Active Recovery

When I run on the flat, I strive to keep a pace that feels difficult but sustainable for whatever the distance is.  And my goal is to push that pace faster and faster over time.   In other words, I work on running at a certain pace, and keeping it consistent.

Ha ha haaaa....not so with trail running.

Day 1 on the trail I realized that I can leave my pace watch at home for a while, because it would only frustrate me.  New game.  I had to change the focus from pace to active recovery.   The constantly changing terrain presented new challenges;  one minute I'm on a fireroad going slightly downhill, and the next moment I'm in a steep climb on a rocky singletrack.  Then I'm on a flat ridgeline and, then drop down to a dry riverbed which leads me to tree-root stairs that go back up again.  So much for consistency of pace, heart-rate, breathing......I found myself absolutely sucking wind on some stretches and consciously having to recover on others in order to prepare for whatever the next turn might bring.   Active recovery is nothing more than being able to bring your heartrate and breathing back down while still moving at a lower intensity (not stopping in order to do so). 

The first time I heard the term 'active recovery' was in a spin class many years ago.  We were doing intervals, for example one minute all out high-intensity and 30 seconds of recovery (still spinning but lower intensity).  I started spinning more regularly about a year ago, and quickly realized that (with regularity) it was making me a stronger runner.  [Caveat:  there are a lot of very bad instructors out there, so please find a good one - or a few - who keep up with the related physiology research].   Now that I have started trail running, I am even more regular at spin class and crank up the intensity to simulate the extremes of the landscape and practice active recovery. 

Another one of my gym friends:  the step mill.  A girlfriend calls it The Beast.

I used to laugh at the girlie girls reading their books on the old school Stairmasters, not even breaking a sweat.  This thing is not to be laughed at.  If used properly (i.e. don't support your body weight on the rail!)  the step mill should have you soaked from hair to socks in 45 min.    I put it on the Speed Interval setting (again, forcing intensity then active recovery) at a fairly high effort level. 

Bring two water bottles for either of these gym workouts because you'll need them!