The Boston Marathon took place this past Monday and now the participants are in full-on recovery mode.
Over the past month, we have used the Boston Marathon, our hometown race, as inspiration to discuss four very important aspects in marathon training, or any race for that matter—Strength, Flexibility, Hydration and now Recovery.
We have turned to two experts in their respective fields- Dr. Rob, Sports Podiatrist, and Linda Jaros, Certified Muscular Therapist- who provided their top advice to help anyone better their performance— in a marathon, or any athletic activity for that matter.
While it is definitely important to focus on improving your training to help your performance, arguably more important is focusing on your post-race recovery. Of course, OOFOS footwear plays an important role in this process.
Taking care of your body is key to reaching your full athletic potential.
Linda’s Advice:
How you recover AFTER your race or athletic activity can be directly related to how well you prepared with training, hydration and nutrition. The better prepared you are, the better chance for quicker recovery.
After a marathon, I recommend ACTIVE RECOVERY. Active Recovery means that you keep moving...which helps metabolic waste flush out and helps keep your muscles from stiffening up. I encourage my athletes to walk it out after their activity, and getting into a pool can also be very beneficial when possible.
Wearing the right shoes to support your recovery efforts is very important. OOFOS Recovery Footwear is unique in that scientific research has proven that the combination of the proprietary OOfoam technology and patented footbed design helps to activate the deep muscles of the feet to “wake up” and support the feet, particularly the arches. The OOfoam technology found in all styles of OOFOS footwear offers 37% more impact absorption than materials used in performance footwear (running shoes, etc.). Also, when walking in OOFOS, it requires less power in the ankle joint, thereby, conserving energy. This means recovery begins immediately and continues while you’re wearing OOFOS. In my 35 years as a sports muscular therapist, I have never witnessed a shoe support recovery efforts as effectively as OOFOS footwear.
So slip off those running shoes and slip on your OOFOS, keep moving and let recovery begin!
Rob’s Advice:
Experienced distance runners have learned through trial and error the importance of recovery. Those who test the limits of their bodies’ ability and care more about running daily instead of running consistently are destined to injury. The key to reaching your goals is to listen to your body and understand when it’s ok to push and when to take your foot off the accelerator.
So what exactly is recovery? Absolute recovery means to completely stop all running activities and raise our legs above our heart. That’s nice but not practical, especially for most of us who use running as a release from our hectic worlds. I like to use the term DYNAMIC RECOVERY. This entails the runner playing an active role in his or her recovery process. It can take the form of utilizing a long walk or bike on off days, self-massage and foam rolling, ice baths, nutrition and hydration (which we touched upon earlier as being important for training, but are also important aspects of recovering). Many of us don’t have enough hours in our schedules to perform all of these tasks. For all of us, I support the use of movement in footgear that decreases the amount of ankle power needed to move! The OOFOS recovery line of sandals and shoes are an excellent option for those of us on-the-go, as they have been scientifically tested and research proven to assist in this recovery phase.
Success is not measured by the medals we wear, but by knowing we were able to put out our maximal effort! Hopefully you learn to know yourself and embrace recovery in order to attain new goals.
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During the Boston Marathon weekend, we were proud to have Linda Jaros featured on a Recovery Panel with Runner’s World Magazine. She was able to share her tips with an audience of runners to help them improve their recovery process.
What are your best tips on ways to improve recovery? We'd love to hear them! Leave us a comment below!
Don't forget to share these tips on social media and use #RecoverFaster #FeelTheOO!
