A stressful (for me) Q, is this weird and how to recover faster!

SORRY if you saw this post (well, part of it) yesterday… I was working on it and sent it (without proofreading or checking it at all) yesterday instead of this morning!  I don’t know where my brain disappeared to but if you find it, please let me know;)

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Back to the sun, hallelujah.  Yesterday morning I started my run early and finished it off (well, I guess I started there too… I like to drive places some days each week) in a gorgeous area.

I love finding new routes, while the entire run wasn’t super scenic and I was on the roads the entire time, there were portions like this that made me happy.  I finished up the morning with 9 miles and it felt amazing.  I’ll probably be on my treadmill the next few days while Andrew is at the hospital so I soaked in all of the fresh air and me-time endorphins as possible.

Knox came home and we were all thrilled, including Beretta… she gave him quite a few kisses.

We got to work on a big bowl of strawberries that I might actually say tastes better than candy. I wish I could send you some from this container because they are that good).

Followed by grilled cheese sandwiches (I swear I get out of my running clothes at some point during the day;)!  Strawberry jam on top and I always eat the crusts first and save the best part of the sandwich (in the middle) for last.

We worked hard on some art projects.

And then we ran to the outlets to find some all white sneakers (that don’t kill his feet like the last pair) for Andrew to wear for school/hospital shifts.

Knox was practicing his Zen.

Brooke’s got her summer hair game going strong!

They spent some time on the trampoline with the sprinkler on.

And we had taco night at home for dinner.  I don’t think it would be possible for my body to ever tire of tacos.  Ground turkey tacos with corn tortillas, lettuce, salsa, corn, avocado and sour cream.

And Blueberries for dessert (along with cereal for me once the kids went to bed;).

We watched part of Blank Check with the kids and they loved it… it took me back a good 20 years:)

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Ten things YOU can do to recover faster so you can go out and run hard again sooner!  

Now some of these things aren’t actually proven to really work by any means, but I have found that they work for me and I’d love to hear your thoughts too!  Also, I’m a strong believer in the placebo effect so when my brain tells me that something works… I think it kind of does!  I LOVE having control of parts of my life and while there are many things in our running that we have ZERO control over, doing what we can to take care of our bodies is one that we sure can have control over!

PS I am sure many of you are a million times better than me at this (know it all really well and have many more methods) but just in case any of you need some ideas, I thought I’d share my favorites.

1.  DRINK DRINK DRINK WATER!  Even when it is cooler outside and I don’t feel like I am sweating, I still go straight for the water when I get home (and make sure to drink within 15 minutes).  We need to replace any fluid loss and

PS now that it is summer, you can try out this Sweat Loss Calculator to figure out how much you need to drink!!

2.  Feet up on the wall.  I have zero scientific backing on this one but I love to do this at night before I go to bed.  I just put my back on the ground and place my buns right next to the wall, put my legs up and hold them there for a few minutes or so.  It feels so good!

3.  Correct protein to carb ratio… 4:1 carbs to protein ration!  Lately I’ve been relying on yogurt bowls with fruit & pb, Rockin’ Refuel drinks when I am on the go and smoothies w/protein powder (smoothies are so good right now)!  I look back on my years of having every injury on the planet and I really and truly connect those to my lack of proper recovery.  I would wait HOURS to eat after any workout, even the hard workouts.  I had a phobia of breakfast (yeah, I don’t know why) and would work out hard and wouldn’t replenish my muscles with anything but water = injuries and not meeting my potential.  I try to get in this snack/small meal within thirty minutes of finishing and then eat a bit bigger meal (with carbs, protein and fat) a bit later on!

4.  Ice bath.  We used to take them in the Provo River after long/hard runs but you can’t do that right now because the water is WAY TOO high and fast BUT jump in some cold water at home or a river close to you.  I can 100% honestly say that I always felt so much better the next day after a long run when I took an ice bath compared to when I did not.   It’s going to hurt while you do it (especially the first few minutes) and I usually do these for about 15 minutes but it is so worth it to me.  I usually bring an old pair of shoes to wear if I’m going to get in the river and if I do it at home, I bring a mug of hot chocolate and a big warm sweatshirt to wear while I’m in the ice bath.

5.  Foam roll!!! My foam roller does an excellent job helping me to get rid of tightness and knots.  It hurts but it really helps my body to recover.  You can watch my video on how to foam roll in this post!

6.  Be around positive people, positive things and positive thoughts:)  That mind-body connection is REAL and I think positive vibes effects our recovery too!  We may not be able to control the people we are around but you can control the things you read and the things you think!

7.  There are lots of tools out there to help you with recovery, some might not really work but I am sure some do!  I have both an Electro-Stimulator (that I used to use A TON but don’t use it very much anymore) and I also have RapidReboots (not sponsored.. just sharing) and I really love them.  They are so easy to use (I just read or watch tv while I am using them) and my legs feel like they had an amazing massage afterwards.  They are meant to help you improve your blood circulation = faster recovery!  You could also go for a sports massage too… I don’t do that often but I save these for times I really need them and they help me out big time to recover.

8.  S.L.E.E.P and get plenty of it.  If you are really wanting to take things to the next level and you are needing help in this area… schedule in naps when needed.  Even a 20 minute nap helps me.  Ryan Hall used to put naps into his schedule and label them ‘business meetings.’  Deena Kastor and Shalane Flanagan get in as much as 10 hours of sleep a night!  “It’s during sleep that your body recovers from hard training and builds you into a better runner.” (source)  Don’t let the lack of sleep keep you from reaching your goals after all of the hard work that you are putting in each day on the roads.

9.  Do you stretch after a run?  I went many years without it (I swear I got away with a lot more in my 20s) but now I just have to stretch my major muscle groups at least after a run.  I skip it every now and then but not very often.  My favorite stretches are HERE!

10.  FOLLOW THE PLAN.  Sometimes this is the hardest of them all but this will help you to recover properly.  Whether you have a coach or you follow a plan from a really great source… follow it.  I’d actually rather be a bit undertrained than overtrained on race day… I would rather give my body a bit more recovery than it needs than not enough!  If we have rest days on that plan, go for it… if it tells us to run easy, do it… follow it closely to make sure that you are giving your body the proper amount of recovery before you go out for a hard workout again.

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I finally remembered to do the giveaway winner for my running shoe giveaway… Cassie, YOU WON!  (You should have gotten an email:)

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Andrew asked me this yesterday and it stressed me out… if you could only have one fruit for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Do you eat your food in a strange way… like do you save the best for last too?  Do you not let any of your food touch?  Do you mix all of your food up on your plate?

Ice baths… do you ever take them?  At home?  In a river?  What helps you to handle them?

Do you always leave from your front door when you go run or do you drive somewhere to run sometimes too?