Hi folks,
A few years ago I managed to finish Chez Ollie, 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.
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
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
What!?
Over here for the Christmas holidays?
Shame i’ll be back in the UK 🙁