Tips for faster Recovery after running half marathon

Finishing a half marathon is a great achievement. After a long half marathon, performing cooling down exercises for faster recovery is most important. Following some tips can help you to recover faster making your celebration more enjoyable.

Keep Moving: After crossing the finishing line keep walking for 10–15 minutes to gradually lower your heart rate and keep blood flowing and prevent muscles from tightening.

Proper Rest: After a intense running allow your body time to repair and recover. In coming days avoid intense physical activity for at least 1week and take quality sleep.

Stretch: After some time perform gentle static stretching for 5 minutes, mostly focusing on major muscles. It helps to maintain flexibility and reduce stiffness in body.

Nutrition: Focus on balanced meals rich in nutrients to restore glycogen stores and support muscle repair. Including fats in your post race diet will help to reduce inflammation which will also support joint health.

Hydration: Running causes lots of sweating along with electrolytes and fluid. Drinking fluids especially sports drink sip by sip will help to flush out toxins and rehydrate.

Massage/Foam Rolling: Gentle massage or foam rolling can help ease tight muscles and faster recovery.

Elevate legs: Running a long distance makes muscle tight. Elevating your legs lying down on sofa and keeping below pillows under legs or even elevating legs extended up the wall will help you to reduce swelling and inflammation.

Listen to your body: Everyone is having different body and therefore takes different time to recover. Listening to your body and trusting yourself you will get better results thus recovering fast after a long run, boosting you for another great session. Consult doctor if required for any issues persisting longer.

Stay Positive, active and consistent for better tomorrow.