What Is A Recovery Run? The ultimate guide!

What is a recovery run? When do you need to do them? How do they benefit you?

Recovery runs is one of those terms which generally mean something different to everyone, for some it is no different from an easy run, for some it is a very very slow jog and for some it is refers to their second run of the day, so you may be asking yourself 'what is a recovery run?'. Well, whatever your definition of a recovery run is, it is definitely something which you need to be doing correctly and often in order to improve your recovery.

What is a recovery run?

So, what is a recovery run? A recovery run is a run where your main focus is not on improving your fitness levels but instead you should be focusing on improving your recovery. By taking a run extra slow you are not going to get that many benefits from this run in term of improving your fitness, however you will benefit in terms of your recovery. You should aim to go really slow, just turning your legs over really. You can start off as slow as you like, even a walk, and as your legs start to ease up you can slowly increase the pace. This is a form of active recovery.

Active recovery or rest

I can imagine the last thing you are going to want to do, when you are really tired from a hard workout or long run the day before, is go for another run. However, often you find after a nice easy rest day is that your legs are just as stiff by the end of the day, this is where active recovery can be very beneficial for your recovery. Active recovery means doing some very easy, gentle exercise to just get your legs moving, this can be walking, slow running or cross-training.

How do recovery runs help with recovery

Recovery runs help to reduce muscle soreness

Active recovery methods such as recovery runs to help increase blood flow to ease sore muscles, help to clear any left over lactate acid and reduce stiffness in your legs. All of this has loads of benefits for your recovery to get you feeling better in time for your next workout.

Help to create/improve consistency in training

Another benefit of recovery runs is you are able to stay consistent in your training. For me personally running is a daily habit and by incorporating recovery runs in my training it helps me build momentum with my training (1).

Prevent injuries

You may be thinking what is a recovery run going to do to decrease my chances of getting injured compared to simply taking a rest day. Well recovery runs get fresh blood to sore muscles which decreases the likeliness of muscle strains and they make your legs less sore and stiff overall, so you can benefit from increasing your mobility which will decrease your likeliness of getting injured on your next session.

Mental benefits

What is a recovery run going to do for your mental health? Well, instead of taking a rest day you get to go and exercise and get a load of endorphins and a feeling of having achieved something. Also, you are giving yourself the mental break of being able to go and just take it as easy as you like with no pressure at all, this will allow you to relax.

How do you do a recovery run

Well, recovery runs should always start off extra slow, this can even be a walk for the first 5 minutes, then you should very slowly increase the pace but only when your legs become less stiff. The truth is a recovery run can be pretty much as slow as you like because there is no slower zone to drop into. If you are someone who trains by zones then zone 2 would be your easy runs, and zone 1 would be your recovery runs.

Word of caution if you train by heart rate: Your heart rate will be higher due to the fact you are not recovered as much (assuming that is why you have chosen to do a recovery run), so be sure to take that into account when tracking your heart rate.

A recovery run should not get too close to the pace of an easy run even if you start to feel better throughout the run. You will recover better by sticking to the right pace. Anyway, by the time your body feels good enough to up the pace to an easy run pace there is usually not enough of the run left to make it worth it.

The golden rule in running: Better safe than sorry!

That being said!!!.....

Adding strides after your recovery run can also help to boost your recovery, but these should start off very slowly and build up, also it may be a smart idea to do some gentle stretching after your easy run before your strides. Strides help to make your legs feel better the following day so by adding them in you can increase your chance of having a good session/workout the following day.

How do you know when you need to do a recovery run

This is partly down to knowing your body and how you feel. If you are really dreading going for an easy run which you would not usually dread that much then that can be sign, if you legs are really aching before your run then that is another sign and if you feel general fatigue then certainly- go for your recovery run.

However, this is something where you just learn with your body overtime. You will often hear experienced runners say that they know when their bodies are telling them something, and its true through years of experience and experimenting you will learn how to listen to what your body is telling you better.

For instance, if you have felt a certain way before a run but still decided to go for an easy run instead of a recovery run and then the following day you end up having a bad session, then that may just be something you learn from. The next time you feel this way, try a recovery run and maybe your session will go better- this is how runners learn to listen to their bodies.

More about knowing when to take a recovery run over an easy run...

In modern times there are a lot of smarter ways to know how recovered you are. Most Garmin running watches in this day and age will have a metric to tell you how recovered you are, these metrics are made more accurate if you wear a heart rate monitor and the longer you have had the watch the more accurate it will be with your recovery.

You could even invest in something like a Whoop fitness tracker from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4d5fdsP

Whoop is used by many of the worlds best as it tracks your sleep, stress levels, tracks your activities, monitors your performance and most importantly tracks your recovery! You can use tools like your whoop tracker or a Garmin to train yourself to know whether you need an easy run or a recovery run based on your recovery scores given to you by the watch.

What are my other options if I am too sore for a recovery run?

Well, if you are too sore to do a recovery run then you have likely pushed your session too hard, but that is just a learning curve. What you can do instead is some form of cross-training.

What is a recovery run going to do which cross-training cannot? Well, not much really. Other than the fact that recovery runs are more specific to running, there is not much benefit to them compared to cross-training. So, sometimes the safe option is the cross-training.

Cross-training can involve swimming or cycling (which are great because they are non-weight bearing), but also walking can do a lot for your recovery.

My personal favourite (despite the fact I hate it), is the elliptical machine (the cross-trainer) as this mimics the running motion however it is non-weight bearing so there is a decrease level of stress for your muscles. Also, you can use your arms to move your body if your legs do start to get tired.

Cross-training has many of the same benefits as recovery runs, it gets blood flow around to your muscles, it helps to boost recovery and also provides endorphins from doing exercise.

Cross-training does not have to be cardio though, you can do things such a Pilates or Yoga, which are actually both very beneficial if you are struggling with your recovery as they increase your mobility whilst also getting blood flow to your working muscles.

Want to improve your recovery further?

So, now you have your answer to the question- 'what is a recovery run?' but you want to know more methods to improve your recovery!

Luckily, there are many methods which you can use to further improve your recovery. These are things such as taking supplements, using a foam roller or a massage stick, or you can wear compression gear during or after your run.