A month after the marathon, I was running with a new dancer friend and as we were talking about the race, she asked me, “What was your recovery plan?”. My first thought was, “I needed a recovery plan?!”

Upon reflection, I didn’t have a thought out plan, but I was doing a few things right so let’s talk about Running Recovery and best practices. 

Stretching / Massaging and Normatec

Stretching after working out is important! Although I admit when I work out alone I often forget to stretch. It wasn’t until I was in physical rehab for knee surgery that I fully realized stretching before working out is not ideal–they always had me warm up at the start and then came stretching and massage. Stretching on “cold” muscles can potentially cause injury. It’s better to do a quick 5 minute warm up to get the blood flowing to the muscles, making them more elastic, shift into a few dynamic warm up stretches, work out, and then do a full stretch/recovery at the end. 

The Thursday On running group has Normatec machines that are *chef’s kiss. I believe I first heard of these machines around 2021, when I was in rehab and also while watching the Tokyo Olympics. One of the female American beach volleyball team members said something to the effect of “We did good today, we’re going to go back, get on the Normatec, rest and come back out again.” They are like big blood pressure sleeves that go on your legs and massage your legs up and down. 

From their website: Normatec’s patented precision pulse technology helps to increase circulation, revive muscles, and reduce swelling and has long been the choice of elite athletes and consumers throughout the globe.

• Normatec is proven to help with lymphatic drainage, and decrease pain and soreness so you never have to let DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) cramp your style
• Normatec’s compression therapy increases circulation and helps you maintain your full range of motion, allowing you to recover faster

Having used them many times, they are the real deal. My friend said she bought a dupe from Amazon and it wasn’t as good as these. Normatecs are pricey but they work. When I was in serious training I made a point to use them after every Thursday run, however, the best story I have of using these is from the beginning of training. It was early September, the Thursday before the Santa Monica Classic 10k, and I was feeling run down, but really wanted to get in a few miles since I had to start tapering off. I took an Airborne and went to the On group, hoping that I could make it through. I got on the Normatec after and it felt as though it fixed everything! I was like a completely different person. I may have had poor circulation, and the running and Normatec got the blood flowing and the Airborne vitamins absorbing much better. Point is, it’s good to move the blood around and drain your lymphatic system 🙂

If you don’t have access to a Normatec, have no fear. Some other alternatives at lower price points include:

1. Massage guns from brands such as Hyperice, Theragun, Sharper Image
2. Vibrating foam rollers
3. Contoured massage rollers
4. Regular foam rollers

For marathon training, I recommend investing in some sort of recovery item. I have a foam roller and a Hyperice gun and I definitely used both throughout. After the Rose Bowl Half-Marathon, I went through the post-run Hyperice routine right when I got home, as my legs were really struggling the last few miles, and didn’t have severe soreness in the following days. 

Another one-off option is acupuncture, which improves circulation and blood flow. I’ve been doing acupuncture for awhile, starting with the first of a couple of injuries. However, you don’t have to be injured or in pain to get treatment. Acupuncture is used for a variety of reasons. Be specific on what you’d like and they will treat accordingly. It also helps with inflammation and provides a good night’s sleep.

Post-marathon, thank you Jesus, I was mainly sore for 2-3 days and by the Thursday On group, I practically felt like my normal self again. I went to the spa 5 days post-race to use a birthday gift and the masseuse said overall there was a little tightness in the glutes and legs, but nothing too bad. I attribute this to getting acupuncture the week before the race, and using the Normatec a few hours post-race at the Brooks pop-up (see note below). I took it easy the few days leading up to the race and my body felt good, no tightness or anything off. Especially the day of, after 26 miles, make sure you have some type of recovery option. 

Yoga and Cross-Training

I’m including Yoga in the Recovery section as for all intents and purposes, it’s basically stretching. There were a lot of free events in Los Angeles during the marathon training season and one of them was free yoga at a Brooks Running pop-up in Venice. I was intentional about going the week before the marathon, as by that point your focus is just keeping the body moving vs. strengthening and training and making sure you feel good and rested. Looking back I would have made sure to do at least 1 strength and 1 yoga session weekly from the start, which means your life really is marathon training activities for at least 3-4 months (The official LAM training goes from September through March). Although to be fair, I don’t like to run in the morning before work, but if you are determined, you could run in the morning and do a strength training / yoga session after. I DO NOT recommend strength training and then running. I learned the hard way, after a relatively mild gym session that included legs, it was a struggle to run 3 miles after–legs felt heavy and were starting to get sore, which made me slow. Also I don’t recommend strength training after long run Saturdays, those are for endurance and I found the runs exhausting enough already. 

I learned a few strength tips at the tail end of training that I didn’t fully get to put into practice. 

1. To increase quad/leg endurance, practice holding a single leg bulgarian split squat for time. Start in small increments (20 secs) and gradually increase up to 2 mins
2. Your hips and the gluteus medius (glute med) are super important for running. The glute med is the muscle that helps with hip movement, balance and stability, which sound pretty vital for running! You can look up exercises to strengthen both parts, though the PT who taught me recommended kickbacks, bridges and hip hikes specifically for the glute med. 

Food / Sleep / Etc

I have a dedicated post on Running Nutrition so I’m just going to gloss over it here, but drink electrolytes, eat healthy balanced meals (especially post-run), and recovery drinks and powders can’t hurt!

At the beginning of 2023, one of my health intentions was to aim for 8 hours of sleep each night. This was before the intense training and I thought a bedtime between 10-11pm sounded reasonable, which means getting up within the 6am hour. 

Sleep is so important when you’re training. I wasn’t intentional about sleeping as it related to training, I was just trying to get 8 hours as best as I could. Looking back I wish I was more intentional about sleeping and perhaps even taking naps. I remember most of my Saturdays being dedicated to running and just resting at home for the 3 months leading up to race day. I completed the full Godfather trilogy during this time. Even though I rested at home, I wasn’t napping, so just something to consider as your body recovers the most during sleep. 

I also could have been better about epsom salt baths, or at least soaking my feet. I don’t remember doing them often but I think they can’t hurt to give a little extra love to your feet and legs. 

Ice baths are all the rage right now and I’ve been told anecdotally by a running coach that those are more to help you feel good vs. providing actual physical benefits. Worst case they help you sleep. I’ve done ice baths a few times and I view them more as a nice way to reset the body. If I’m feeling a little off, or if it’s super hot, why not?!

Main Takeways

1. Stretch, stretch, stretch! If you have access to a Normatec, use it! They will help so much during this grueling process. But if not, there are a lot of other options that you can put together as a recovery plan, i.e. foam rolling, at home recovery stretches, and soaking
2. Prioritize sleeping (and naps!) 
3. If you do want a specific marathon time and you’re new to running, I would recommend adding in that dedicated strength training and yoga session weekly. I was a little bit scattered and cobbled together what I could but didn’t get the time I wanted, and one reason being my stamina and endurance could have been better 
4. Strengthen your quads for endurance, and don’t neglect your hips and gluteus medius!