Recover and Plan

The trickiest part of training is often the bit in-between training blocks.

Since I crossed the finish line in Dublin in October the goal has been two fold: to recover properly and plan for what's next.

The recovery has gone well for the most part. I still have some issues with my heel. The tendon was slow to improve and it's still more a case on managing it rather than being fully recovered from it. Hard tempo efforts and reps still tend to leave me feeling tender and sore the flowing day. Definitely need to concentrate on strengthening and the exercises I was prescribed for my rehab.....funny how when things improve a bit the rehab get forgotten.

My leg strength, particularly my gluteus is shocking. I've incorporated two thirty minute sessions on the rowing machine per week. So far it's helping. Recovery after races and training sessions is something I've been very poor at in the past. If I am to improve this is definitely an area where there are gains to be made.

In order to improve by 'X percent' and run under three hours, good recovery won't automatically make me run faster. However if I can get from training session to training session properly rested and recovered and absorb the harder efforts properly, running each session stronger, hopefully the improvements will then come.

Recovery tools 

Protein Intake:

I've read and heard many times that getting some quality protein onboard within thirty minutes of finishing a training session help to rebuild muscle damage caused by intense activity. With this in mind I've started to take a protein shake after all harder efforts.

It tastes nice, weather it makes any difference or not remains to be seen. My gut is telling me some scrambled egg or a tin of tuna would be just as good and considerably cheaper, I'll go with the expensive vanilla ice cream flavoured option for now!

Epsom Salt Baths:

On easy days I've started to use epsom salt baths having also read and heard of their benefits. The theory is the salt breaks down into magnesium and sulfate. Then when you soak in the warm bath these elements are absorbed into your body through your skin which helps the muscles. Again the advantages of this has to be taken with a pinch of salt (pun intended). The main scepticism being due to the fact human skin is pretty water proof so not an ideal conduit for the transportation of salt ions. There is an excellent review on Painscience.com which can be found HERE

My own initial view is that the heat does get the blood moving in the muscles so must help to some degree. I am lucky enough to have access to a hut tub which is basically the same thing minus the salt. Using this before hard efforts feels great for getting the blood moving to the muscles.

Compression:

I've always used compression sock after races and hard efforts. I do feel they have helped the legs recover quicker. I've taken it to another level with a pair of compression boots.

These pneumatic full length sexy boots are purported to:  

'improve blood circulation, help remove waste products from training, racing or games and reduces inflammation or swelling'.

I'll write a more in-depth review of these at a later stage. One thing I will say about these is they leave my legs feeling great! Although I did get some weird looks from the rest of the family.

Sports message and self massage:

Getting a professional sports therapist to give a sports massage and be able to keep an eye out for potential problems is a no brainer. In the past I've only done this when I've had a problem. My intention for the next few months of training is to go once every few weeks. 

When I had shockwave therapy  on my heel two things struck me: 1. it was very expensive and 2. it was very painful though the relief it gave me was remarkable. I devised my own methods to self administer  some treatment to my heel which was still troublesome. I used a message stick in the bath to roll the area out which gave some relief and then I came across this:

The Hypervolt message tool. Again like most sports recovery aids it promises much:

• Helps relieve muscle soreness and stiffness
• Improves range of motion
• Promotes circulation
• Accelerates warmup and recovery

For me it was a godsend in relieving my tendinitis. I also use it to rub down any stiff muscles which gives great relief and hopefully will keep me on the road in the X percent quest!

So as you can see I've gone from not taking recovery very seriously to taking it VERY seriously.

The other thing I've had an eye on since the Dublin Marathon is planning. This whole idea to leave no stone unturned and go for a sub 3 marathon has evolved a lot of googling race dates and training plans. I came across a plan called the Hanson Marathon Method some time ago and was intrigued by it. It has become somewhat notorious because it's longest long run is 'only' 16 miles. I decided to investigate it after speaking to a few people who swore by it. Having read the book I've decided to base my training on it's advanced training plan. The reason I opted for this is it's simplicity (in understanding it not completing it) and it's strong focus on a lot of miles at marathon pace and faster during the training, something I feel I've been lacking in before.

I've been dabbling with a few of the sessions from the book. Referred to as SOS or something of substance sessions which cover tempo runs (marathon pace), speed and strength runs (reps) and long runs. I'm looking forward to getting into it and hope to follow it as closely as I can with a few adaptations......more on that at another time. 

The plan starts the first week of December, my first deviation from the plan comes three days in as I have an entry for the Waterford half marathon.....possibly not the best way to start a plan but it should give me an idea of where I am- a confidence boost or a kick in the arse.