RECOVERY RUN : BENEFITS OF A RECOVERY RUN


RECOVERY RUN : BENEFITS OF A RECOVERY RUN

Rajnish Goswami

We generally tend to push ourselves to exceed our personal bests, not knowing that running easy can be equally important as running at our race pace to achieve our running goals.
This is where  a recovery run comes in. Whether we are  training for a marathon or simply running to build endurance, a recovery run is important part of our training plan/process.

A recovery run is a type of active recovery for runners that involves easy runs for shorter distances at a slower pace than your ususal run pace.
These runs follow high intensity key runs within 24 hours, where we make our bodies to work out in an already tired state. These runs are also called pre exhausted fitness. Runners who run more than three times a week are advised to do recovery runs . It helps maintain their fitness without overtraining.

RECOVERY RUN BENEFITS

Improves running form : When we run at a slower pace it gives us time to focus on our running form. As we are less focussed on our speed and distance, we can work on improving aspects of our run like arm and elbow movements or posture.

Improves mental health:
A relatively slow run can help clear our mind and reax our bodies even more than a hard workout . Knowing that we have to take it easy can force us to get out our head helping endorphin releases making us feel more healthy.


Increases blood circulation:

Proper blood flow is important to carry out our body’s natural processes and improved blood flow can help flush out waste that can help our bodies to perform better.Improved blood flow prevent our muscles from getting stiff after a hard session the next day thereby reducing soreness.

Pace of recovery run

The pace of a recovery varies from runner to runner.The general thumb rule is the speed should be 50-70% of our 5km pace.

Rajnish Goswami, obese till 2015, successfully completed multiple Marathons and Ironman half distance and full distance races. He is a fitness enthusiast and an avid reader of sports science