Running nutrition - AnnaTheApple

April 26, 2016

Boston Marathon Expo and the days before

Where do I even start?? [Warning: long post alert] So I’m back from Boston. I got back Saturday morning (about 2am Boston time, 7am UK time). Saturday was a tough day staying awake! The flight time was only around 6.5 hours so it’s not fully overnight. But anyway, I’m back and feeling more human (just). I haven’t finished my race recap of Boston yet so that’ll come (hopefully) towards the end of this week. So for now I’ll recap the days leading up to it.

My mum and me flew to Boston Friday early afternoon. I watched two films (Spotlight and The Big Short – both really good. Spotlight was especially interesting as it’s set in Boston). I do love long-haul flights for their movies!

Flight selfie

We arrived in the afternoon Boston time (Boston is 5 hours behind the UK). We were staying in the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor. I’d booked through the Boston Marathon so got a discounted price and as it was connected to the marathon the hotel knew lots of information and themed the weekend for the runners (free yoga Saturday morning, free water taxi to Boston mainland on Monday, carb-based meals in the restaurant, etc.). They even put a finish line on the floor.

The hotel was located very close to the airport which was very handy (and had a free shuttle) though we were, as I mentioned, a water taxi ride from Boston proper. At first I thought this was annoying but actually it was lovely. The views from the restaurant were phenomenal.

We had such good views of the Boston skyline and a lovely path to walk along the water.

As we were tired we didn’t fancy getting the water taxi over and hunting for somewhere to eat. We caught an Uber (honestly, this app blew my mind – it’s like magic!) and went to Angela’s Cafe, in East Boston, which I’d seen on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and I’d also been heartily recommended by Anthony Rodriguez, a member of the DDD team.

As we weren’t hugely hungry we kept it simple with a soup for my mum and a chicken salad for me. We also had a HUGE stone bowl of guacamole and tortilla chips. Heavenly! I was worried that the place would be a bit ‘off-beat- for my mum but she loved it. Honestly the food was awesome and so fresh! The restaurant was very small but clearly a local favourite. I wish we could have gone back there to fully try out some of the other food but sadly we didn’t have time.

The next morning we got up early as we were jetlagged and had an early breakfast in the hotel before catching the water taxi over. The water taxi took less than eight minutes and was a lovely way to travel as the views were great.

Another cheeky selfie

It was a bit chilly and windy but otherwise lovely and sunny. Our mission was to head straight to the marathon expo first to get that done. We used the metro system, the “T”, and then followed all the other marathoners to the convention centre. It was easy to spot runners – they were everywhere and most of them either carrying a map that came with the marathon info or wearing Boston marathon clothing. It was very exciting.

Some firemen were stood watching the 5k ear their fire station and I couldn’t not say hello to their adorable Dalmatian

We stopped a few times to take photos of course. The Boston 5k was going on at that time so there was lots going on.

We found the expo and headed straight to the bib pick-up area. We were actually slightly early as they hadn’t even started giving out the bibs yet. But we only had a few minutes to wait – our timing was awesome.The expo was great. Similar to Berlin where there were large areas of different companies selling running-related stuff. As Adidas were the clothing sponsor for the marathon they got the largest area and I was literally in heaven.

I decided to treat myself to some Boston merchandise because it was all so lovely and I wanted a few items with Boston Marathon 2016 on. It was expensive though as you can imagine! I decided to go for a black Adidas jacket and a blue tank top. There were the traditional blue jackets but I found the colours quite garish, though so many people were going for them and we’d see them everywhere the days after.

We carried on moseying about but I didn’t buy anything else. It was starting to get busy so we headed out to start a day of shopping, something we were both excited about. My mum, bless her, was wonderful joining me in the expo and I could see her getting into the excitement of it all as she was beginning to realise just how big a deal running Boston was to the US.

We got to the shops just as they were opening. We mainly stuck to the Prudential Centre, which is basically a mall with an observatory on the top floor (it’s a huge skyscraper).

Though we were tempted by the observatory and seeing the city from so high we were too distracted by shops

I found a Lululemon and almost bought one of their swiftly tops which I’d be hankering over for ages on the Internet. It’s so expensive for basically a long-sleeved running top but it’s such a lovely fit and lovely material. It also had “Boston 2016” on the back. In the end I decided not to buy it (MISTAKE).

After lots of of shopping we started to feel hungry so decided to try out the Cheesecake Factory as it was close by, relatively inexpensive and easy. It was ridiculously busy everywhere now (runners everywhere). We had a 20 minute wait but we decided it was worth it as everywhere else was rammed. We’d never been to a Cheesecake factory before so it was a new experience.

I couldn’t believe all the cheesecakes and cake that were in the display cabinet. It was amazing! As we instantly knew we were going to have cheesecake for pudding, we decided to be a bit sensible and have a light salad for lunch.

The salad was delicious, with goat’s cheese and chicken. But obviously the cheesecake was the winner here. It was ginormous.

I went for the Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake while my mum went for the Salted Caramel Cheesecake. I’d love to say that I couldn’t eat all of it but that would be a lie. I’m such a greedy cake monster that I polished the entire thing off. I felt ridiculously full afterwards of course but I fully enjoyed it! That cheesecake will forever haunt my dreams now…it was so good. My mum, being a far more reasonable human being, couldn’t finish hers. Luckily the waitress took it away quickly as I was eyeing it up. God.

I rationalised that as the marathon was on Monday I could enjoy my eating on the Saturday but on the Sunday I’d be more sensible. In theory. During the meal we chatted away to two ladies who were running the marathon the next day in the table near us. It was incredible, everywhere there were marathoners.

We did a bit more shopping and sightseeing then headed back, by walking this time, to the harbour area. We decided to go back to the hotel to chill for a bit and then head out again for dinner that evening. We made sure to book somewhere before we got the water taxi back as it was so busy. We booked dinner for a lot later as obviously we were stuffed!

The next day I got up with the intentions of doing a shakeout run. I asked at reception where I could do this and they provided me with a handy hand-size map that showed different options – a longer 6+ mile run or a shorter three mile run. This was fantastic! I eyeballed it for a while then decided I knew where to go for my three miler. It basically ran alongside the water so it was lovely and scenic.

In true Anna standard, I did get lost. But amazingly I managed to find my way back and run exactly three miles! I saw lots of runners about and we all smiled and waved at each other.

Then my mum and me had breakfast again in the hotel. The breakfast at the hotel was lovely; it was a buffet-style affair but you could order off the menu as well. I ordered a bacon, cheese and lobster omelette to have alongside my oatmeal and black coffee.

This set me up nicely for another day of walking around Boston. We decided to follow the Freedom Trail, which would take in the main historic sights of Boston on foot. It was quite fun as we used an app on our phone which would tell us information about each thing we saw and it was a bit like an Easter egg hunt trying to find the different things.

Basically red bricks would guide you to each different place and there would be a plaque giving information about different buildings and places. The app helped though giving a map and some context (you could use it offline).Not knowing a huge amount of American history (or barely any…) it was quite interesting. It also helped us get a good bearing on the city. This was really helpful for me as the next day, marathon Monday, I’d need to get myself to the Boston Common ridiculously early on my own from the hotel (catching the water taxi, then walking about a mile) to catch the shuttle buses to the start of the marathon, 26-something miles away from Boston.

Whoops, my mum cut off George Washington’s head!

We walked down Newbury Street which was teeming with people. The sun was shining and it was a lovely day. We found a lovely little Italian restaurant, called Trattoria, for a light lunch.

Again I had a salad with chicken and goat’s cheese (I know what I like!). It was delicious and the atmosphere was lovely. We chatted to a table next to us who’s dad was running the marathon for the seventh time. It was great to chat to someone who had done it.

We did a bit more shopping in the Prudential Centre and I decided to go back to Lululemon to buy that top I’d seen the day before. Alas though they’d sold out of the Boston 2016 one… I was fairly grumpy but tried on a load of stuff and decided to treat myself (I had gone with a shopping budget) to a few things. Lululemon is expensive but the quality is good. I treated myself to two jackets and the swiftly top sans the “Boston 2016” on the back. (It wasn’t until later on when I checked the receipt I realised they hadn’t charge me for one of the jackets. Though I had watched the sales person ring them up and fold them! Unknowingly I’d walked out of the shop without them charging me for a £90 jacket!! My lucky day it seems! My mum joked that we could now never go back to that shop).

I also treated myself to a few Nike items (one long sleeved top and a tank top with Boston on it and personalised with my name – for free!).

We checked out the finish line as well – which was ridiculously busy.

The Marathon Daffodils were lined up all along the streets and outside shops

We then spent some time around Quincy Market as well, which again was just heaving with activity. So many people! It was mental. In fact the entire day we couldn’t move for runners running everywhere or just people wearing Boston marathon jackets or just lycra-clad people. Everyone looked super fit and healthy. It seemed the whole city knew about the marathon. In shops the staff would be talking about it, wondering whether to go down and watch it (it’s a holiday for them on the Monday) and people would ask if you were running it. Though it was nice, it was making me exceptionally nervous. My hamstring had been really tight for a few days and I was so worried it would cause me issues. I could feel it when I ran that morning – not pain, just a tightness. I was worried about all those hills. My mum, bless her, did her best to calm me down.

Quincy Market is full of restaurants, food stalls and shops. We wandered around for a bit and then I spotted someone with a chocolate covered apple. Where was this!? I soon found a stall inside the market hall and bought one immediately.

Nothing calms me more than apples

We had already decided to eat a meal in the restaurant that evening as it was easy and I didn’t want to have too late a night. The hotel’s restaurant was very posh and looked out onto the harbour. We’d booked in the morning (or so we thought) and at 7.30pm arrived for our table. They looked confused and said there was no reservation. We clearly saw a woman write down our names, our room number and our time that morning so we were a bit annoyed. Especially as we had nowhere else to go really for dinner (without stress) and it was fairly important I ate a good meal. It was busy though and I started to get nervous.

Thankfully the hostess was very apologetic and got us a table and told us our appetisers would be covered, which was a lovely touch (and quite appreciated as the menu was quite expensive!). So it actually worked in our favour. Boringly I went for a salad for my main as I wanted to keep things simple but I just could not resist the chicken wings for my starter.

The chicken wings fully rocked my world. As a starter there were LOADS. It was pretty much a main meal (for a normal person). Perhaps not my wisest choice before a marathon but they were bloody awesome. And you know I love my salads

And then we headed to bed. Saturday and Sunday we’d walked over 30,000 steps each day. I was shattered. I knew this was a bad move before the marathon but at the same time, we had a great time and I would rather be busy and walking than sat contemplating the next day. It also helped me fall asleep quickly and deeply both nights.

And then the marathon…

What expos have you been to before?

Have you ever been to Boston?

Do you do a lot of walking the days before a big race?

April 14, 2016

How I trained for the Boston Marathon

One more day before I’m off to Boston with my mum! We get a taxi tomorrow morning and off we go. We’re both very excited. Before that though, I thought I’d do a post on how I trained for the Boston Marathon.

Like the Liverpool Marathon, I didn’t really follow a generic plan though I did use a few in combination to get a good idea of level of mileage and the long runs (how many, when, the build-up to them, etc.). In terms of running I decided to keep with running four times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday usually). My mid-week runs would be 4-6 miles, then parkrun on a Saturday and the long run on the Sunday.

When I initially started training I was keen to include regular hills and possibly some interval training in my schedule. Ha. That didn’t really happen long-term. I kept it up to begin with but then lost motivation.

The red highlight is where I had my niggle

This is probably because I was also juggling a lot of stuff at the gym. I was finding myself really enjoying my time strength training and lifting heavier weights (a lot heavier than I was during my Liverpool marathon training). This meant that my recovery was a lot tougher and if I went to the gym on Tuesday morning and worked on my glutes then that evening’s run would be really hard-work with heavy legs.

The gym

Of course I could have cut back my gym sessions or lifted less heavy weights, but the truth is I didn’t want to. The goal for Boston has never been to get a PB. Not every marathon for me has to have that aim. I enjoy them so much (when they don’t involve me getting injured…) that I don’t mind not getting a ‘fast’ time because the whole thing feels epic and an accomplishment anyway. (I don’t feel the same way about 10ks!). Plus it sort of takes the fun out of the entire process if I’m constantly worrying about speed sessions, hitting certain paces and goals. I much prefer to trundle through the training consistently, hitting the long runs feeling strong. And that’s what I’ve done.

So I usually went to the gym four times a week and generally split it shoulders/arms, glutes, legs and back with added running-specific exercises to keep injuries at bay for running (e.g. single leg work, balance and coordination focuses, plyometrics, core, etc.).

The running

Fortunately I only had one niggle-woe which disappeared after a week of rest. My foot randomly started causing me sharp pains during a planned 18 miler and so I cut it short to 12 miles. I then cut back my next long run to 13 miles. I was surprisingly sensible and didn’t panic. I’m almost certain the root cause was choosing an old pair of trainers to run in which disagreed with me. Other than that I haven’t had any issues (fingers crossed, *touches wood*, *does a rain dance*).

My build-up has been nice and gradual and my mileage around the level I like it (30 miles/week). My only slight concern is that I’ve only done one full 18 mile run that wasn’t broken up. Two of them I used half marathons and added on extra miles beforehand to get the mileage up. But it is what it is! I have two 17 milers which I’m really pleased with.

Food

This time around I was far more conscious of what I was eating. For Liverpool I’d refuel after long runs with afternoon teas, cakes and just general crap “because I’m training for a marathon”. This time around I focused on more balanced meals, especially post long-runs, and ate a lot more protein and fat. Especially with lifting weights I knew I needed to increase my protein. I didn’t want to lose muscle through running and I didn’t want to lose weight.

Steak with stir-fried veg and Brie

I haven’t had those nagging headaches I used to get after my long runs and I feel like my body recovered quicker. I didn’t stop treats or meals out though. As you’ve probably noticed I ate out a lot and ate a lot of ribs and more red meat. Life isn’t fun without the good stuff you love after all

So I’ve just got to survive Monday. The hills and predicted high temperatures are slightly concerning me but I have to keep reminding myself of my main goals: don’t get injured and enjoy it. I just have a few nightmares that this was my goal for Bournemouth and I was injured for six weeks afterwards… But I actually have proper paces planned that I’ll stick to (whichever goal I go for – likely to be 3:35 or 3:40) whereas for Bournemouth I just ran off like an idiot without any plans. I’ve also got 15 solid weeks of structured training behind me. Have faith, Anna.

Afterwards…

After the marathon it’ll all be about the crucial refuelling process. I’m thinking this is going to be a feat in itself. I’m almost certain I’ll have burned about 10,000000 calories during the race and so to that effect I’ll need to hunt out adequate spots of good food. This is likely to include some cake, probably some ribs, more than likely fro-yo and, purely for medicinal purposes, donuts. It’s going to be hard work but I’m hoping the US will help me out with this. After the marathon I only have four days so it’s going to be tough, but I’ll try my best

Do you strength train during marathon training?

How do you refuel after a big race?

How often do you like to run/train when training for a big race/event?

April 6, 2016

The Nitty Gritties–The Taper

For a lot of people who are currently training for a marathon, now is the time that the taper is happening. You’ve done the big scary miles and you’ve just got to survive until the big day.

Tapering is basically when you cut back your total weekly mileage by 20-25% approximately three weeks out from race day (e.g. if you are running 40 miles, you’ll drop to 30-32 miles). Then two weeks out from race day you drop down another 20-25% (24ish miles). Then when you hit the week of the race you’re just ticking over on a lot lower mileage to keep your body fresh for the big day.

You usually start tapering just after you’ve done your last big run, and usually the longest run you’ll do in the entire training. For a lot of people this might be anywhere between 18-24 miles. Then the following weeks your long run will drop down, probably not going over 16 miles.

For me, my last long run was 18.6 miles (I didn’t go over this as I didn’t fancy running 20 miles or above as I know how injury prone I am). Then the week after my next long run was 16 miles (last weekend), then 13 miles and then race day. I’ve tried this previously and it’s worked well. Some people like to drop down to 10 or even eight miles the week before and this is fine, whatever works for you! The intention is that you’re just maintaining everything you’ve worked hard for and letting your body freshen up ready for the race.

“During the taper, it is most important to remember this: physiological adaptations to training take a minimum of six weeks. Therefore, training hard during the final two to three weeks before your marathon is not going to improve your performance.” Runner’s World [Source]

Tapering sounds positively delightful when you’re in the thick of your heavy mileage and tiredness. But when you actually get there it can be a bit of a shock. You suddenly seem to feel rubbish. Niggles start cropping up – does my knee twinge? Why does my hamstring feel tight? And you feel so tired. Normal runs during the week can feel hard-work. I find myself struggling to run six miles and wondering how the hell I’m going to go 20 miles further.

This is NORMAL. Your body has just been put through a rather intense amount of running and training for the past few months. It’s suddenly taking a breath and adjusting to everything it’s gone through. This does not mean you’ve suddenly lost everything. This taper madness happens to most of us!

Don’t be tempted to squeeze in some more miles because your weekly mileage suddenly looks a lot less. And don’t try and whack up the intensity to compensate for the less miles. Keep things exactly the same intensity-wise but just reduce the number of miles you’re running. Keep doing the intervals, hill training and speed sessions; just shorten them.

And whatever you do, don’t try and make up for any lost training runs you might have missed previously. There’s not much you can do about it now. It is FAR better to turn up to a marathon undertrained than over-trained, or worse, injured. Give your body the benefit of the doubt – if you’ve managed to do most of your training without a huge number of weeks of no-running you should be fine.

On race day you’ll be pumped up, adrenaline-fuelled and ready to go. You don’t want to shuffle up to the start-line tired and over-worked. Ideally you’ll feel fresh and full of pent-up energy due to your lower mileage. The marathon is the victory lap – you’ve done the hard work.

Food-wise, just keep everything the same. If you want to carb load and have some experience with it before previous races, then go for it. But if you’ve never done it before don’t start loading up on pasta for every single meal leading up to the race. You don’t want to feel bloated or cause digestion issues. You honestly don’t need to pack your body silly with carbs. Normal balanced meals are perfectly fine. Your body usually has enough glycogen in the muscles to get you through, so just make sure you eat sensibly leading up the race. Do nothing different to what you’ve done before. The night before the race have a good-sized meal that you’ve tried and tested.

And remember, DO NOT panic. You’ve done the hard part. The mind is a very powerful thing. Even if your training hasn’t been exactly what you hoped, mental determination can do absolute wonders. My first two marathon trainings were plagued with injury, but I still got through with the help of sheer determination and belief that I could do it. There will always be other people who have had worse training than you and will still finish. You CAN do this.

Have you ever suffered from taper madness?

When do you do your longest marathon training run?

Do you carb load for races? I tend to stick to normal meals all week and then have a shop-bought pizza the night before if I can

March 16, 2016October 28, 2016

The Nitty Gritties – Gear

I thought I’d do another marathon training post, this time focused on gear you might need whether in training or for the actual race.

To catch up on previous posts in this series you can find them here:

Also if you want to request a topic, let me know!

Loads of non-runners I speak to (yes, I do socialise with them occasionally ) just think that all you need for running are trainers. And any old trainers at that. Runners, however, are wryly well aware that you need a lot more than that. And “just” trainers can cost quite a chunk of money anyway. But what do you really need for running a marathon? Is it any different to just normal running or running something like a 10k?

Hydration

Well, it really depends firstly on which marathon you’re doing. If it’s a big marathon, like London, Manchester or Berlin for example (to name but a few), then water and carbohydrate water (like PowerAde or Lucozade) are going to be readily available. In the Paris marathon there was water and PowerAde every 5km. At London I think it’s every mile. You really don’t need to carry water with you – unless you want to.

Bare in mind it can be stressful and difficult to get to the water stations in busy marathons. If you’re concerned that you will need water regularly and don’t want to keep making a dive into the water area (it can be a crazy area where people randomly slow down, stop or change direction without warning) then carrying your own might be a good idea. Personally I don’t tend to drink a lot during races unless it’s very warm so for Boston I won’t carry anything as I know I can grab some if I need it and risk the mayhem.

For my trail marathon last year at Cheddar Gorge it was a really small race (less than 100 people) and there were only three aid stations if I remember rightly. It took place in mid-August so I knew I’d need to carry water with me. I used my iFitness Hydration Belt and at the aid stations and made sure I topped up the bottles as well.

Fuel

Similar to hydration, some marathons will offer gels or food at the aid stations. Check where the fuel will be, what it will be and how many of them will be available during the race. If you want to use gels and your marathon is offering them, test out those gels in training. Never try them for the first time during the race – they might not agree with your stomach. The Cheddar Gorge marathon offered sweets, biscuits and fruit – but I’d never trained with that sort of thing so I took my own fuel with me.

My stomach’s generally quite good with gels so I don’t really have an issue with different ones, though I know I prefer it if they have caffeine in them. For me, I tend to have a breakfast of porridge, a black coffee and then three gels (at least one of those being a caffeine one) during the race. But you don’t have to use gels. You could try things like chopped up cereal bars, dried fruit, salted cooked potato chunks (an ultra marathon favourite apparently), jam, and even baby food (like fruit purees). Basically what you ideally want is an easy source of carbs so your body can use it quickly. Just make sure you trial it during one of your long runs.

But you don’t have to use any sort of fuel during the marathon if you don’t want to. If you know you can last an entire marathon without fuel then there’s nothing to say that you have to have anything! Some people can last on a good meal the night before and a good carb-based breakfast on the day of the race. Though if you’re new to marathon training I’d probably advise against this.

Running belts/bags

If you do decide to take fuel or hydration with you you need to find a way to carry it with you. I actually don’t mind holding gels in my hand and I’ve also been quite lucky to have had my dad at three of my marathons handing me gels (he told me where he’d be at what mile). Obviously at a very busy marathon like London this would be nearly impossible.

I love this photo as it literally shows my dad handing me a gel at the Bournemouth marathon

Some people use belts that you can attach gels to or running belts like the Flipbelt. Again, you just need to get used to wearing something like that for a long period of time. Some belts bounce or ride up, or even chafe. Be careful with your selection. I recommend the Flipbelt – minimal riding up issues and no bouncing. It can also hold a phone, gels and keys.

For liquids, you could consider whether you want a full-on rucksack like a Camelbak or a belt like I’ve shown above. Or whether you fancy carrying a bottle for the race (I don’t recommend this, it could give you an imbalance while you run – and 26.2 miles is a long way to hold a bottle for!)

MP3 Players

Does your marathon allow MP3 players? Some smaller marathons could disqualify you for wearing headphones because it’s a safety hazard if the roads haven’t been closed. The worst thing that could happen is you get a DQ at your marathon for something as silly as wearing headphones, so do check! If your marathon doesn’t allow headphones then make sure you’ve done a lot of training without music or podcasts. If you depend on that sort of stimulus it could be a shock to suddenly have to entertain yourself for several hours.

My current preferred method for a marathon is have nothing for the first 10 miles as the atmosphere is all go-go-go and the crowds cheer you along, then for the next 10 miles I’ll put on a podcast as I find these the hardest miles. The atmosphere has died down a bit and mentally it’s the toughest part for me as I’ve still got so far to go but have run a fair way already. Listening to a podcast helps take my mind off of things.

Then for the final 10k I’ll switch to some high tempo music and go for it. I don’t have it on really loud as I like to have the atmosphere of the crowds and other runners but just loud enough so I can feed off of it. I also make sure that the “Final 10k marathon playlist” is a playlist I never touch any other time. I won’t listen to any of those songs at any other point so to maximise their effectiveness and magic.

Tissues, tablets, plasters

Small but some may say potentially essential items. Tissues are a very handy item for the obvious nasal-related reasons. But also if there are portable loos on the course they may not always be adequately stocked with loo roll…

Ibuprofen tablets might be handy to have just in case. Worst-case scenario, a niggle crops up. My advice is to evaluate whether it’s going to become something so much worse or something you could potentially run through. I’m not advocating running using painkillers, but we all know that if we’ve trained for a marathon for 12 or more weeks we’re bloody well going to try and finish it. Come what may.

Plasters in case a blister occurs and you really need to sort it out. The likelihood of actually stopping, taking off your sock and trainer to sort it out is probably slim but a plaster weighs next to nothing and for me it’s more to settle my mind than actual use.

And like everything, the most important thing is to try nothing new on race day. Test things out, have a dress rehearsal at a half marathon race or a long training run. And set things out the night before so in the morning you’re not stressed running around the place trying to find what you need.

What gear do you usually take with you during a marathon?

Do you use gels? Which ones and how many?

Do you listen to anything during a marathon or race?

March 4, 2016

The Nitty Gritties–Recovery

Marathon training is relentless. It seems that as soon as you finish your long run on Sunday you’re back on it with a hard training session for the next week. And after each long run you can’t imagine running any further. But you do.

The most important factor behind this is good recovery. This covers such a range of different things: fuel and nutrition, rest, foam rolling, a sensible training plan and, the often forgotten or least prioritised, sleep.

Nutrition

I mentioned in a previous post about ‘good’ nutrition but here I’ll specifically talk about pre-run. Like with most nutrition (and marathon training in general – are you sensing a theme here?) it really is what works for you. I’d be wary of anyone saying, “this is when and what you should eat before a run and this is what you should eat afterwards”. There is not an exact science. Obviously there is science and research which can give good guidance on ratios of carbs to protein and fuel timing but in reality, you have to find what works best for you. Everyone’s tummy is different and everyone’s training is different.

Personally I find eating straight after a long run is actually quite hard. Oh sure I can spend a good amount of time before and during the run imagining all the amazing things I’m going to eat (platters of ribs followed by cakes dipped in chocolate…) but in reality as soon as I’m done food is the last thing I want to think about. I’ll rehydrate with water straight away and then probably take some time to let my body chill. It’s just run a fair distance and it needs to adjust to no longer being running anymore.

There seems to be this panic in the running community (and training world in general) that you must refuel immediately. There is a teeny tiny tight window and if you miss it you’re going to EXPLODE. I highly doubt this is the case. Your body isn’t stupid. If it’s telling you that food is not sounding good right now, don’t force it. Wait a while. But make sure you do refuel of course.

An interesting point that was made by Liz Yelling at the MarathonTalk weekend was that it is so important to eat good nutritious food. Don’t think “oh I’ve just run 18 miles I can now eat half of KFC and a jumbo chocolate bar”. Firstly, you probably haven’t burnt as many calories as you think you have (or that your watch/app is telling you). And secondly, you need to top your body up with vital nutrients in order for your body to repair itself (long runs take a lot out of our bodies, not just burnt calories). Macro nutrients are important but micronutrients are even more so. Treat your body like a temple and use food as a natural medicine. It doesn’t have to be complicated either, something simple like scrambled egg can do! Avoid crap and choose instead wholesome food. You want to be able to wake up the next day feeling good, not fatigued, foggy and with a sugar hangover.

Foam Rolling

Ahh the nightmare that is foam rolling. As most of us are mere mortals and can’t really afford the luxury of weekly physio appointments and massages we have to make do with what we can. The foam roller. It’s a painful, it’s awkward, it’s a chore, it’s boring… we never do it enough. I personally find it a great way to keep niggles at bay and help keep my legs fresh.

Obviously I’m not an expert but I believe it’s to do with self-myofascial release. It can help with increasing the blood flow throughout the body which can help reduce muscle tension and help decrease muscle tightness. You can also use it to warm-up the muscles before a run as well.

After a long run I always find a good foam roll session the next day can do wonders for helping me recover ready for my next run. Here’s a great list of tutorials for foam rolling different areas from Kinetic Revolution (a great resource for injury-prevention and running in general).

I mainly use my trigger point foam roller (not an affiliated link) and a tennis ball, though there are lots of ‘interesting’ rollers out there for more aggressive and specific targets (see above). I use the trigger roller on my calves, hamstrings and quads and a regular tennis ball on my glutes, hips and more specific calf focus. I tend to do it watching TV or listening to a podcast to keep myself entertained. It takes 10-15 minutes if I’m really being thorough, but if I only have five minutes I’ll focus on my glutes and calves which are always my trouble spots. I tend to foam roll the day after a long run and then maybe once or twice more in the week depending how I feel.

Another great way to help my calves recover are compression socks/sleeves.

I find after a long or hard run wearing my compression socks feels wonderful. I can’t say I notice a huge difference during the run if I wear them but I do wear them during 18 milers and all my marathons. I find they can help reduce cramp (though this is highly anecdotal on my part). I used to take ice baths post long run but I don’t anymore. I just didn’t find it helped enough to go through that trauma, but there are lots of people who swear by them.

Sensible Training

Granted this is a bit vague but what I mean is: don’t be a slave to your training plan. You don’t have to follow every single workout it’s got written down. It’s a generic plan – it doesn’t know you personally. It’s not an actual coach where you can feed back how you feel. If you’re really struggling, miss a run or swap it round. Honestly, it’s not a big deal.

What does this have to do with recovery? Rest. If you’re really struggling, take a rest day. It’ll be far more valuable to you then a sub-par run that you’ve forced yourself to go on just to tick it off the calendar. You’ll feel better resting and then smashing out your next run on rested legs and mind.

Sleep

This is the big one. Out of most things this is the thing that people let slide or prioritise over. “I’ll get up an hour earlier so I can get in another run” or “maybe just one more episode tonight…”. Or the uncontrollable and unchangeable issues that invade our sleep, such as young (or old!) children. But honestly sleep is one of the most important things you can do to help your running.

It’s where most of the recovery is going to happen. Liz Yelling said that when she was training as an elite she’d get at least 10 hours a night! And a nap in the day! Steve Way agreed (he’s a childless “house husband” so can have that luxury). Liz also said that Paula Radcliffe would usually have 12 hours a night! This is crazy but also makes a lot of sense.

As someone who has a fulltime job and a long commute, getting 12 hours sleep would basically be impossible for me unless I slept at work. But I do make sure I hit the pillow no later than 10pm every single night. As I get up 3-4 days a week at 5am, I don’t find it a struggle at all to fall asleep early. Sometimes even 9pm and I’m ready to snooze. At the weekend I can obviously sleep a bit later.

If you’re feeling tired and training is getting harder and harder, honestly do yourself a favour and go to bed a bit earlier if you can. This isn’t for life, marathon training only lasts for so long. I run four times a week and go to the gym through the week, but if I have a crap night’s sleep I won’t go to the gym or I’ll postpone a run. Sleep is more important. It’s like your whole system becomes a powerhouse of recovery, repairing muscles, smoothing out kinks, flushing through your system and mind.

I heard a very interesting MarathonTalk podcast a while ago about the importance of sleep and it said very few people can last on less than six hours of sleep. Yes people are different and some need less than others but generally speaking most people really do need around eight hours. Don’t kid yourself that you can survive on less. Don’t use coffee to get yourself going. Use actual sleep. Your training will feel the better for it!

What are your key recovery tips?

How much sleep do you usually get?

What do you eat after a run/tough workout?