Joining marathons may be on your list of things to do this summer, and you may have already been training for them these past few months. It’s true that you need to build up your resistance and endurance for the race, but what about your post-race recovery? Have you ever considered how you’re going to alleviate the aches and pains that may come afterwards?

If you haven’t made plans yet with dealing with the aftermath of a marathon race, you may want to start with these helpful tips:

Keep moving

Good job on finishing the race! But before you settle down and breathe a sigh of relief, you may want to keep moving for half an hour to an hour afterwards. This helps with the cooling down period which can help lessen the pain in your muscles.

Fuel your body

It is important that you feed your starving body after a race, but don’t just go with any food, but rather have a balanced snack that contains carbohydrates, fat, and protein. You should feed your body at least half an hour to an hour after your race to help increase your blood sugar levels once more. If your stomach doesn’t agree with any food after the race, chocolate milk or sports drink will suffice until you can eat.

Hydrate

With all the sweat that you just eliminated from your body while you were running your marathon, it is only right that you take steps to replenish the lost fluids in your body. For every hour you have raced, you should drink 32oz of water. This way, you will be able to give back the lost fluids in your system and prevent dehydration in the process.

Rest your body

As much as you would like to go back to pounding the pavement, make sure that you give your body ample time to rest. If you push yourself too hard, you are putting yourself at risk of getting injured which can be a setback if you are planning on joining another marathon. Just because you are resting your body, it doesn’t mean that you will lose your momentum. Think of it is helping rebuild your tired muscles for another round of awesome run.

Chill it

When you get home after a marathon, challenge yourself to do an ice soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Fill your tub with ice and water then soak for the said minutes. This has been found to be useful in reducing inflammation in the muscles and even speed up the recovery process too.

Massage

If the marathon that you joined gives free massages, take advantage of it. Having your muscles massaged by professionals can lessen the aches and pains that you may feel afterwards, while shortening your recovery time. You’ll be surprised that you will be back on your feet in no time.

Wear compression clothing

Another way to speed up your post-race recovery is to wear compression clothing the night after a marathon. This will help with your muscle recovery.

Learn to deal with your emotions

If you feel fatigued after you have finished a marathon, don’t worry. This is completely normal. Long-distance runners may feel a dip in their emotions after their race which is also normal. This is because your endorphins have taken a huge dip after running the race. Now that you have finished your race, you may feel at a loss as to what to do next, especially when you’ve gotten used to seeing your running mates every week. This will pass as you get back to a routine.