The principles of recovery directly after a training session can be summed up in the 3 R’s, Refuel, Re-hydrate and Repair.
- Refuel
It is important to replenish your glycogen stores, which would have been depleted during training, as soon as possible. Especially when doing high quality workouts or long runs lasting 90 minutes or more. Within the first 30 minutes post workout, either drink 500ml of a carbohydrate drink or eat a high GI carbohydrate snack such as banana or dried fruit. Aim to have a more substantial meal with approximately a 4:1 Carbohydrate to Protein ratio within 1 hour of completing training. The reason for this is that there is a window period directly after training where the replenishment of glycogen is at its optimal and maximizing this window will help speed the recovery process.
For those that are able to consume a lot of dairy, a personal favorite of mine is a shake made of milk, raw egg, and banana. Cheap and effective.
- Rehydrate
Not only do you lose a lot of water during long and hard training sessions (remember you sweat in cold weather too!), but also electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) which play an important role in the healthy functioning of your muscles, nerves and energy system. It is therefore important that your rehydration drink contains added electrolytes for replenishment.
- Repair
The soreness you experience in your legs after long hard training is due to microscopic tears in your muscles. Heat therapy increases the flow of oxygen rich blood to the muscles and also helps muscle tissue, fascia, tendons and ligaments relax which speeds up recovery and reduces stiffness.
There are a number of other body work options such as massage, foam rolling, scraping etc. all also which all also help increase blood flow to the muscle and break up adhesions that cause tightness and restrict movement.
Finally, and actually most importantly, get in plenty of quality sleep. It is during our deep phases of sleep that growth hormone is released for repairing and rebuilding the muscles. Sleep is also critical for maintaining good immunity, something that is super important for not loosing training days due to illness.
Onwards and upwards!
Coach Kathleen
Professional running coach
Cape Town, South Africa