Well after reading several articles about long distance recovery strategies I decided to do the research myself. I found that Epsom Salt and Ice baths both work fairly well, but the studies that talked about Compression gear aiding recovery didn't have me convinced. It seemed anecdotal at best. So instead of doing more research I just decided to test it myself.
The test will be as follows.
Run 1: 7 mile road run on pavement or concrete. No assisted recovery
Run 2: 8 mile trail run on packed dirt and mud. No assisted recovery
Run 3: 9 mile road run on pavement or concrete. Compression socks applied post run only.
Run 4: 10 mile trail run on packed dirt and mud. Compression socks applied post run only.
Run 5: 11 mile road run on pavement or concrete. Epsom Salt bath post run.
Run 6: 12 mile road run on packed dirt and mud. Epsom Salt bath post run.
As planned after my last two long runs I have done nothing except Ibuprofen and playing with my children. I tend to take Ibuprofen for general aches and pains anyway. So after my 7 mile road run I was sore more of that day and the day after, but by the end of the week I was fine. 7 miles isn't the longest run I had ever done, but it certainly was the second longest.
Today however was my 8 mile trail run. This is now the longest run I have ever done and I am feeling it already. I have stuck with the experiment and will not use compression or Epsom Salt bath or anything for recovery. I hope that it is the same as last time and in just a few short days I was ready for my next run, but we shall see.
The next runs will test compression gear and a known recovery aid in order to compare if compression is better then nothing, but is it better then a known recovery assisting plan.
I know that as far as science goes a test group of a single person isn't the most accurate test, but it is worth putting it to the test. I believe I am a perfect tester for this as I am running incrementally longer runs and I have never ran these distances before in my life. This should be a good test as my muscles should be more sore and fatigued then others that might have been runner for years.
I am dreading the next few days after todays run of 8+ miles and 2k ascent, but I will be interested to know how next week will go.
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