Long Distance Recovery........

[emmilou]

........in general as oppose to specific!!

I did a 32 mile 6000ft run on sunday I had work straight after so not sure participating (of a fashion) in the circuit class was ideal post run but felt not too bad at the time.

Yesterday I felt ok and went for a swim - nothing to full on and kept pretty active throughout the day - dog walking, chores blah blah

anyway woken up today aching from head to toe

Do I do anything, nothing what do you seasoned long distance runners do??

My instincts tell me to carry on and train through it as I'm starting to really stiffen today - what's the general opinion??

thanks
emmi

[molehill]

You're still a youngster, so should recover a bit quicker than us old gimmers. You may be able to do more than I can manage and come round quicker. For the stiffness I would simply stick to walk, light cycle and stretch for a few days, probably avoid all big hills

If it is your first time over that distance and you pushed yourself a bit more than usual, you could find yourself surprisingly 'drained' for a while. I normally feel fine for a few days after (energy wise), and then suddenly 'conk out' later in the week. Nothing I can do except, eat, sleep, drink sensible (more beer ) and be patient with the training until it all comes back - you will know when you feel back to normal.

Bear in mind you may have given your legs a right pounding (muscle damage), this won't repair unless you help it. Patience.

[david]

Yesterday I felt ok and went for a swim - nothing to full on and kept pretty active throughout the day - dog walking, chores blah blah

anyway woken up today aching from head to toe

It's normal in my experience for the aches and pains to be at their worst about 48 hours after the event and it's not specific to long distance, I get the same effect after a hard short race. Easy jogging and gentle stretching for a couple of days sorts me out.

[emmilou]

Thanks Moley

I slept in today - really tired but then had a late night and a bottle of wine last night

When you say muscle damage - yes they are aching today but how do I know if too much is too soon etc??? I've had DOMS in the past but just worked through it however it is as you suggest this is the first time I've done this distance in fact only ever done 1 mara and that was that Wharfedale one months ago!

I'm doing the 50 miler in december so want to stay on track training wise and keep the distance up

I do have a spangly new bike to play on though!

[emmilou]

It's normal in my experience for the aches and pains to be at their worst about 48 hours after the event and it's not specific to long distance, I get the same effect after a hard short race. Easy jogging and gentle stretching for a couple of days sorts me out.

Do you think the same amout of damage can be done to the muscles etc over a short fast race than the long ones I was on my feet for 7 hours on saturday?? i have no idea so it's probably a numpty question!

[IainR]

DOMS, quite normal. It's why you can often sneak in 2 long runs in consecutive days. - now see you realise that.

I like to start walking, swimming or light runs straight away, get the muscles working again. Only light sessions though and then slowly build up over a course of 7 days or so. You have to accept that your mileage will drop for the next week, but then aim to be back up to your normal weekly mileage next week. I try not to take too long off, even after 96 miles, I find that I was cycling within 2 days, and then running again by the end of the week. With the next week about normal milage.

I find cold baths straight after reduce DOMS hugely. Don't know why, maybe some placebo effect, but do seem to help. Then just eat and drink really.

Well done on that anyway. Round Rotherham should be OK for you now. It's quite flat so as long as it's dry you should be OK. On a wet day I can imagine, and have heard, that the ploughed feels make it a lot tougher event.

[david]

Do you think the same amout of damage can be done to the muscles etc over a short fast race than the long ones I was on my feet for 7 hours on saturday?? i have no idea so it's probably a numpty question!

Have a go at this one and find out for yourself .

[Full Moon Addict]

cold baths ! sounds a bit draconian to me. A wallow in a nice warm tub sounds better to me.

I agree that some exercise straight after is better if you can manage it, but if you're feeling drained don't push it - take time out to recover.

[IainR]

Yeah I can do cold baths on hot sunny days, and after long fell races, but after very long days out (WHW, PBR etc) the last thing I fancy is a cold bath, so it's not going to happen.

[Hollingworth tortoise]

As unpleasant (especially in winter) as cold baths seem, lots of evidence to support the use of them. Paula Radcliffe, lots of rugby teams etc. Has the same effect as an ice pack on an injury.