Should i do recovery runs

Recovery runs are aerobically easy enough not to elicit any muscle damage or need for extra recovery. Recovery runs are a bit of a misnomer. They do not directly help you recover. You cannot go on a recovery run instead of taking a scheduled rest day, for example.

Instead, recovery runs allow you to get in your miles without prolonging recovery from previous training. Contrary to popular misconception, recovery runs do not flush out lactic acid. Lactic acid typically clears shortly after a hard workout.

However, a recovery run will pump oxygen-rich blood into damaged muscles. This is why you usually feel better after doing a recovery run! Since the goal of a recovery run is adding mileage without prolonging recovery, you want to cap recovery runs at approximately 60 minutes in duration.

Why even do a recovery run? Why not cross-train or rest instead? As implausible as it may sound, recovery runs can play a vital role in performance. So, if you have your sights set on a personal record or a marathon, recovery runs will likely be part of your plan.

One of the most significant predictors of running performance is overall training volume how many miles or kilometers you run per week. Sometimes the mind can wander on these easy runs. They are completed the day after a longer and more-intense run. Make these runs 25 to 30 minutes each with hours between runs. This run should be a minute group run with people who are typically slower than you are. This might mean showing up at a local running store run or joining a group that is less performance-oriented than you are most of the time.

End the run on soft grass and do minutes of easy bounding barefoot. The Importance of Easy Recovery Runs.

Previous Next. View Larger Image. Not to worry. They should be a key part of your running routine. In short, a recovery run is a slow, short run that you complete within 24 hours of a hard run. Instead, recovery runs are supposed to be comfortable, relaxing runs. Recovery runs have a host of benefits. Here are just a few benefits! Slow runs are the time to run with friends, especially if you have a friend who is slightly slower than you.

Plus, having to spend more time on your feet can teach you how to deal with physical discomfort. Generally speaking, you should do a recovery run within 24 hours of a hard run. That means that if you did a hard interval training workout on Tuesday, your next run should be a recovery run on Wednesday. If you are a very serious runner, you can do a hard run in the morning followed by a recovery run in the evening.

In fact, this is exactly what many elite runners will do to pack in as many miles as possible. You can also schedule recovery runs when you simply feel tired. Sleepless night? It helps by increasing blood circulation, which will help the body process waste products. Recovery runs can add volume to your whole training week, which can also boost your aerobic capacity, helping you run faster: the better the base, the more capacity you have to run harder and faster. Leaving your watch at home and running easy, while maintaining good running form, gives all of us an opportunity to practise mindfulness.

A basic rule of training is that a hard session should always be followed by an easy one. If you have raced at the weekend, completed a tough track session or a threshold run, your body needs time to recover from the demands made on it, for training adaptations to occur.

This is an ideal day to slot in your recovery run. When it comes to the run itself, ensure it feels easy.