March 14, 2015
Running 26 miles , or 13 , can take a toll on the body mentally, physically and emotionally, especially if it includes an early wake-up call. Your legs are tired, you are craving a piece of cake and many thoughts might run through your head after crossing that finish line , not limited to wanting to cry, getting sick or immediately lying down and taking a nap. With this in mind, we asked ourselves the question of how important recovery is , specifically napping , after running a marathon or half marathon. According to
Jenny Hadfield, a
RunnersWorld.com columnist and coach, the best recovery process after a half marathon includes a 20 minute nap two to four hours after eating a carb heavy meal. By napping, your body is at rest and will absorb more readily the food in your stomach and speed the healing process. But, everybody is different. To understand real-life perspectives and opinions, we asked the REM-Fit community and our own Coach Kevin what they think about napping after a marathon or half marathon. An overwhelming majority of the community said yes, they rest after a marathon or half marathon , with 70 percent agreeing. The amount of time after the marathon/half marathon and the length of the nap differed from one person to the other, but for the most part, you all like to catch some Zs. And what did Coach Kevin have to say?
"My belief is it doesn't matter one bit. I've seen the lead up to the race as a predictor of recovery far better than post-race actions. The post-race actions that do matter do matter are the active recovery pieces." Like we said before, everybody is different. But it is important to take a short walk to help muscles recover, and eat light, easily-digestible foods such as an orange or banana. Regardless of your napping preferences after a marathon or half, one thing we know to be true. Rest
leading up to the race is key to your performance, especially two nights before the race. Thanks to all our fans who shared their post-race rest preferences!
