Well, mission accomplished. Sub 90 minute half marathon. Achieving this PB at Hastings feels like a double accomplishment because a) it's my local, big race, and b) it's a really hard course. The best bit was that it was a low 1:29:16, so close to a 1:28. Chuffed.
But of course, effort of this kind does have some seriously damaging effects on the body. A great runner once said "Rest, refuel, rehydrate. It's as important as the running." These things help to mitigate these damaging effects of a race. What are these yucky effects, and how do you avoid them?
First thing's first-lactic acid. Or blood lactate, to give it its proper name. It gets a bad press. Of course it does-it's a waste product that builds in your muscles during exercise. It's a performance limiter. But there are two things lots of people don't know about it.
The first is that when you're well trained enough, your body can resist the effects of it (that's the lactate turn point) and even actually use it as fuel. The second is that despite what you hear other people say, lactic acid isn't what causes your muscles to ache the day after a half marathon (or other harsh exercise). In most people, lactic acid is cleared from your muscles within the hour. The aching is something called DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Essentially, this is where your muscles fibres have torn themselves to bits due to the unfamiliar stresses they were put under. You may notice something similar if you start a new exercise plan. That first session, where you hurt for about 6 days afterwards? That's DOMS.
There are other horrible things that build up in your muscles after a race, such as ethanol, hydrogen, co2, goodness knows what else. None of these things help recovery. They are cellular waste products, and we need to get rid of them. Are there any things that DEFINITELY work?
Yup. Here are your key pointers for a good recovery.
1. Get iced asap. 5 minutes after my race finished, I was in the chilly Hastings sea up to my thighs. It took my breath away, but I was in there for 10-15 minutes. This icy water causes something called vasoconstriction, where the blood vessels in your muscles contract, forcing blood (and therefore, the waste products) out of the muscles. When they dilate and let blood back in, it's fresh, clean blood, free of waste products.
2. Get milkshake. As well as bringing all the boys to the yard, it also brings a perfect balance of amino acids (protein building blocks to repair muscles) and carbohydrates (to restock the muscle glycogen you just expended) to the aching muscles. And you know what? Any milkshake is fine (except a fast food one). Don't bother with the overpriced recovery shakes at 3 quid a bottle. Bottle of Yazoo or Frijj (other milkshakes are available) will do the same job. Get one down you as soon as you can after the race. Also, milk contains a protein called casein, which is a long chain amino acid. This means the breakdown of it happens over time, so having protein in this form many hours after your race will continue to aid recovery. For vegans, soya shakes contain medium chain amino acids which will also be awesome.
3. Stretch things out. Allow yourself 15 minutes to stretch all your muscles, especially your calves, hammies and glutes. And make sure they're static (stretched but still) stretches. Rotate your ankles before bed. You could even get a sports massage to stretch things out.
4. Go to bed. Seriously, 8-9 hours if poss. Sleep switches you from 'Grow' mode to 'Repair' mode. Do it.
5. Some people find gentle exercise helps. I had a Sport Relief charity football match the day afterwards. It was a good little run around, and it did help me feel more mobile. But there is no hard and fast rule here. Recovery can be rest or gentle exercise. Whatever you want.
So there we have it. The basic rule of recovery is to give yourself 1 day of recovery for every mile that you raced. That's almost 2 weeks of recovery for Hastings Half Marathon. That guideline was given to me by Messer Otto Haas, him of the 1:15 half marathon (that time would have been good enough for 5th place at Hastings 2016). He knows recovery. And he was the guy who gave me the advice at the beginning of this post. He's right, of course. Recovery IS as important as the running.
I prefer the running bit though...
But of course, effort of this kind does have some seriously damaging effects on the body. A great runner once said "Rest, refuel, rehydrate. It's as important as the running." These things help to mitigate these damaging effects of a race. What are these yucky effects, and how do you avoid them?
First thing's first-lactic acid. Or blood lactate, to give it its proper name. It gets a bad press. Of course it does-it's a waste product that builds in your muscles during exercise. It's a performance limiter. But there are two things lots of people don't know about it.
The first is that when you're well trained enough, your body can resist the effects of it (that's the lactate turn point) and even actually use it as fuel. The second is that despite what you hear other people say, lactic acid isn't what causes your muscles to ache the day after a half marathon (or other harsh exercise). In most people, lactic acid is cleared from your muscles within the hour. The aching is something called DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Essentially, this is where your muscles fibres have torn themselves to bits due to the unfamiliar stresses they were put under. You may notice something similar if you start a new exercise plan. That first session, where you hurt for about 6 days afterwards? That's DOMS.
There are other horrible things that build up in your muscles after a race, such as ethanol, hydrogen, co2, goodness knows what else. None of these things help recovery. They are cellular waste products, and we need to get rid of them. Are there any things that DEFINITELY work?
Yup. Here are your key pointers for a good recovery.
1. Get iced asap. 5 minutes after my race finished, I was in the chilly Hastings sea up to my thighs. It took my breath away, but I was in there for 10-15 minutes. This icy water causes something called vasoconstriction, where the blood vessels in your muscles contract, forcing blood (and therefore, the waste products) out of the muscles. When they dilate and let blood back in, it's fresh, clean blood, free of waste products.
2. Get milkshake. As well as bringing all the boys to the yard, it also brings a perfect balance of amino acids (protein building blocks to repair muscles) and carbohydrates (to restock the muscle glycogen you just expended) to the aching muscles. And you know what? Any milkshake is fine (except a fast food one). Don't bother with the overpriced recovery shakes at 3 quid a bottle. Bottle of Yazoo or Frijj (other milkshakes are available) will do the same job. Get one down you as soon as you can after the race. Also, milk contains a protein called casein, which is a long chain amino acid. This means the breakdown of it happens over time, so having protein in this form many hours after your race will continue to aid recovery. For vegans, soya shakes contain medium chain amino acids which will also be awesome.
3. Stretch things out. Allow yourself 15 minutes to stretch all your muscles, especially your calves, hammies and glutes. And make sure they're static (stretched but still) stretches. Rotate your ankles before bed. You could even get a sports massage to stretch things out.
4. Go to bed. Seriously, 8-9 hours if poss. Sleep switches you from 'Grow' mode to 'Repair' mode. Do it.
5. Some people find gentle exercise helps. I had a Sport Relief charity football match the day afterwards. It was a good little run around, and it did help me feel more mobile. But there is no hard and fast rule here. Recovery can be rest or gentle exercise. Whatever you want.
So there we have it. The basic rule of recovery is to give yourself 1 day of recovery for every mile that you raced. That's almost 2 weeks of recovery for Hastings Half Marathon. That guideline was given to me by Messer Otto Haas, him of the 1:15 half marathon (that time would have been good enough for 5th place at Hastings 2016). He knows recovery. And he was the guy who gave me the advice at the beginning of this post. He's right, of course. Recovery IS as important as the running.
I prefer the running bit though...
It's he the same bloke who owns the new F1 🏁 racing team this year?
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, as usual.
Missed out on every single tip, you should have written this on Saturday Jake, too b***** late now! I can hardly walk down the stairs today :-) Great blog, great result, great race. I loved it and have signed up for 62 miler.
ReplyDeleteGreat read Jacob. Almost motivated me to get out and get training. My Hasting PB of 1:35 is a distant memory.
ReplyDeleteGetting out for the first time would be the hardest bit Mr M. You'd be surprised how fast the fitness comes back. Hastings Runners are always keen to get experienced runners on board...
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