello, you are rolling out after all) and then you have back up should you ever accidentally run out of wine. All problems solved. Wine cures all.
Perfect plan! I think you should patent a wine bottle muscle roller.
It looks like you have a great routine down! I also like to take my time and roll out my muscles with a stick after my long run. My beverage of choice for that is chocolate soy milk! My favorite part is a nice nap, or turning in early afterwards. I sleep in my compression sleeves (best idea ever) and my legs feel great when I wake up.
Sounds like you have a great recovery plan! Ive have slept in compression before, and I agree that it works wonders!
I remember after my first marathon how sore I was–I could barely sit down and stand back up on the date I went on that night haha.
Weekend was terrif! I got to go to a HUGE art festival in Park City and watch my aunt draw. I kinda love big events:) Take care, and keep up the good work missy!
Oh yea I remember after my first marathon my legs were a kind of sore that I had never before experienced! I wish I knew about all these ways to recover back then!
Sounds like a great weekend, glad you enjoyed it!
I like your recovery techniques- froyo, foam rolling, pizza, burgers… I think I may have to join you on some of these recovery adventures. I ran down by inner harbor this morning so hopefully one of these days we’ll cross paths!
I’m sure we will! I was actually more in federal hill/locust point today and not so much on the promenade. I hope you are loving downtown Baltimore life so far!
Perfect long run recovery it looks like! I need to work on this for myself with marathon training. It’s hear to stop life every weekend but I at least need to be more mindful and purposeful about the parts of recovery that I can control, like nutrition, hydration and for the most part sleep. Great post!
Yea I think being mindful about it helps alot- and having a plan! Like if I know exactly what Im gonna eat when I get home Im more likely to refuel immediately rather than wait around. Alot of the other “life” stuff is inevitable and I think its all about balancing it out with some decent time off your feet, and definitely getting enough rest!
Amen lady love! Recovery is what saves out butts after all the torture we put our bodies through on a long run haha. I usually start with some chocolate milk in the car on the drive home and then grab a bagel sandwich or make eggs and toast when I get home. I spend the rest of the day in my compression socks (and in bed/on the couch if I can wrangle it haha) and make sure to foam roll to knock out the kinks. Lots of water too 🙂
Exactly! And it sounds like your plan is very similar to mine. I always wish I could just lay in bed all day after a long run- sometimes I can, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I remember last summer I ran a 20 miler and then went to a wedding that afternoon/night which had me up way to late and on my feet for way too many hours. Not ideal at all!
Marvelous is all this food you just posted. OMG yum.
I agree with you on the Epsom salt bath. I took one last night and was so wiped from the weekend anyway that I fell asleep in there for awhile. It was glorious.
WELCOME BACK! We missed you!
Those baths really are amazing! Sometimes I struggle to get the water hot enough but yesterday is was nice and warm and I really feel like it made a difference. I’ve never fallen asleep in there…yet.
That pizza looks OMG good. I need to start planning more homemade pizza during the week. So easy. Your recovery looks awesome – I may have to steal a few steps. This weekend I did foam roll after, didn’t eat well after, and chased my toddler around. I need to come up with a better routine. I was thinking of getting a stick just so I can lay in bed or on the couch and roll out the muscles.
We used to actually make the dough ourselves but realized it was wayyy too much work and made such a mess! Now we happily buy pre-made dough and its such an easy meal to put together!
I love the stick…its easier in my opinion to use it anywhere rather than rolling around on the floor. I actually think it gets to certain muscles better. But I have my preferences- for quads and glutes I prefer the roller and for hamstrings and calves I prefer the stick. But its probably different for everyone!
Loads of great stuff here Lisa! Great run, but you are so right that recovery is totally important! I didn’t hydrate enough Saturday – too much coffee and not enough water – and I went out for a long and hard run. And I felt it afterwards! Sure it is good in some ways, but it made me work all day to get back to normal (and yeah, I was grocery shopping, cooking, shuttling the kids, and so on as well!)
But smoothies yay! I made a great post-run smoothie with fruit including a full half-lemon I had in the fridge, which always makes things refreshing!
I know I am lousy about rest and recovery … but I am trying to be better 🙂
I always have water with me but sometimes I still do not drink enough of it! Im trying to get better but the busier I get the harder it is.
Do you put the lemon in with the skin too? I would assume no, but ever since you told me about the banana peel I feel like I need to ask!
Of course I left the skin on! haha I love the lemon skin because it adds great flavor, so I just tried it – and as my younger son said “it is weird … but awesome”. 🙂
I jumped in an epsom salt bath after my 16 mile run this weekend and it was pure heaven!!
Love that! I wish I had a hot tub but since I don’t an Epsom salt bath will have to do:)
That pizza looks REALLY good. I love that you put broccoli on it too. I love stuff that’s not your typical ingredient on my pizza 🙂 Lately, I’ve really been craving eggs after my long runs, which is so weird because there was a time I would not touch them. I love epsom baths! Sometimes they’re the last thing I want to do in the summer, but when it’s cooler, they’re the best!
Broccoli is my favorite vegetable and I love it on pizza! I don’t like having too many toppings, but 3-4 is perfect.
I go back and forth with eggs…lately I have been eating them every day!
Nothing beats a nice refreshing smoothie after a long hard run. I have been making them a lot lately in my Vitamix. It is so easy and delicious!
Toppings are sometimes the best part of froyo 🙂 Also I have the same issue with sleeping in. It doesn’t happen. But, I do love the mornings, so I guess not too big of a problem. Have a great weekend!
It is kind of nice to get up and get a start on the day! Now if I sleep until even like 8:00 I feel like I am wasting time:) Hope you have a great weekend as well!