Marathon Recovery 101

You get up before the sun to pound the pavement mile after mile for months prior to your race. You buy the right shoes, regulate your diet and sleep, incorporate interval training and weights – all so you can cross that finish line with your target PR.

But what are you doing to prep for AFTER the race? Proper marathon recovery practices (like proper training practices) can make all the difference in how your body bounces back post-race. Hunter Hall of Fleet Feet Sports Nashville gave us some useful tips to keep in mind:

Post Marathon Recovery: How Long Will It Take?

A general rule-of-thumb is to take it easy for one day for every mile you run before undertaking any significant distance.

Post Marathon Recovery: Reduce Soreness

26 miles of running is a lot of wear and tear on your body, no matter how many times you’ve done it. Soreness is a part of running a marathon. Here are a few ways to cut down on the post-marathon recovery time:

Ice Bath

While uncomfortable in its duration, the results are undeniable. The cold therapy of ice baths constricts blood vessels, decreases metabolic activity, reduces the breakdown of tissue, and combats swelling.

Compression Gear

No longer reserved for issues like diabetes and arthritis, compression gear is providing relief to runners everywhere. Due to its snug fit (usually made up of nylon or spandex material), it reduces muscle movement, prevents energy waste, and helps keep your body in alignment while you workout and increases blood flow to critical areas.

Eat Well

Your diet is extremely important before the race - it’s also important after the race. Does that mean you can’t indulge post-race? Absolutely not! But getting back to your normal eating habits will nourish your muscles with what they need, and flush out the unwanted toxins.

Use ithriveX Performance Cream

You know we couldn’t leave this out, right? ithriveX Performance Cream is an all-natural, lightly scented, non-sticky, pain relief cream that soothes aches and pains in muscles and joints.

Tapping into nature’s medicine cabinet, ithriveX uses essential oils and other natural ingredients to reduce inflammation, allowing the body to heal itself in a safe and holistic way. Relief begins minutes after application and lasts for hours.