The Race is Done. Now What?

Yesterday's Gazelle Girl Half Marathon marked the beginning of Run With Endurance Plainwell chapter's race season. We trained for 12 weeks, through snow, wind, and rain! We battled injuries and conquered challenges! It paid off and yesterday was a huge success!

So, now what? Some of us have other races in mind, while others want to maintain what they have worked so hard to gain.

The key is to train smart. A very important part of training is recovery. Below are some simple steps to follow post-race week to ensure that you are completely recovered and injury free for your next challenge!

Post Race Recovery Week

1.) Continue hydrating as you were during training.

2.) Eat 5-6 small meals per day to re-establish your body’s routine.

3.) Stretch upon waking up and before bedtime.

4.) Get a deep tissue massage and/or use a foam roller to help relax tight muscles.

5.) Ice achy and sore areas, especially knees, ankles, back, and hips. Place a thin layer of clothing or thin towel between ice and skin, ice for approx. 10 minutes at a time several times throughout the day. If muscle related, feel free to alternate ice/heat to stop inflammation and keep muscles relaxed.

6.) If you are not feeling moderate to extreme joint or muscle discomfort, do 2-3 short (3 miles or under) easy recovery walks and/or runs over the next week.

7.) After one week, resume your workout routine with your mileage base being your longest training run distance, meaning this is the longest you should be walking or running on your “long run day” if you are beginning another training schedule within 2 weeks.

8.) If you are still experiencing moderate to extreme discomfort anywhere after one week, continue steps 1 through 5 until discomfort subsides. If you are still experiencing any discomfort after 2 weeks, seek expert advice.

9.) CONTINUE YOUR TRAINING! You have worked too hard to stop now! Take care of your body and yourself! YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!!

Tuesday's Table for Two

Welcome to Tuesday’s Table for Two!  With the Plainwell Run with Endurance Chapter beginning our annual 21 day sugar fast, I thought we could all use a reminder of how important it is to invite God to our dinner tables!   More importantly, include Him in the entire meal planning/preparing process. Feel free to drop in every Tuesday for healthy tips, recipes, and encouragement J 

First, I think it’s crucial to get your family on board.  I realize this may be easier said than done!  I used to make 2 dinners: 1 for my husband and son and 1 for me.  Why?  Shouldn’t they be eating healthy too?!  I now make only 1 dinner, a healthy dinner.  (Ok, ok - not EVERY meal is a model of complete health.  But, even when we “splurge”, I still sneak in a veggie or 2 J)

I’ll admit it took a little while for my family to get used to whole wheat pasta, baked chicken instead of fried chicken, and sweet potato fries with no butter, but once they started feeling and seeing the effects of eating healthy, there wasn’t one complaint.  Now, even when my son says, “Chicken! Again?!” my reply is, “Yes, because I love you.” 

Secondly, plan ahead!  You are less likely to grab fruits or veggies to snack on if they’re not washed or cut up!  Plan enough time for grocery shopping to include time for food prep.  This might be washing/portioning out fruits and veggies, washing/trimming chicken breasts, or placing serving size portions of almonds or snack mix in individual baggies to grab throughout the week.  Don’t have the extra time?  Buy food prewashed/prepackaged!  They even have 100 calorie snack bags of almonds now!  It may cost a little more, but you’ll save money in the long run by not having to throw out the veggies you never washed!

Consult God on your food choices.  Remember that our bodies are not our own.  What better way to honor God than to not only take care of your health, but do your part in taking care of your family’s health too!