Dead Legs? Running Recovery Routines Work

Today I felt the signs of possible overtraining.  I ran 16.5 miles with some friends.  My legs felt dead even though yesterday was a relatively moderate day of sprint drills at the track.  As I have discussed, my training plan includes running 7 days per week.  Friends ask about my time to recover. I take a day off now and then when necessary due to travel constraints or when my body tells me I better by limiting my pace on a regular run.  If my pace is off by 45 seconds or so, on a 7-8 mile run, I consider this a good sign that I had better back off for a day.  My guess is that I changed up my recovery process yesterday making it harder to recover quickly, even from what was to be an easier day.  Here’s the recovery routine I go though that seems to work for me:

1. Stretch and Hydration – it feels good to stretch the muscles a bit right after running and of course is proven to prevent injury.  While I am doing this I down 16 oz. of Water followed up with another 16 oz. within the first hour or so.
2. Pool Kicking – thankfully I have a pool and have found kicking, water running, and any good movement in water to be really beneficial.  You can feel the quadriceps burn a bit as you kick. They feel really loose afterward. I am just doing 4-10 laps kicking in a 12 meter pool.  If you have access to one, give it a try.  It also allows your core temperature to come down quickly.   
3. Carbohydrate and Protein Replenishment – My preference is a protein smoothie (10 ice cubes, 12 oz. OJ, 1 banana, ½ cup of some other fruit such as blueberries, 2 tbls. flax seed, ~20 grams soy or whey protein, 1tsp L-Glutamine).  It’s easy, fast, great tasting, and good for you.  I also have a bagel, oatmeal, or buckwheat.  I have read that carbs. taken within the first hour of a hard workout are absorbed 66% better than those taken later.  Probably some proof to this.

I was back to my normal recovery plan today after skipping the pool work yesterday.  Tomorrow, I run a 5K in the morning.  After a 16 mile run and 65 miles for the week, I do not expect to set a PR, but it should be a good test of my recovery.  If I can be under 21:30, I would say I better not be skipping to pool when it is available to me.  I’ll let you know how it goes.