Sunday, February 15, 2015

How I recover off a 400+ mile month

Hey Guys!

I meant to get a recovery post up sooner. But geez this week was crazy. 7 doubles. 120 miles. All workouts nailed. I'm thrilled! Now, I'm starting a cutback week. I'm not complaining either!

I definitely don't know everything or claim to be an expert in anything.  Possibly a tangent expert within a 5 mile radius of my house, possibly. But I have lots of weird rituals that could be better than placebo. Or not, who knows. But this is what I do:

*I take amino acids 3x a day. Before and after the run, and before bed. This is new this cycle.
*I take Sport Legs before I run and sometimes before bed.
*I drink Udo's Oil before bed.
*I eat 3 Quest bars a day. 1 within 20 mins after each run and 1 at night. 20 grams of protein. No sugar.
*I take Endurox after I run.
*I take Epsom salt baths about twice a week.
* I put various lotions and potions on my legs with arnica, glucosamine etc.

I have links to all of these products down below.

That's it for supplements. I eat chicken, nuts, cheese and other high protein food ALL day. My diet doesn't have any refined sugar other than trace amounts. Sugar is inflammation. That's a big no, no! I force food down until I have at least 3,500 calories in me a day.

Physically, I use roll recovery often and I stretch pretty much all day. I'm always leaning on something and getting a stretch. I also get weekly deep tissue massages.

And the thing I HATE the most is that I force myself to put my feet up for 30 minutes after my morning run. I always have stuff to do and laying there is not my personality! But I think of it as a gift to my legs. Also, I probably collapse 2 times a week after mileage bumps and need a nap. Again, I don't like feeling "lazy" but hey. Sometimes I'll sleep in my car while my kids are at a Taekwondo class. I can power nap and answer homework questions in my sleep. I just figure a way to make it all happen.

Because we are 9 weeks from Boston I put a little more thought into my daily activities. You won't see me swimming laps or riding my bike. I wouldn't jump on a trampoline with my kids. Obvious stuff. My goal is to stay healthy. If you said let's go to the mall and walk around a few hours the night before a long run, I'd say hell no! My ass is in the tub soaking at that time!

This may sound obsessive, but to me it's not. I'm not a college kid. I'm not even young! I'm a 40 year old 98 pound marathon runner with 3 kids.  I need to take precautions!

Here are some random pics as well as my supplements. Thanks for reading! You guys rock! Your support makes me giddy : )


Car console food is a must

This is half my life!

Yup, it happens!

1 degree long run!


I'm going to link out these supplements. Also, that's liquid calcium. 


I'll show you crazy!

Udo Oil
Endurox Excel
Amino Acids
Quest Bars
Liquid Calcium
Sport Legs


Some people ask me why I put it all out there. I'm up late after running 20 miles today so you can learn from all the good, bad and ugly I have come across. In the end, it makes me happy to see you do well. More so than myself. Now, I didn't say I'd let you beat me at the finish line, but you know! haha.

Well, continued happy running guys!!

Laura


5 comments:

  1. 40 ! I can hardly believe you've had 3 kids, now you are telling me you are 40... your body is amazing, but then putting is that much work and that much work in looking after it, it's going to look great... I wish I had been able to do all of that years ago when I had the time to knock off 100 mile weeks.

    Live the dream for us and show us the results... can't wait.

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  2. That is total insanity. I need better recovery techniques, so thanks for the advice! Yes I will take it to heart. Typically as a multisport athlete I double down on 2 sports a day not 2 runs a day, and I'm putting that off until the summer.

    Good luck keeping up with the kids this week! All of this ice is going to be tough, looks like you scheduled your cut week inline with mother nature's approval.

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  3. WoW! That's a good month on a bike for most people! You make 40 look good, keep up the hard work! :-)

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  4. Beast! Good stuff. Gives me things to look into for myself.

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  5. I'll be checking out some of those supplements! I am still at the point with the kids being so young that I am not as good about recovery (stretching, rolling, putting my feet up) after a run as I'd like to be. But when they go to school I hope that will change. Your recovery routine inspires me to do better with mine! And your mileage is amazing!! Keep it up, speedy lady! Can't wait to see you crush Boston!!

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