LISTEN
This week on the A to Z Running Podcast we discuss post-race recovery for runners. It is important to consider and respect all your body has gone through preparing and executing a marathon. Hungry to get back to training and racing? Give your body and mind the recovery it needs! Tune in!
INTRO
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She had gone on to say that she still may feel anxiety but that she felt excitement and gratitude more than anything else.
- Your comments indicated that many of you feel anxiety or nervousness. I had a coach tell me once that your body doesn’t know the difference between nervousness and excitement.
- I went ahead and did a little research.
- I found an article by Business Insider discussing this topic and citing Harvard research.
- Harvard Business School professor Allison Wood Brooks, indicates trying to calm yourself down when you are anxious is exactly the wrong thing to do. Her research shows that shifting from anxiety, a negative state of high arousal, to calm, a positive state of low arousal, is both extremely difficult and counterproductive.
- It’s difficult because anxiety has a powerful momentum of arousal. It shifts our heart rate, our breathing rate, and activates the release of hormones designed to keep us vigilant, alert, and awake. WE WANT THIS!
- We want the arousal before the race without the dread of fear. Excitement, by contrast, involves an almost identical physiological state with a slightly different story — a story that welcomes and looks forward to the future instead of dreading it.
- Subjects performed better at tasks when shifting the arousal to excitement rather than trying to calm down.
- Check out Rooftree Elite Massage Gun! It’s powerful, quality, effective, and has long-lasting battery life.
MAIN TOPIC: Now what?
Main Topic:
Now what? So we’ve run the race, and now it’s time to do three things: reflect, recover, and eventually restart.
Reflection
Questions to ask ourselves:
- What can I celebrate about this race?
- What did I learn, practice, or accomplish in this race?
- How did the race play out? How did this compare to the plan?
- How was my fueling (where relevant)?
- What are key takeaways from the race to move me forward?
- How did my training prepare me for race day?
Check out the complete article HERE.
Recovery
- Check out our episode about post-race recovery.
- Also listen to What is recovery and why does it matter?
Restart
A note about training between seasons…
- Cross training for a while as mentioned in our episode about cycling for runners with Dr. Todd Buckingham.
- Maybe focus on PT or foundations if you struggled with injury or weakness during the cycle.
- Two basic ingredients
- Aerobic
- Neuromuscular
- Check out Mike Swingers “Zombie Drills.”
- Grow, maintain, or lose fitness?
- Some of it is individual
- Needs may vary if working on weaknesses
Getting started again.
- When? When you’re good and ready! (and no sooner)
- While your body may be able to quickly get back to high volume training, consider the gradual approach.
- Musculoskeletal growth
- Effort is the key
- Listen to your body carefully as you gauge any lingering or residual unresolved issues.
- Strength, mobility
- Stability, coordination, precision (Jay Dicharry)
WORLD OF RUNNING
Congrats to so many who raced this weekend! We had many AtoZrunners who raced this weekend! Julie ran a huge PR, Mark, Pete, and Zach PRed. Cathy debuted in the 25k, Lewis ran the triple of the 5k, 10k, and 25k, Kristi was 4th in he AG in the 10k, and Dan O ran his 35th Riverbank run placing 2nd in his AG.
#1. 25k US Road Racing Championships
Women’s Race
- Makena Morely won her first-ever US Championship after a very strong summer on the road circuit thus far. Makena ran in the Olympic Trials 10,000m.
- Erika Kemp runs her longest race distance and ceases the runner-up place. Remember she was the 20k US Champ.
- Third place was Molly Grabill who was the marathoner of the trio. I know many of you love Grandma’s marathon, and so does Molly (or Grandma’s loves her) because that is where she has hit her personal best marathon time of 2:35:11.
Men’s Race
- Biya Simbassa was the champion in a close race clocking a time of 1:14:26
- Runner up was claimed by Futsum Zienasellassie.
- And in the group sprinting to the finish was previous Podcast guest Sam Chelanga in third place.
#2. Letesenbet Gidey sets new world record in the half marathon
- Gidey crushed the record by over a minute, 70 secs to be exact, to run the fastest half marathon in the world’s history in a time of 1:02:52
- Previous record holder was Ruth Chepngetich.
- Set at the Valencia Half Marathon this weekend.
#3. Tirop’s Tragic Death
- Agnes Tirop was brutally murdered, allegedly by her husband who has been apprehended.
- Stabbed to death, Tirop is mourned by the running community.
- Agnes leaves a legacy of excellence holding the women’s only 10k record and claiming 2 bronze medals at World Championships.
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