Tips To Recover After An Endurance Running Workout

Endurance running is tough. In fact, the very definition of endurance implies that endurance itself is tough: “The fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.” Something like endurance running requires great levels of physical stamina and mental concentration, and so, as one would imagine, the human body and psyche is pretty drained after an endurance competition. Even an endurance running workout is enough to exhaust even the toughest and strongest of athletes. So, naturally, there’s a lot of importance in making sure that proper recovery takes place after giving it your all.

Train Efficiently And Work Hard With The Real Runner™

You might also find that, after using The Real Runner™ for an extended period of time, your body is tired, aching, and sore. And hey, that most likely means that you’re getting a great workout and ultimately strengthening your body. But whether you’re just sticking to our low impact cardio workout machine or you just finished an all-out ultra marathon, it’s worth making sure that you know how to take it easy afterward and let your body properly recover. If you don’t, you’ll risk a potentially serious injury, and let’s be honest: No one has time for that.

So, that’s why The Real Runner™ is dedicating yet another running-related blog post to some recovery tips to help you relax and minimize any pain or soreness that you’re feeling after an endurance race, using The Real Runner™ itself, or doing anything that involves endurance running (chasing your six-year-old around the house endlessly definitely counts as a quality and tiring endurance run). Anyway, let’s take a look at some of these necessary yet often-overlooked recovery tips.

Don’t Run

This tip is incredibly obvious and perhaps even a little patronizing, but it’s not a joke. Seriously, the best thing to do to recover from a long running event is literally just not to run. Walking is fine, but even then, you might want to limit how much time you’re spending on your feet and exerting your muscles, especially your leg muscles.

There are many other ways to achieve ‘active recovery’ that don’t involve the harsh impact of running. Impact forces from running produce the primary mechanical and muscular stress that your body goes through during an endurance event. So, to recover optimally, you’ll want to avoid impact as much as possible. Even if you’re completely obsessed with chasing the ‘runner’s high,’ just remember that there’s always time in the future to run safely after your body has properly recovered.

Hydrate And Eat Nutritious Food

This recovery tip works for everyone in their daily life, regardless of their level of physical activity. Human beings are delicate creatures, and we are required to continue consuming solids and liquids in order to sustain our survival. Well, when you go through an endurance race like a marathon or even an ultramarathon for those who have totally lost their marbles, your body’s need for more water and nutrition essentially skyrockets. Typical, in an ultramarathon, the average runner burns roughly 600-1000+ calories per hour of racing - and these events usually take multiple hours to complete. So what you have here is race participants burning what some people consume over multiple days in a matter of several hours. This takes a pretty dramatic toll on your body, and even in the endorphin and dopamine-fueled glory of crossing that sweet finish line (we swear that it's not a mirage at that point), you’ll still need to replace those lost calories, fat deposits, protein build ups, and so forth.

Go To Bed!

Do we sound like your mother on a school night? Perhaps, but the human body recovers the most rapidly and most effectively when you’ve fallen asleep. Rest is such a vital component of recovery that it’s probably the most important thing that you can do after running a long race. Of course, we’re not suggesting that you pass out right after you cross the finish line (and please don’t do that out of exhaustion, either), but once you’re home with the proper amount of food and nutrients in your body, and you’ve showered at least six or seven times (joking), it’s probably a good idea to call it a day and hit the hay.

Roll And Ice Those Muscles

If you don’t have a muscle roller, you should get one. If you’re already a serious runner, chances are that you have several of them. By firmly rolling down a particular muscle path repeatedly in the same direction, you’ll significantly increase blood flow to that area, helping your muscles and bones heal faster. Plus, this will reduce some of the soreness that you’re probably dealing with after a run, too. Most muscle rollers are relatively inexpensive and they pay themselves off after a few uses because it’s really nice not having to be as sore for an extended period of time as you otherwise would without a good muscle roller.

As with many bruises, sore areas, shin splints and so forth, using the RICE method is a great idea: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Practicing RICE will help make sure that you’re taking good care of your body after your ambitious endurance event. All things considered, just listen to your body and you should be just alright.

Recover From An Endurance Race With The Real Runner™

If you want to make sure that you’re safely training and recovering safely after a race, you should do it with our low impact exercise equipment. We urge you to try out The Real Runner™ for yourself because you really just have to try it out for yourself to believe it. Contact us to lock down the best low impact cardio machine today!