Cooling Down After A Run

It's so important to cool down after a run

You've finished your run and you head inside and grab a shower. Right? No! Just like it's important to warm up before a run, it's really important to cool down after a run. Here we have a look at why that's the case and how you go about it. These few extra minutes are definitely worth it!

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What is it?

As with the warm up many runners dismiss the cool down as a waste of time and something that they can do without. That's very wrong. Both are really, really important and if you want to stay injury free they aren't optional. You warm up to get your body ready for the exercise ahead and you cool down to help you recover from that exercise. The cool down is made up of three different components and we'll go through these in detail later. Think of a run as not just a run. Think of it as a warm up, the run and then the cool down.

Why do it?

Cooling down is all about repair and recovery. Depending on the level of the run that you've just done, you will have put your muscle, tendons and ligaments under stress and waste products will have built up in your body. Remember that one of the four training principles is progression, so this 'stress' isn't a bad thing, it's needed when you're training for a distance event. However you need to recover and repair after a run of any distance and that's what the cool down is all about. The longer the run the more extreme these issues will be, especially if you go from a relatively short run to a much longer one (which you shouldn't do!). This is when you're likely to experience DOMS, delayed onset of muscle soreness, when walking down stairs becomes a challenge. So many runners don't cool down after events and many suffer from DOMS as a result.

DOMS is caused by blood and lactic acid staying in the muscles after a run (blood pooling) and tiny tears in the muscles. The principle of progression means you're very unlikely to experience this to any great extent, but if you increase your distances by too much at a time or you don't cool down correctly they are much more likely to be an issue.

The cool down helps all this by:

• Circulating the blood - this helps to prevent blood pooling and also removes waste products from the muscles. If you stop exercising immediately after a run there is no force from the muscles to push the blood back to the heart to get it reoxygenated, or 'cleaned'. If the waste products and this blood stays in the muscles it will cause pain due to the swelling.

• This circulating blood also carries the oxygen and nutrients needed by the muscles, tendons and ligaments for repair. If it stops circulating to the same degree, the opportunities for repair are impacted and again this is when pain results.

How do you do it?

Just like warming up, there are different elements to cooling down. It's not just a case of having a little walk and then heading inside.

• The first stage is to slow down gradually. Some runners prefer to just reduce the pace of their running gradually, but still run, whereas others prefer to gradually slow down and then walk for a few minutes. Don't just stop and then walk. Do everything gradually.

• The next stage is some stretching. The difference between the warm up and the cool down is that the stretches now are static stretches, as your muscles are now warm, and those for the warm up are dynamic stretches. Never use static stretches on cold muscles.

The benefits of static stretching include relief from cramping, improved range of motion in the joints, decreased risk for injury and a decrease in DOMS. The period of your stretching is a great time to reflect on your run. Was there anything you could have done differently and what are your plans for the following few days? Make sure you get in a good location for your stretching and in a good position and don't overdo it.

There are a number of different static stretches that you should be doing as part of the cool down. Make sure it's a full body stretch and not just the legs.

Hamstring stretch

Lie on your back, lifting one leg while keeping the other on the floor and bent at the knee. Hold the back of the raised leg and pull it up towards you until you feel the stretch. Switch legs. Hold each leg for 20-30 seconds.

Quad stretch

With your weight on your right leg, hold your left foot with your left hand and pull it up towards your backside. Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds and then change legs.

Calf stretch

Standing upright, step forward with your right leg and bend it at the knee for a deep stretch.Then change legs. Hold each leg for 20-30 seconds.

Inside thigh stretch

Sit down on the floor with your back straight and then bend your legs, pressing your feet together Holding your ankles, stretch your knees towards the ground. Hold for 20-30 seconds.

Abdominal stretch

From the plank position lower your legs to the ground. With your arms still extended, bring your chin up with your arms extended, to face forward. Hold for 30 seconds.

Shoulder stretch

Extend the right arm forward and use the left arm to bring it back to your body (hold it below the elbow). Hold for 30 seconds and do the same with the other arm.

Refuel slowly after your run as part of the cool down

• And then there is the refuelling

  
  

This doesn't need to be left until the very end. You can start to refuel during the walking stage and/or during the stretches. Stick to water if you've not been out for long, but if you've had a long run then energy drinks will be a good option, in addition to water. If you have just done your last long run before a marathon, or a marathon itself then you'll need to make sure your food intake that day reflects what you've just done. Time for some pasta?

For how long?

It's important to develop a cool down routine that works for you and in the context of your run. If you've just headed out for 15 to 20 minutes, you don't need a 10 minute cool down. Get everything in perspective. If however you've done a longer run in excess of an hour then you do need to ensure you have a cool down, that includes the three elements above. Don't drink a body of energy drink if you've only done a 15 run. You'll consume more calories than you've burned.