We summarize a very interesting article written by Lluis Capdevila for the portal Mountain Races, in which he summarizes the importance of the "mountain runner's refueling".
In this article, he makes a comparison between our body and a car before going on a trip.
In this comparison, the care and pampering with which we treat our car before going on a trip stands out: we do a complete check-up, fill up the gas tank, check oil levels, coolant levels, etc. Once this is made clear, it poses the following question: If we are meticulous with our car, why not be so with our body, which we are subjecting to tough training and competitions.
For this reason, in addition to training very well, Lluis Capdevila states that it is necessary to have good hydration, maintain perfect nutrition and supplementation before, during, and after. He goes on to say that professional athletes must “refill their stores” at the moment they begin to empty, not only to endure the day's stage but also to be able to prevent any type of problem.
Once the runner finishes the race, he begins to recover everything he has lost during the day, in this way getting the body ready again for another 'long journey'.
Just as professional runners have to recover after their stages, amateur runners or those who do not do this professionally must pay special attention, in the same way, to recovery after training.
The comparison of our body to a car before taking a long trip is very illustrative for us, since it is not just that the tank is full of gasoline or that the runners eat a large plate of pasta, and even less so if the wear is extreme.
We will need to replenish the oil level, tire pressure, etc. And if we don’t do it, we could burn the engine or end up stranded in a ditch.
To conclude, he says, 'Perhaps we can carry out very hard training sessions, but if we do not manage to recover well from them, we will not assimilate them and, on the contrary, they will contribute to our physical deterioration, that is, they will only serve to tire us. Moreover, it is very disappointing to have to leave a workout halfway or end up dragging ourselves to get home, because we did not refuel in time.'
You can read the full article here
You can read the article: How to recover after the competition, by Gema Quiroga TrailRunning
