Is recovery more important than training?

What better time to ponder this question than during a recovery phase?!

The recovery aspect of training is something I ignored for years!  Ignorance is bliss, right?!  I tried things that running articles said would help my recovery here and there, but it wasn’t a priority to me.  I always prioritized hard workouts over everything else, figuring that the results would come that way.  However, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned recently is that sometimes less is more, and that rebuilding between hard efforts is uber-important.  If you’re always tearing your body down but never allowing it to build back up, the results won’t come.  The goal of training is to obtain the maximum adaptation with the minimal stress you can use.  I didn't get this until the past year or so, although it seems like it should be obvious.  Now I notice that many talented athletes don't understand it or practice it, and I relate to that 100%, but now I want to help them all stop over-training!

I’ve done a lot of reading on what works and doesn’t work in regards to recovering, and combined with my personal experimentation, here is what I’ve found:

Not running too many hard workouts.  I'm starting with this one, because I think it's the easiest one to violate in the name of goal-chasing.  No matter what else you do from the list below, if you run too hard too often, you're going to be over-trained and not recovering or seeing the best training gains.  Over-training is relative; one person's ideal training schedule is over-training for someone else.  BUT, no one should be running hard workouts every day!  There's a reason professional runners run 80-90% of their mileage easy.  I currently run two hard days a week most weeks, including either a speed workout, tempo run, hill workout, or a combination workout (i.e., hill repeats followed by a tempo or a tempo + fartlek + tempo) and a long run.  I'll have another day with a bit of faster running such as 6 x 20 sec. strides or a fast finish mile, and the rest is easy running.  I never would have believed anyone who told me 2 years ago that I would run a 2:49 marathon/1:21 half on this type of schedule.  I used to religiously run 3 hard workouts a week - typically a speed day, a tempo run, and a long run, and the fastest I ran on that type of schedule was a 3:03 marathon/1:27 half (with similar total mileage).  I occasionally have weeks with 3 hard days, but they are the exception rather than the rule; for example, if I race a 5K I might have a Tuesday workout, race on Saturday, and long run on Sunday.

Foam rolling.  If I could only do one thing to maximize recovery outside of the workout strategies above, it would be foam rolling, hands down.  It’s something that you need to do on a regular basis to see full benefits from, but I think you notice a difference even with just a few sessions - then if you keep it up, it helps more and more.  I currently use a more sturdy roller with a PVC pipe-like core (I think it's called a "sports roller" since it's not foam), and just 5 minutes on it each day makes a huge positive difference.  I try to stretch and roll right after running, but if I only have time to do one or the other it will be rolling.  If I’m hugely pressed for time and can’t roll after a run, I will do it later in the day.  I even keep a second foam roller in my office!  In general, you’ll find a great deal of research support for foam rolling, provided you’re doing it correctly.  It's best to start with a roller that is foam and work up to a more solid roller like I use.

The secret is in the roller

Stretching.  I think it’s pretty common knowledge now that you shouldn’t stretch muscles that aren’t warmed up before running.  I stretch after the majority of my runs, using a fairly quick routine that includes stretches given to me by various professionals (physical therapist, ART therapist, trainer) over the year to address my specific areas of inflexibility.  I think it helps keep me from getting imbalanced, as we know that only running can lead to imbalances, and it feels good.  When I get back from my morning runs, I usually stretch for 5 or so minutes in Albani’s bedroom while she takes her time waking up, and she asks for that routine so who am I to stop?  I usually stretch then roll, and it is 10-15 minutes well-spent! 

Compression.  I am a huge fan of compression socks.  Most of what I’ve read has noted that they are beneficial for recovery, and they may or may not be helpful when worn while running.  I like them for both, and believe they help me for both – even if the latter is a placebo effect, I’ll take it!  But this is about recovery, and I nearly always wear them at least for a few hours following hard and long efforts (the exception to this is during hot weather).  I put them under tights and boots with dresses for work all of the time!  I think they’re great when traveling anytime, especially before and after racing.  Plus they're adorable!

I own this exact pair

Eating.  Getting some nutrition in following runs and workouts is something that everyone will agree is helpful.  You can find a lot of precise advice on the exact time window and the exact macro-nutrients that are best, but in general it seems the sooner the better, and a mix of carbs/proteins/fats is best.  This seems like good common sense to me.  Our muscles are primed to soak up those nutrients post-workout!  I always eat breakfast soon after my runs, and due to running early it’s really simple because this is just routine.  When I have second runs they are typically followed by lunch or dinner.  On the rare occasion more time than usual elapses between my run and refueling, I notice a hit to my recovery.  Of course, the quality and nutrient-density of foods also influence recovery, and the foods that are good for everything are also best for recovery too (fruits, veggies, eggs, whole grains, nuts, beans, etc.).  However, I think that something is pretty much always better than nothing - so even if you have to grab a pre-race treat filled with refined sugar because it's the only available option, it's better than waiting 3 hours to eat something (there's also a lot to be said for always keeping dried fruit and nuts in your car, though!).

Electrolytes.  This is one I just learned about within the past year or so, but I’ve really noticed a positive difference since I started including electrolytes instead of just plain water as part of my rehydration plan on a regular basis.  After hard efforts and anytime I sweat a lot, I’ll have nuun in my water post-run, which helps me bounce back faster.  This can also be helpful pre-run.  

nuun is amazing!

Sleeping.  Obviously, no one can argue with the benefits of this!  Getting more of it is an ever-present challenge for most of us, but it sure helps.  I almost always feel better on Saturday runs that I don’t set an alarm for.

Second runs/active recovery.  Short second runs are great for getting my blood flowing and loosening up.  When I first started running them in June 2016, I worried that they would hurt my next run on the following day, but soon learned they actually helped it!  The same purpose can be accomplished through a second cross-training workout (biking, swimming, elliptical, etc.), provided that it’s relatively short and easy.  Sometimes I’ll just do a few dynamic warm-up exercises (leg swings, high knees, butt kicks, high kicks, etc.) across my living room to loosen up in the afternoon after a hard morning run, and it really does help and takes 2 minutes.  I don’t run many doubles, but I can see why the pros do for recovery (and mileage) benefits!  Just make sure you keep any second workouts nice and easy, or you'll end up violating my first recommendation of not doing too many hard workouts.

Standing/walking.  This ties in with the active recovery thing, but I sure recover better when I’m up and moving around during the day after running then if I’m not.  I use a standing desk much of the time at work, and when I started it (to combat a hip issue I was having) I was afraid it would interfere with my recovery, but it actually helped it a lot!  I notice a negative difference if I’m sitting in meetings or at a conference all day, but on those days I try to wear compression socks to counteract that.

Mileage.  This sounds counter-intuitive, but I’ve found that increasing my mileage has helped me recover better.  I think my body is just more conditioned to run the miles so they don’t take as much out of me, and also this is probably confounded by the smart training my coach guides me through.  Our bodies become more efficient at what we regularly do for sure.

Ice baths.  I used to use these often 3-8 years ago, but currently I rarely do.  I learned that they will reduce inflammation and reduce recovery time, but in exchange for a reduction in training gains.  Apparently some inflammation is actually a good thing, as your body builds back up stronger from it.  So basically, they are good to use only when recovering quickly is more important than gains from the workout.  I used them twice during my 2016 training cycle for Prairie Fire/Bass Pro, when I had fast turnaround between tough workouts and races.  I did not use them at all during my recent build for Phoenix because there wasn't any time that fast recovery was more important than gains.  I’m running a half marathon on April 8 and a 10K on April 15, so following that half I will likely use one.  They do feel amazing after the initial shock of getting in!

Legs up the wall.  This is just what it sounds like; I lay down and put my legs straight up the wall (my body is bent at a 90 degree angle) for about 10 minutes.  Try it, you'll like it.

Bonus: legs up the wall while wearing compression socks, in a hotel room

What I haven’t tried:  massage, massage boots, electrical simulators, specific “recovery” nutrition products or vitamins -- and probably many more things I’m not thinking of here.  These things may be wonderful, I just haven’t experimented with them – in part because of the additional time commitment and in part because I’m just cheap!

In the end, I don’t know if I can say that recovery is more important than training, but it is certainly as important!  We need to do both to maximize our performance, and there is a happy medium in there somewhere of doing enough of both.  If you train too much and don’t recover enough, you’ll become over-trained; if you don’t train enough and rest too much (less common in Type A runners), you won’t reach your potential.

What helps you recover?