Ok, it's now Day 4 post-race, and my legs feel great! Pretty much back to normal. This is GREAT news, as, if you've been reading for a couple of weeks or more now, you'll know that there's the Gold Coast Half Marathon coming up in just over 3 weeks, where I'm aiming to try and beat my last official PB of 1:34. (I am going to try for 1:30!). So, fresh legs are needed.
However, I don't want to jinx myself or to have spoken too soon, so will still be taking it fairly easy for the rest of this week, and will probably do no running (if I can bear it, I may crack over the weekend). So far I have been heeding the advice of aiming for active recovery. That is, still moving, albeit different muscles/movements/exercises, and thus allowing the lactic acid in your sore muscles to dissipate faster, plus you're getting various stretching in too. So far, so good! I have been: walking (our Puppy, so maybe 2 ish kms at a time?), casual cycling around the corner to the shops and restaurants, and this morning I did about 40 minutes of yoga.
I read that unless you have an injury as a result of a race, then absolute bed rest and putting your feet/legs up for a long time leads to a much longer (frustrating) recovery time. However, obviously getting enough sleep is important too. As demonstrated by moi this morning - slept in until half 8 and then ate breakfast and went back to sleep for another couple of hours! Wow, that never happens. I am more than ok with this; my body clearly needed it.
Here are a few articles if you want to read more re: this active recovery vs. complete rest debate:
http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/your-best-rest?page=single
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/active-versus-passive-recovery.html
http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/injury-prevention/the-long-run-putting-recovery-to-work_43017
Ok, here's to carrying on this active recovery and fingers crossed my legs continue to feel fine - just off into the hot, humid day to day said Puppy for a walk. Enjoy your day wherever you may be!
What do you like to do after a hard/challenging/big race? How long do you wait until you run again?
However, I don't want to jinx myself or to have spoken too soon, so will still be taking it fairly easy for the rest of this week, and will probably do no running (if I can bear it, I may crack over the weekend). So far I have been heeding the advice of aiming for active recovery. That is, still moving, albeit different muscles/movements/exercises, and thus allowing the lactic acid in your sore muscles to dissipate faster, plus you're getting various stretching in too. So far, so good! I have been: walking (our Puppy, so maybe 2 ish kms at a time?), casual cycling around the corner to the shops and restaurants, and this morning I did about 40 minutes of yoga.
I read that unless you have an injury as a result of a race, then absolute bed rest and putting your feet/legs up for a long time leads to a much longer (frustrating) recovery time. However, obviously getting enough sleep is important too. As demonstrated by moi this morning - slept in until half 8 and then ate breakfast and went back to sleep for another couple of hours! Wow, that never happens. I am more than ok with this; my body clearly needed it.
Here are a few articles if you want to read more re: this active recovery vs. complete rest debate:
http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/your-best-rest?page=single
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/active-versus-passive-recovery.html
http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/injury-prevention/the-long-run-putting-recovery-to-work_43017
Ok, here's to carrying on this active recovery and fingers crossed my legs continue to feel fine - just off into the hot, humid day to day said Puppy for a walk. Enjoy your day wherever you may be!
What do you like to do after a hard/challenging/big race? How long do you wait until you run again?
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