RACE… RECEOVER… RACE… an experiment in ultra-stacking! Step 3 - Recovery

My idea of recovery!

Previously I covered how I approached my training (here) and nutrition (here) for two ultras I planned to race close together; (Mad City 50k & Ice Age 50 mile) there was three weeks between the races.  To be able to consistently train for the first race and fully recover for the second, I was going to need to dial in my daily training, nutrition, and recovery.

This article is going to focus on what I utilized to consistently recover between workouts and, most important, between the two races.  Obviously training and nutrition directly affect recovery hence the reason those articles were written first.  The more consistent your training is the stronger and more durable you become, thereby shortening the recovery needed between hard efforts.  Eating a clean diet daily and strategically fueling during and post activities also speeds recovery.  The following areas are where I focused my recovery energy: rest, active recovery, muscle manipulation, supplements, and listening to your body.

**(As a disclaimer, I am not sponsored by any of the products I discuss in this article, they are just the ones I use, or have found work best for me.)

Rest

First I am going to define what I mean by rest.  For me this is defined as one of two activities; sleep and non-training days. 

Sleep, in my opinion, is the most underrated recovery tool available.  There is a reason you see the best runners in the world (East Africans) appearing to be the laziest.  They run their workouts and then spend all non-training time horizontal or eating, PERIOD.  Now I am not a professional athlete, I have a 60+ hour a week job, two kids, house, and other responsibilities.  So the Kenyan method doesn’t quite apply.  What I did do however was to prioritize sleep. I went to bed early, as I had to get up early (3:30-4:30am some days).  That’s it!  I tried to sleep at least 8-10 hours a night.  It didn’t always happen and I didn’t let that stress me out.  But when it did, consistently, I felt much better in training especially on back to back long or hard days. 

Non-training days are days with nothing I would consider training.  Examples would be; bike riding with my family, hanging out with my family, laying on the beach with my family, or generally doing whatever my family wants to do.  There’s a theme right?!  For me I take every Sunday as a non-training day, yes EVERY SUNDAY!  Training hard is not only physically wearing but mentally as well.  For me being able to spend the entire day just focusing on my family is incredible recharging.  Some would argue that by not training 7 days a week I might miss out on some fitness gains.  I believe however that any minimal gains I miss out on are fully made up for by the huge mental recharge I gain.  This allows me to regroup both physically and mentally for the next week of focused training.

Active Recovery

Sticking with the rest theme I will cover active recovery.  For me active recovery means any activity that enhances my ability deliver quality in my hard workouts, without further fatiguing me mentally or physically for those efforts.  My favorite form of active recovery is swimming.  I love swimming.  First, when you swim (if you don’t have a waterproof MP3) it’s silent.  Talk about great mental recovery, 30-50 minutes in the pool is my equivalent of meditation.  Second, the water is cold, not as cold as an ice bath, but the anti-inflammatory benefits are similar.  Third, you are horizontal in the water and that combined with the kicking motion is great for clearing your legs of damage.  Some other active recovery tools I use are the elliptical, bike, and walking/hiking.  Yes I said walking!  Much like sleeping, walking is truly underrated as a recovery tool.

Muscle Manipulation

I chose this title to represent the following methods I utilized to aid my muscles in recovering more efficiently; massage, foam/stick rolling, the dry sauna, active stretching, ice bath, and compression socks.  These are pretty self-explanatory, so I will just briefly describe how, when, and why I utilize each of these.

Massage is pretty easy to explain but hard to acquire.  The most complicated part of massage is; first finding a great massage therapist and second being able to afford that individual.  I happened to luck out on finding not only a great therapist but also got a great 3 session package deal (Same price as 1.5)!  The tricky part of a deep sports massage is that it causes just as much damage as hard work out, so you have to be cautious when you schedule them.  I had my first one in the middle of my hardest training block; the reason for this was I wanted to see how my body reacted to the massage without jeopardizing my race.  The second was timed 7-8 days prior to my first race.  The reason for this is that I run my last hard work out 10 days prior to a race, so therefore my muscles need the work and it gives me enough time to recover from the damage of the massage.  The third massage was timed similar (7-8 days) prior to my second race.  I believe if you can afford to get the work done it will really help with both mental and physical recovery.

Foam/stick rolling is basically a self-inflicted torture session.  For most of us weekly massage sessions are not an option, enter the foam roller.  I use my foam roller every night before bed.  I roll out every muscle from my hips to ankles.  First this helps speed the recovery process.  Second it quickly pinpoints tight or damaged muscles, I value this because it allows me to avoid an overuse injury.  I most often utilize my stick roller prior to hard workouts and races as a warm up tool.  I find this is a good way to loosen up tighter muscles and increase blood flow prior to intense activity.

Trigger Point Grid Roller

Sprinter Stick

 

The dry sauna may not be the easiest for people as they usually need a gym membership to gain access to one.  I love the dry sauna for several reasons.  First it is relaxing; by easing the tension in muscles you can get a deeper stretch which leads to greater flexibility.  Second it increases blood flow, this speeds the removal of waste products from damaged muscles.  Third, it is a body stressor which helps with both heat, and in my experience altitude, acclimation.  By no means is it similar to living or training at altitude but it does help.  As an athlete who is inspired by mountains but lives at sea-level this is something I plan to research further, and write about later.  I spend 50% of my time in the dry sauna on my back with my legs elevated against the wall.  This is so relaxing I have actually fallen asleep, much to the dismay of the gym staff, who thought I had collapsed!  The other 50% I stretch.  I try to utilize the dry sauna at least 3-4 times a week.



Stretch Out Strap

Active stretching is something I do both prior to and after workouts.  I also stretch every evening after I am done rolling my muscles.  Prior to my workouts I do a series of dynamic stretches involving hip, glute, quad, hamstring, and calf activation.  I believe that this aids in warming my muscles up and allowing them to fire properly.  This makes getting into a workout feel easier and more fluid.  Here are several resources I have pulled from for different dynamic activities. (Dathan Ritzenhein Dynamic Warmup, Coach Jay Johnson lunge Matrix & Coach Jay Johnson 8 week strength progression) 
Post workout I stretch most of my major muscle groups with the aid of a “stretch out strap”.  You can also roll up a medium size towel or t-shirt to facilitate the stretching.  By utilizing the strap I am able to get a more controlled and deeper stretch.  Again I do this type of stretching post workout and in the evening after I have rolled out my muscles.  This stretching routine allows me to maintain greater flexibility and correct imbalances in my body.

 

Compression socks are a tool I utilize on evenings when I have back to back long or hard efforts coming.  For example; when I have back to back long runs scheduled I will sleep with my legs elevated and wear compression socks.  I believe this aids in recover and helps with a reduction in soreness.  This has a two-fold benefit.  First since my muscles have recovered a little bit I am able to do a more quality second hard/long workout.  Second because I am a little less sore when I begin the second workout I am able to maintain better form which reduces my chance of injury.  I do not utilize these socks during runs because they annoy me, and that just becomes a training hindrance.  I also do not wear them every night.  I am a big believer that your muscles need to actually adapt to the stress you are placing on them.  There are times for me when a little extra soreness is a good thing; it means my workouts are doing their job.

Ice baths are a tool I only utilize post-race.  Ice baths are an amazing recovery tool.  That being said some of the inflammatory reaction that ice baths inhibit or reduce I want to happen.  The reason for this is that some of your great training gains are made when working already fatigued muscles.  Similar to compression socks there are times I want sore muscles, and I want my body and mind to adapt to those situations.  As I said before swimming in the pool will provide a similar benefit as the water is usually cooler.

Supplements

I am not a huge proponent of taking supplements in place of real nutrition. I prefer to get everything my body needs from clean whole sources of food.  That being said the extremes I to which I push take a heavy toll.  Even though I do not race a ton, focus on rest, and take ample off-time in between races and at the end of the season, I still smash my body and immune system pretty hard.  Here is a list of the supplements I take, as well as the why, and how often/much.

Fish Oil – I take a fish oil supplement that is 1 gram of pure EPA harvested from deep water Pacific fish.  There are two main components to fish oil EPA and DHA.  EPA has been shown to have the greatest anti-inflammatory affect, as well as greater health benefits.  This is the reason my choice is a pure EPA source.  I take 2 capsules (2 grams) on a daily basis during normal base training or activity.  When I start to reach peak training volume or pre and post-race I will up that to 3 grams a day.  I have found that this amount aids in recovery and helps with the inflammation process.  Not only do my muscles feel better quicker but my blood tests show a reduced amount inflammation.  As a side note I also eat fish at least 2-3 times a week.



Capra Flex

CAPRAFLEX – Sticking with the anti-inflamatory theme, I will also take CapraFlex during hard training cycles, pre, and post-race.  CapraFlex is a blend of natural ingredients (Collagen, Goats Milk, Ginger, Bromelain, Amylase, protease, turmeric, and others) which aids in reducing inflammation, protecting and enhancing joints, and speeds muscle recovery.  The standard serving is 9 caplets (3x3 times a day) which is the dosage I will stick to during a heavy training cycle.  Pre and post-race I vary that a bit and load dose the supplement.  I will start at least 7 days out, from a race, taking 12 capsules a day (4x3 times).  The morning of a race I will take 6 capsules, then immediately after the race I will take 6 more, and I follow this with 6 before bed.  I will then do another week of 4x3 times a day.  Again this is only a supplement I take during heavy training, racing, or if I were to sprain or pull something to aid in recovery.

 

Multi-Vitamin – I know the jury is out on whether this is a needed supplement if you eat a balanced and clean diet, but I would rather error on the side of caution.  There are times I really put my body through hell and this just gives me piece of mind that my bases are covered.  Worse case is that I expel the unneeded vitamins and minerals and end up with expensive urine.

Magnesium – When I began to run longer it wasn’t long before I started to get cramps in very weird parts of my body.  These areas were not at all involved in running such as; my cheek, eyelid, or forearm.  After speaking with several of my friends who are endurance athletes themselves as well as registered dietitians I was told to try supplement with Magnesium.  This is something that most endurance athletes are deficient in and can be a cause of muscle issues.  I tried and low and behold the systemic cramping ceased.  I take 2 Magnesium Chloride pills a day, every day, regardless of training or racing.

Vitamin D3 – I live in Wisconsin (maybe 100 days of sun a year), not Colorado (300+ days of sun a year).  Because the sun disappears for long portions of time my body’s ability to naturally produce Vitamin D is hampered.  Also nutritional sources will not adequately supply my daily needs.  A vitamin D deficiency is a serious health risk, for both your heart and your muscles.  (Imagine that, your heart is a muscle) I take 2 x 1000mg Vit D3 pills a day.  My multi-vitamin also contains some Vit D so I am close to 3000mg.  I do this anytime I am void of sun exposure.  During the summer months where I am running shirtless for long periods I will drop that to 1 pill a day.

LISTENING TO YOUR BODY

I know I should have placed this first, as it is the #1 way you can recover effectively to maintain consistent training and productive races.  But just as most runners/endurance athletes will admit, (or fail to admit) this is a very difficult task to master.  It is made even more difficult if the race you are running or training for is a new distance or terrain.  Take me for instance; I went from racing 5 miles on the road to 50 miles on the trail. (Hey they both have a 5 in them right!)  I had zero idea how to train for a 50 mile race and it was really hard for me to listen to my body and not train when it needed a rest.  I had silly thoughts of not finishing the race, being last, or it just hurting really bad.  Well guess what they are ultras they all hurt, A LOT, at some point.  The sign of a confident, mature runner is one who can show up to a group run and a few minutes in completely bag it, return to the car, and have the food and beer ready for their friends.  This is an ideal I strive towards.  I have gotten better at listening to my body, I am no longer afraid to miss or change workouts depending on how I am feeling.  I still struggle with bailing on friends as I get very few opportunities to train with people, but everyone has to have something to works towards right?

I hope you found this article, as well as the previous two, informative.  I by no means have all, or even a few, of the answers to the questions related to optimal raining, nutrition, and recovery.  But as I learn more I found that my greatest asset was my lack of fear of change, and my willingness to experiment.  Hey, you never know what will work unless you try!  I have failed, a lot, and will continue to do so.  But I believe my greatest insights and training gains have come from some of my biggest failures.  Please feel free to comment below on any methods you have used to bolster your training, nutrition, or enhance you recovery. 

Like always go find your trail and enjoy it!

2013 Janurary Training Recap

January Training



Wisconsin Winter Run Training!



I got back into specific race training after taking much of October through December running when I felt like it, taking random classes at the YMCA, visiting my PT, and just having fun outside with my family.  I also spent a lot of time working on stretching, functional strength, and overall power.  I decided to experiment a little with this block of race training.  After focusing mostly on long semi-fast runs last year I began to feel as though I had hit a mental and physical plateau.  Last year the only real power/threshold work I did was on the hills, and even that was well below my max effort.  Taking into account how I felt in my last race of 2012, like I had no speed or power left for the up hills at the end, I am focusing on an aggressive marathon type training plan.

What follows is the basic plan of a typical week.

Monday           AM - Progressive Tempo Run (sub race pace)

                        PM – Swim/Bike (20 min) followed by strength training

Tuesday           AM – Easy run

Wednesday     AM – Hills/Interval sets (sub race pace)

                        PM – Swim/Bike (20 min) followed by strength training

Thursday         AM – Easy run

Friday              AM – Med Distance (Race Pace) Run

Saturday          AM – Long (Easy) Run with last few miles at race pace

Sunday            OFF

Every night I also have been diligent about foam rolling and active isolation stretching utilizing a strap to try to keep the inflammation in my legs in check.

The first few weeks were a little rough ramping back up to speed, but by the third week I noticed that I was sleeping deeper and was less sore following hard workouts, all signs that my body is adapting to the renewed training load and recovering more quickly.  One of the things I have adapted to ultra running is the lengths of the back to back runs on Friday & Saturday.  I feel these runs on fatigued legs as well as the speed work earlier in the week will attack both ends of the ultra equation.  I plan on utilizing this basic strategy up until the Mad City 50K in April.

Post holiday I also slowly adjusted my diet back to being slightly more ketogenic (Fat burning).  This coupled with the increased training load has helped convert some of the fat from the holidays back into lean muscle.  As an example of being more fat adapted is that I can go for my Friday (medium distance race pace) and Saturday (easy long with final few at race pace) runs with a VESPA and a little water.  As my Saturday long runs get longer I will begin to experiment with some different fuels to try to simplify my already easy race nutrition strategy.

To gauge my fitness I jumped into an indoor 5K, the Indoor Icebreaker (Race Report).  The race was hard both mentally (11 Laps) and physically (1^st race effort since September).  That being said I was very pleased with my result; I came in 4^th overall and 1^st in my age group. 

TOTALS

RUN               175.1 Miles  23:48:49

BIKE              15.5   Miles

SWIM            5        Miles

Race

Indoor Icebreaker 5K

19:06 4^th Overall 1^st Age Group

Recipe - Quinoa Pilaf

Quinoa Pilaf

4 C       Quinoa (Cooked)

1 C       Cashews/Chopped Almonds/Chopped Walnuts

1 C       Diced Red Pepper

2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

Pepper to taste

1 Tbsp Olive oil

3                     Cloves garlic

½ C      Chopped Red Onion

1 Tsp    Cumin

1 Tsp    Coriander

¾ C      Raisins/Dates

1                     Large Carrot cut into small match sticks

1 ½ C   Diced Spinach or Kale

¼ C      Water

4 Tbsp Soy Sauce

3 Tbsp Brown rice vinegar

1 Tbsp Ground Ginger

1 Tbsp Honey

Cook the Quinoa according to directions, ensuring you have at least 4 full cups of cooked quinoa.

Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil, until golden and soft.  Add the cumin and coriander and stir.  Add in the raisins, carrot, spinach or kale, and water, stir well.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 3-5 minutes, till most of the liquid is gone.  Then remove from heat.

Create sauce mixture by combining the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, & honey, stir well.

In a large bowl, combine the sauté mixture with the quinoa, red pepper, nuts, Italian seasoning, and stir well.  Add in the sauce mixture and stir well.  Add pepper and extra soy sauce to taste.  Serve either cold or warm!

Afternoon Post Workout Recovery Meals

I often get asked what I eat following workouts over the lunch hour.  Keeping in mind that what you eat needs to be easy to carry and consume as you will most likely be eating at your desk, I choose the following.  A beet juice recovery drink and a protein enhanced fruit smoothie.  What follows are the recipes for each.

Beet Juice Recovery Drink Recipe

Protein Enhanced Fruit Smoothie Recipe

You probably wonder why I choose beet juice over a simple V8, and why I mix it with almond milk.  Beet juice has many benefits and here are few examples which were researched in scientific studies.

1.       Beet juice for lower blood pressure.

Drinking just over two cups of beet juice daily may help keep your blood pressure in check, according to a 2008 study. The study's authors suggest that nitrate—a nutrient found in green, leafy vegetables in addition to beets—may be responsible for beet juice's blood-pressure-lowering effects.

2.       Beet juice for better stamina

In a small study published in 2009, scientists discovered that drinking beet juice may boost exercise stamina.

The researchers also observed that study members had lower resting blood pressure after drinking beet juice.

3.       Beet juice to fight inflammation

Beet juice may benefit obese people by curbing inflammation (a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer), according to a study published in 2009. The study also showed that beet juice may fight free radicals (chemical by-products known to damage DNA).

The reason I mix it with almond and coconut milk is to raise the fat content without increasing the carb load in the drink.  I choose a higher fat content and lower carb load is that I have trained my body to utilize fats during exercise, and generally eat a high fat, moderate protein, low carb ketogenic diet. 

The second drink I will consume is a protein enhanced fruit smoothie.  This smoothie contains a mixture of fruit, almond & coconut milk, flax, cinnamon, and protein powder.  I utilize this drink for several reasons.  The first of these is that the protein powder aids quick muscle recovery.  The macronutrients from the fruit also aid in recovery and cell maintenance.  The flax and almond milk contain good fats which help with recovery and appetite satiation.

I hope you enjoy the recipes, as always feel free to comment here or email me at nmwied@hotmail.com with any questions you may have!