There Is No Such Thing As A Recovery Run

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Kevin Morgan

 

Hi folks,

A few years ago I managed to finish The Mountains of Misery bike ride, which covered 128 miles of really hilly roads, with four category one (very steep) climbs.

It was really tough, but well organized, especially those salted potatoes at about 80 miles in. I was pleased to finish in eleven hours and forty minutes, which is pretty good for my age group. The next day I was sore and tired, but not really wiped out.

About a week later I went for a gentle three mile trail run, to shake out my legs, and I realized that this easy run actually beat my legs up more than that grueling bike ride the week before. Running is tough on your legs, and that’s a fact. So when people say, “lets just go for a recovery run,” they are fooling themselves. There is no such thing as a recovery run.

If you need to recover, do easy spins on your bike, gentle workouts in the pool, some nice walks in the woods, and roll out those tight spots (gently), but don’t run, whatever you do.

-k @FitOldDog

 Important Note: These posts do not provide medical advice. You should always consult your physician before undertaking or significantly modifying an exercise program.

Copyright © 2010 Kevin T. Morgan aka FitOldDog, Old Dogs in Training, LLC.

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About Kevin Morgan

About Me: Senior Scientist Ironman Triathlete & Blogger. Carrboro, NC. Mantra: safe exercise for better health through improved mind and body awareness. Business USP: use the experience of an actively competing scientist Ironman triathlete with an abdominal aortic aneurysm stent graft to develop a safe approach to exercise for better health through improved mind-body awareness, if you have diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, other health challenge, or you are simply dealing with the effects of aging. Marital Status: Partnered Ethnicity: Caucasian
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4 Responses to There Is No Such Thing As A Recovery Run

  1. Matthew says:
    November 1, 2011 at 2:00 am

    Hi Kevin,

    Can’t say I agree with this one myself, but whatever works for any one person is the most important thing. Personally, I like to shake the legs out with a run…but up until now (well, before the ongoing injury) I’ve not really done much cross training.

    But if you don’t go for a recovery run, you dont get a chance to disect the race with your running partners!

    Matthew

    Reply
    • Kevin Morgan says:
      November 1, 2011 at 5:08 am

      Hi Matthew,
      Thanks for the response, especially the alternative opinion. I know that this is the case for me, but like all things training one size does not fit all. However, I suspect that I might still be right. I’ll go see if I can find some data (as opposed to impressions or opinion) on this one, as it is pretty important.
      Much appreciated, and I hope all is well on the other side of the world. Hope to be over there for two weeks over the holidays.
      Kind Regards,
      Kevin aka -k @FitOldDog

      Reply

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