Recovery after a hard session is vital. You want to push yourself in training and benefit from the adaptations to improve but not injure yourself. You’ll want to hit your next run feeling healthy and refreshed, both mentally and physically. Here are some tips on how to mix in hard sessions to your training such are tempo, intervals, fartleks and hills:
Recovery
Firstly, ensure you cool down. Take 10 to 15 minutes of easy running at the end of a hard session, running at a really easy pace
Depending on the intensity of your session, you may be running again the next day or in 2 days time. Take stock of how intense the session was and if you felt any pain during or after it. It’s always good to keep moving so I would opt for an easy run over rest, because it’ll promote blood flow which will aid recovery.
If you find you’re too sore or tired on your next run consider making your sessions slightly easier in time, distance or pace to let your body adapt.
Eat
Prioritise nutrition immediately following your hard session. You should aim to have a good balance of protein, fats and carbs within the next 90 minutes. If you do a morning session this may simply consist of eggs on toast. If you’ve run later in the day then a balanced meal, avoiding highly processed foods would be great. Just don’t go to bed on an empty stomach whilst your body is looking for nutrients to repair 😎. If you find you’re too tired on your next session consider if you’ve refuelled well enough
Sleep
It goes without saying, try to get a good night’s sleep after a hard session. This may be difficult if you ran your session late but aim for a good 8 hours and avoid staring at your phone which will likely keep you up.
When should you run again?
Unfortunately, there’s not one specific answer here, and it really depends on how hard you ran and how you feel. While you may feel ready to go, your muscles, tendons and soft tissue may still be repairing. You’ll want to reduce the risk of injury so consider a walk, swim or cycle as cross training if running is too sore. Avoid doing 2 hard sessions on consecutive days, aim to do 1 to 2 hard sessions per week.
If you want ideas for hard sessions, look at my selection of sessions here.
Looking for motivation for your hard sessions? Search for a running club and/or find an online running coach.
