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by Sarah Brown
Importance of recovery
Recovery needs to be built into a training plan. This is really important to allow your body to rest and rebuild. The amount of recovery time you will need will depend upon factors such as your age, intensity of running, how long you have been running and what is going on in the rest of your life. It is really important to give your body adequate time to recover to avoid injury/burn out and to allow you to get full benefit from your training runs. One way to measure recovery is to monitor your resting heart rate. This is taken every morning, before you get out of bed, any rises above the norm are a sign for an easy/rest day. Muscle soreness and low motivation can also be signs of inadequate recovery. Anything from 1-3 days of rest, or with some light cross training, can be needed per week.
After a race rest is crucial to recovery. Take a few days off, walk a little, stretch, tend to blisters, eat well and enjoy the glory. Then slip gently into an easy week of running the next week.
Stretching
Stretching is useful for both injury prevention and injury treatment. If done properly, stretching increases flexibility and this directly translates into reduced risk of injury. The reason is that a muscle/tendon group with a greater range of motion will be less likely to be damaged when running trails. Stretching is also thought to improve recovery.
To get the most benefit from your stretching routine while minimizing injury, stretching should be done on warm muscles. Stretching is done by slowly moving until a gentle "pulling" sensation is felt in the desired muscle. This position is then held for 15 - 20 seconds. Do not stretch to the point of pain and do not bounce since this may cause injury to the muscle. Stretching should also be done after the workout. The post-workout stretch is thought to aid in recovery. Cold packs can be applied to sore areas in those of you who are recovering from injuries.
If you have any back, neck, bone or joint problems consult your doctor before beginning a stretching program. No stretching routine should be painful. Pain indicates either incorrect technique or a medical problem. If in doubt, ask a qualified health professional.
There are many books and sites covering stretches. http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/stretch.html is very good and the classic book by Bob Anderson ‘Stretching’ is well worth the money.
Cross training
Weights/Strength Training
Weight training can help your running in a number of ways, including building strength and endurance in the legs, balancing and improving non-running muscles to increase stability, transfer of power, efficiency of action and body alignment.
You can do a lot at home with minimal equipment. You goal should be 8-12 reps per set initially, but for endurance sports the goal is high reps rather than high weights.
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For you legs work on: |
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Squats |
Works quads and glutes. Never let butt go below knees or knees forward of feet. |
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Lunges |
Works quads, hams and glutes. Never let knee go forward of ankle. Variations include traveling lunges, lifting the knee before it goes down in forward motion, stepping back or sideways, or holding weights. |
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Calf raises |
Works calves |
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For core strength work on: |
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Push-ups |
A great and valuable variation of this is the hover, which builds core strength. Assume the top pushup position on hands and feet [or elbows if wrists/arms limit the time position is held] hold, or hover, in a straight body position for a count of 20. Collapse on your face. Raise up again and repeat. |
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Sit-ups |
We all know what these are and that we should do more. |
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Back raises |
Lie on the floor on your belly, lift your arms in front of you and legs and pretend you are superman/woman flying through the carpet fluff. |
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For upper body: |
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Bench press |
Works pectorals [chest]. |
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Front and lateral raises |
Works deltoids [shoulders]. Do not let shoulders raise. |
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Bicep curls |
Works biceps. Stand with light weights, feet shoulder width apart. For variation have palms face up/in/down throughout movement. |
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Tricep extensions |
Works triceps [back of upper arm]. |
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Other cross training activities can include biking, swimming, skiing, team sports, fixing the house/yard, chasing the [grand]children, yoga, etc.