The Importance of Ample Recovery Time for Any Runner and How to Use the Time Wisely

As a runner, you might be inclined to want to race down every road you see or up every mountain without taking a break. But if you do this, you increase the chances of injury. If you set a two-hour run and you don’t include even just a quick breather and you do this a few days in a row, the chances of your muscles spasming or developing an ankle injury, just from sheer overuse of every piece of your body. This is why taking a break is crucial to your running success.

This is also apparent over the long run. If you’re training for a marathon or even for a smaller run, you need to make sure you have some recovery days set into your schedule. These recovery days also need to be used wisely. This article aims to give you some creative and useful ways to make the most of your days off.

Truly Take a Break and Get Horizontal

One of the best ways to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your downtime is to truly rest. You have to take time off, off your feet and even off from thinking. As a runner, you might say that lying down is great for your body to rest but that your mind still races. That’s why you should distract yourself. There aren’t too many distractions you can do lying down, other than reading a great book or playing a game on your phone or laptop. Luckily for you, there are loads of books and even more online games out there. Speaking of the latter, find an online game that truly thrills you. One that allows you to forget everything around you and just go for it. Runners, who are fond of a bit of competition, often lean toward a casino game, as it encourages them to fully focus on the matter at hand but they still get to live through the competitiveness. If you’re new to online casino games, try to steer toward reputable ones like BonusFinder for which you can view their full list of sites to try before buckling down and signing up for one you truly enjoy.

Remember the Power of Hot and Cold Therapy

Once you’re all rested out and have spent a good amount of time horizontal, it’s time to get up and Adam, however, this does not mean that you should immediately jump back into running. No no, you should always complete the full recovery period you set for yourself. There are many ways to make the most of your off time, such as hot and cold therapy, which is one of the best ways to get your body back to tip-top shape.

The process of hot and cold therapy forces you to get the body super warm, where all the muscles are loose and the body is flexible and then shocking it straight after by plunging into freezing cold water, getting the muscles tight and the body hyper-aware. The benefit of this therapy is that the body becomes more durable but also it gets the blood flowing and you know what happens when blood flows well? Muscles and tissue heal themselves much faster.

This is a rather intense form of therapy, so if you have any injuries, you should always consult your practitioner before doing this, however, many people swear by their ailments healing through this therapy. The great thing about it is that you do not need much. Simply doing it under the shower is enough, just switch the water from hot to cold over and over again in 30-second intervals and do this about 10 times each every day and you will see amazing results. If you can handle the cold, that is.

Stretching and Yoga are Key

As a runner, you have surely heard how important stretching and yoga are to your running success, however, unfortunately, many runners disregard this and just get to running.

If you want to be a serious runner and one that does not get injured, then you need to take stretching and yoga seriously. You must spend time on a yoga mat or even just on a handy non-slip mat at home so that you can get your joints moving. Think about your running style and then think about which parts of your body feel the most strain. If you play it through in your head, you’ll notice that it’s the ankles, knees, hips, lower back and shoulders. Almost all parts of the body are involved in running but certain joints or areas feel a bit more impact. Therefore, keeping places like the ankles and the knees nimble and flexible will make a huge difference to your running schedule.

Taking the time to truly stretch each part of your body will help you run better. When you’re on uneven terrain, you will thank your flexible body for being able to handle it. Stretching is also great to get the body to recover, it’s a key way to signal to the body that it is time to rest and recuperate. This is a time when your body will also tell you which areas need attention, so listen to muscles and stretch and move the ones that are screaming for some attention and TLC.