After Running

1. After a 3 5 minute cool down jog, stretch thoroughly. Dont just jump back into your car and head off to your next event, or you could be walking around with tight legs for the rest of the day. Doing a cool down and stretching period allows the lactic acid (the waste product created by your muscles) to be flushed out into your bloodstream and eliminated from your body.
2 . Take a hot bath or relax in a hot tub after your running workout if you can. Soaking your legs warms your muscles and relaxes them back into their normal shapes. A shower doesnt work as well, unfortunately, but its still good for your legs if a bath is out of the question.
3. Do leg drains by lying on your back with your legs extended vertically and feet propped against a wall for 3 4 minutes. This drains the blood out of your legs so fresh, clean blood can be pumped back into them when you stand up. You can do leg drains either immediately after stretching or after your bath. Either way, youll notice a markedly different pair of legs under you when you get up.
4. If youve just done a strenuous workout, one of your next two meals should be a solid protein meal, which helps your muscles rebuild themselves. Add a hearty green salad and fresh vegetables to replenish your system with valuable minerals.
5. Whether or not youre a regular runner, you should be drinking water all day long. Eight to ten glasses of water spread throughout the day will replenish the fluid lost to exercise. Dont drink your water all at once; just keep an even flow going.The more time you spend taking care of your body between runs, the more it will reward you with many years of enjoyable workouts. Youll also notice an increase in your performance levels. Its a universal law: the more preparation we put into something, the better the results.