Post Marathon Recovery

This may be a strange post, but as far as I could tell, there aren't many discussions about post race recovery, specifically post marathon recovery. Having limped around several times after participating in distance events, and laughing at YouTube videos about post race limping (see: The day after the marathonI), it occurred to me that recovery is just as important as preparation and training.

In Jeff Galloway's book on Marathon: You Can Do It!, he talks about how walk breaks help post race recovery. The message I get is to start thinking of recovery even while training for the race. So here is my recent post race recovery experience:

1. Incorporated walk breaks into the 42k race. I adopted a 6 min run, 1 min walk ratio, at 7 min/k pace. I took longer walk breaks when I was tired. True enough, I often caught up with runners who didn't take walk breaks. The walk breaks also helped lactic acid build up and allowed me to avoid the dreaded cramps! Another major motivation is that walk breaks help post race recovery... is that really the case?

2. Wore Pearl Izumi compression tights. The idea is to reduce muscle fatigue.

3. Continued walking after crossing the finish line for about 1k or 10 min. Or as much as I could with the heavy downpour and waiting in line to collect the finisher T, medal and bag. Ate a banana and drank a bottle of mineral water (hydrate and protein!).

4. Cold bath. But the heavy downpour was better than a cold bath to soak the legs.

5. Applied muscle cream after getting home and after a hot shower.

6. Continued walking that morning at the Cold Storage Kids' Run. It was really a walk/limp.

7. After the Kids' Run, it was time for a bagel and coffee before heading back home for lunch and a nap. This is where I experimented with something new. I put on the 2XU compression pants (bought at the Sundown expo). The claim is that this helped blood circulation and recovery. Time to put the claim to the test.



Surprisingly, I didn't feel my muscle aching while I napped, and woke up in better shape than previous races. Seemed good so far. Throughout the day, I also made a conscious effort to rehydrate with isotonic drinks and water. Had a nice steak dinner that evening! Sunday night yielded a good sleep, again with the compression pants.

The next day (Monday), I went for a 45 min walk with a slow jog tagged at the end of the 4k. There was still some soreness, but no pain, no serious aches. I could walk up and down stairs without holding on to the rails (I had to do that previously). I even went to work. That day, I rewarded myself with a massage at Laguna spa. Previously, I requested for more focus on legs. This time, I specifically asked for less attention to the legs. As it turned out, this was the recommended approach for massage (see my earlier post on Gems from Hal).

On Tuesday, I did another short walk and jog (2k). By that time, I felt completely recovered. No hint of soreness or aches at all. Wow.

On Wed, I took out my road bike for a 20k spin along the East Coast park. 10k easy tempo run around the tracks on Thursday, followed by another easy 10k on the treadmill on Friday. Good as new.

I am really pleased with this post race recovery. Much better recovery compared to earlier runs.

Looking forward to the next marathon at Phuket!