Can Running Help With Active Recovery
A plan to keep doing what I love, without risking injury
At the height of lock-down here in Melbourne, I was running every day on the treadmill.
Yep. Every single day.
I went from maybe running once or twice a week, to every day. And not just jogging, I was pushing myself hard. It helped me switch my brain off for a while and deal with the chaos of being in isolation with 2 young children.
I call it “Meditation in Motion”.
It was the only way I was getting through. Until I jumped off the treadmill one day and I couldn’t walk. I had run so much and pushed so hard that I had injured myself.
So when I hobbled into my osteo for a treatment and explained to her how I did it, let’s just say she had a bit of a lecture for me.
She said the injury was most likely caused by several things:
- Running on a treadmill means my foot placement is the exact same for every stride, resulting in an RSI style injury with the bones, ligaments, tendons and joints of my foot and ankle becoming inflamed and locked in place.
- Not giving myself proper “rest” days.
And her advice?
Once I had recovered from this injury I should NOT run on the treadmill every day, even once a week was a push. And to have full rest days.
This was not advice I wanted to hear.
How could I stop running now?
Honestly, running was the best thing for my mental health and I was so worried without it I would slide backwards.
So I embraced my inner nerd and got researching.
How could I incorporate running on a daily basis? Or is it no longer possible for me?
First, avoid the treadmill.
The reason I used the treadmill so much was because it was so easy to jump on it around the kids and home-schooling.
Instead, I started getting up an hour earlier and running then (once my foot and ankle injury had healed of course).
If I did have to use the treadmill I made sure I would thoroughly stretch before and after each run, and then use a spiky ball on the bottom of my foot to get the bones mobilising.
Second, change the way I run.
Pre-injury I would run hard every single day. Like flat out, pushing until I almost vomited, hard.
This is not healthy.
Instead, I schedule in a hard and long run 2–3 times per week. These runs I aim to do outside first thing in the morning. See, avoiding the treadmill like I promised my osteo.
The days in between these runs I do an “active recovery” day.
What is an active recovery day?
The aim of active recovery is to get your body moving to help with lactic acid and stiffness. It is a light session, aimed to aid in recovery not push your body harder. You should feel better at the end of your active recovery session, not worse.
On an active recovery day you should aim to still move your body, but not be pushing to your limits.
Some great active recovery exercises:
- Walking
- Steady-state jogging/running (but only at 50–60%)
- Yoga
- Swimming
- Cycling
Why I chose to run as a form of active recovery.
Running is a great way to clear your mind. I know that it is hard on my body, but I weighed up the emotional cost of giving up something I love doing. I needed to find a way to balance my need to move with my physical limitations.
So I took on “steady-state” jogging. On my active recovery days I would jog at about 50% of my usual effort and aim for only 30 minutes. It is long enough to clear my head and find the joy in moving, without hurting my body.
Stretching, stretching and more stretching!
I make sure to warm up, cool down and stretch before every run or jog. I also stretch at random times throughout the day.
And I now take one full day off from exercising per week, or otherwise known as “passive recovery”.
I may go for a slow walk with the kids and dogs, but on a passive recovery day I focus solely on breathing and stretching.
How I structure my weeks to make the most of running and exercising without injury.
Day 1:
Long Run
Strength/weights training (only a 20minute session)
Day 2:
Slow jog.
Yoga.
Day 3:
Long Run
Strength/weight training (only a 20minute session)
Day 4:
Slow jog.
Stretching.
Day 5:
Long Run
Strength/weight training (only a 20 minute session)
Day 6:
Slow jog/walk
Yoga.
Day 7:
Passive recovery
Lots of stretching.
Please know I am not a health or fitness expert, this is based on my own experiences, my own research and talking to my osteopath about the best way to keep running without re-hurting myself.
Rachel Maree is a writer, mum and registered nurse. Bringing you the real truth to parenting, nursing and writing (even when it is downright ugly). You can read more articles or hire her to write amazing content for you — Rachel Maree.
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