Self Care Tips Every Runner Should Practice

Whether you’re an occasional runner or a gym fanatic, you should consider recovery an essential part of your health. Your recovery days and easy workout days are just as important as the days you crush it. Take the time you need to rest your bones, treat your body well, and reap the benefits later. Here are a few self care tips every runner should follow...

Post-Run Protein

Nuun Recover // $35.88

While the post-workout protein window is bigger than researchers once thought, making sure your post-run meal includes a hefty dose — at least 20 grams — of protein is key for promotion muscle growth and recovery. If you’ve been struggling to drop weight, adding protein post-run might actually help, since we tend to binge on carbs later if we haven’t properly fueled after our workout. As a vegetarian, this is a great source of protein. Nuun has combined carbohydrates, electrolytes and BCAAs (Vegan Blend). I delivers the muscle recover benefits of (wait for it) 30 grams of protein! Simply mix with 16oz of water and drink immediately after your workout.

Nuun Recover Blackberry Lemon >>

Roll Out

The Stick Travel Self-Roller // $27.45

P.volve Precision Foam Roller // $25

Some lucky runners can afford a weekly or monthly sports massage, which can be great for lowering your cortisol and making sore muscles feel better — and a good massage therapist can dig into the tight spots that you can’t (or won’t) get to on your own, like that left glute that’s been aching since your last long run. But if sports massage isn’t in the budget or you don’t have a great massage therapist nearby, you can still get a great self-massage by rolling out your quads, hamstrings, calves and feet using the stick. A regular self-massage allows you to target problem areas and recover quickly while on a budget. The Stick has been my go-to recovery tool for over 12 years (we used to pass this around at Highschool Track & Field meets to warm up our muscles before a race). The travel size fits great in carry-on luggage and comes with me every destination race - it's perfect for keeping my muscles loose and flowing after long hours on the plane. The P.volve Precision Foam Roller is a great alternative for at-home muscle recovery and my-go to for back pain and long run recovery.

The Stick Self-Roller >>

Precision Foam Roller >>

Caring for your Feet & Body

Kopari CBD Recovery Balm // $45

As a runner, your feet and body take a beating. My favorite post-run treat is to take a hot shower and add a heavy duty balm to my feet, slap on a pair of socks and sleep your way to smoother skin. I also love rubbing this balm into sore muscles to provide instant relief and help with the recovery process. The faster you address the small issues, the less time you’ll spend off your feet.

Kopari CBD Recovery Balm >>

Rest & Recover

Nuun Rest // $7

The best thing you can do for your running isn’t that 4 a.m. 5-miler when you were up until midnight filing a work report. Make sure you're getting a solid 8 hours of sleep per night. Turn off devices like phones or tablets and keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet for the best sleep. Try to cut caffeine later in the day, keep alcohol to a few hours before bedtime and skip late-night sugary snacks. Much of our fitness gains are made in our down time, not on the track — so if you’re not putting in that recovery time, it’s likely you’ll hit a plateau, or even go backwards in your training. I tend to reach for the Nuun Sleep tablets after a long stressful day. I love that these magnesium packed tables help my muscles recover after a hard workout but also help me to unwind & relax so I can get a solid night's rest.

Nuun Rest Blackberry Vanilla >>