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After the Finish Line
Planning a speedy recovery
                                     

Recovery is central to success in all endurance sports.  Without proper recovery, our bodies continually break down until we can no longer train and compete at a sustainable level.  For continued peak performance, and making the most of your marathon training, planning your recovery is as important as planning your training. During the recovery period between training sessions (and after a marathon) your body adapts to training stresses and makes you better able to perform at your next level. One becomes fitter, stronger, and faster, and able to ward off viral infections that endurance athletes are prone to catching.
Nutrition and sleep also play huge roles in successful recovery.  

The most basic strategy for recovery is sleep and rest. When we sleep, an increased rate of anabolism (the synthesis of cell structures) and a decreased rate of catabolism (the breakdown of cell structures) occurs. You need only 45-60 extra minutes of sleep each night for more human Growth Hormone (Hgh) to be released - just what an athlete needs!  Although sleep experts generally agree that most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for optimum performance, health and safety, the first thing they will tell you about sleep is that there is no "magic number” for hours of sleep per night. Not only do different age groups need different amounts of sleep, but sleep needs are also individual. Another reason there is "no magic number" for your sleep results from two different factors that researchers are learning about: a person’s basal sleep need – the amount of sleep our bodies need on a regular basis for optimal performance – and sleep debt, the accumulated sleep that is lost to poor sleep habits, sickness, awakenings due to environmental factors or other causes. When we don't get adequate sleep, we accumulate a sleep debt that can be difficult to "pay back" if it becomes too big. Consider, though, that lost sleep is lost for good. “Catching-up” on sleep is merely getting rested, it’s not getting lost sleep back.Trying to make up for lost sleep in a day or two by “sleeping-in” disrupts the body's circadian rhythm and continues to disrupt sleeping patterns over subsequent days. The moral of the story: get more sleep on a regular basis. Really. Plan your evening activities to get in bed 30-60 minutes earlier each night than you do now.

Post-Marathon, one should plan on two weeks of recovery. Think of it as two weeks of reverse-taper.  It is highly recommended that athletes take the day off from work following their race.  The days immediately following the race are when the body is less resistant to viral infection, so limiting one’s exposure to others, and planning ample rest time is important.  In the seven-to-ten days post Marathon, 20-45 minute bike rides or swims are helpful in moving more blood through the muscles and aiding recovery. Sitting or lying with the legs elevated also is helpful.  Some Marathoners like to run on day 4 or 5 post-race, and it is advisable that if your recovery is proceeding well, to incorporate running towards the end of the first week. During the second week post-marathon one can resume limited training at any intensity you choose. However, keep your overall work time or mileage to no more than 50% of the average per week that you trained during the prior four weeks of training.

While we may know it is important to replace the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat, and to rest and allow muscles to repair and regenerate themselves following the stress of training, practicing that effectively can seem daunting. Providing the body with the right fuel to replenish muscle and liver energy stores (glycogen) is also a huge part of recovery. During the first few hours after exercise, the body is primed to refill these energy stores quickly.  By eating large amounts of carbohydrate-containing foods along some protein soon after finishing exercise, athletes can maximize the ability of the body to replenish glycogen stores and prepare for the next training session.  Proper fueling and rest will also allow athletes to do more quality training sessions closer together to get maximum benefit from all workouts.

A good nutrition plan is vital to recovery, for the reasons we’ve outlined above.  But what is the best plan?  The answer is simple: whatever works best for you.  There is no huge advantage to real foods over recovery beverages.  Lots of sports-specific products exist for recovery, and their place in your tool box is valuable. They provide concentrated calories in set ratios of carbohydrate to protein, and sometimes liquid products are better tolerated after especially strenuous training sessions. When purchasing a recovery beverage, look for one that contains a carbohydrate to protein ratio of 4:1- this ratio maximizes glycogen re-synthesis, and provides some protein to repair damage.  You can also use sports bars for recovery, but be cautious of bars that are high in protein or in fat.  Calculate the carbohyrate:protein ratio yourself.  High-protein bars are not good for recovery because carbohydrates are needed to refuel your muscles, not protein.  You will have to use energy converting the protein to carbohydrate first.  And bars that are higher in fat are better used as meal-replacements or energy bars during ultra-endurance exercise, because fat impairs the ability of muscles to refill glycogen stores.

Personally, we like eating food more than having a recovery beverage. A recovery beverage may not satisfy you completely and this could lead to overeating later after training and post-race. This may be a problem if you’re trying to watch your weight or even lose weight. Following are some ideas that may fill you up more and change the way you think about recovery nutrition.  We’ve chosen to focus on race day with your Marathon in the morning, and outlined the best eating pattern to maximize recovery throughout the day. This plan is for a 160- pound athlete, and will provide about 500 g of carbohydrate
total.



Before workout:

•  Medium banana (30 g)

During race (~3-4 hours):

•  Sport drink (try for ~100 g carbohydrate, amount to drink will vary on what product you use)
•  Or Gels with plenty of water.
  Snack within 30 min. of finishing race
• 1.5 cups cereal w/ low-fat or skim milk (50 g)
  Lunch (within 1.5 hours after race):
  ∑ Turkey sandwich (40 g)
  ∑ 20 baby carrots (20 g)
  ∑ 8 oz. fruit juice (20 g)
  ∑ 1 cup fruit salad w/ 1 carton low-fat yogurt (fruit or vanilla flavored) (50g)
  Snack (2-3 hours later):
  ∑ Piece of fruit  (20 g)
  ∑ Granola bar (30 g)
  Dinner (2-3 hours later):
  ∑ 1.5 cups brown rice (65 g)
  ∑ Grilled chicken breast (no carbohydrate)
  ∑ 2 cups salad w/ dressing (15 g)
  ∑ 1 slice toast w/ jam (30 g)

• Snack (in evening sometime):

∑ 1 cup low-fat ice cream w/ 2 T chocolate syrup (60 g)

The snack and meal directly following the race are the recovery meals; we outlined the rest of the day’s meals to give you an idea of how much food it takes to get enough carbohydrate to fully recover. If you choose to use a recovery drink, you would have it instead of the snack within 30 minutes of finishing your workout.  All other meals and snacks would be the same- just look at how much good food you miss out on if you rely mainly on sports-specific products, not to mention vitamins and minerals.  

Recovery is where the effects of your training and racing make gains towards the goals you set for yourself.  The sooner you recover from fatigue, and the fresher you are for you’re the next phase of your training season, then the more you’ll progress. Taking care of the basics of sleep, rest, and food will have your training sessions be productive and your recovery from your Marathon will be as fun as the preparation. Enjoy the process of your body rebuilding  !