Race Day: How to Prepare & Recover
After over a year and a half, a few of our withinUs™ team members attended our first in-person event since the beginning of the pandemic.
We joined our community in the 10km Turkey Trot around Granville Island in Vancouver, BC. This annual event brings together runners in celebration of giving thanks to our community, our gratitude for the sport of running, and our commitment to supporting others.
PREPARING:
Here’s a snapshot of how our team prepared for this run!
- Warm Up & Stretch
Warming up and stretching before starting any activity is a simple key factor to activating your muscles, helping prevent injury, and enhance recovery. Many of us often overlook this simple activity, but spending a few minutes warming up and stretching before your run (or any activity) is a surprisingly important part of injury prevention and enhancing performance.
2. Nutrition
Many pre-workout supplements are filled with artificial ingredients, additives, and preservatives that can be harmful to your long term health. Fuelling your body with a balanced diet can help put any athlete ahead and help prepare you for your activity.
Our pre-run withinUs™ essentials:
withinUs™ TruOrganic Matcha
We like to have a delicious cup of withinUs™ TruOrganic Matcha a few hours before lacing up our runners and hitting the road. The caffeine in TruOrganic Matcha and the caffeine in coffee have been shown to have very different effects on the body. Matcha offers a much more stable energy boost and an increase in focus lasting up to 6 hours with no jitters - no immediate and short-lived “caffeine rush”!
To learn more about Matcha click here.
withinUs™ TruOrganic MCT
withinUs™ TruOrganic MCT is a premium organic MCT oil powder containing healthy fatty acids that are quickly digested, absorbed and converted into clean energy for the body and brain, instead of being stored as fat. This healthy source of fat has many beneficial functional purposes in the body including aiding in energy production. We love adding 1 serving of withinUs™ TruOrganic MCT to withinUs ™ TruOrganic Matcha for a delicious, pre-run matcha.
Learn more about healthy fats and the importance of adding them to your diet here.
3. Training for the run 
RECOVERY
What you do to recover is just as important as what you do to prepare.
Our post-run withinUs™ essentials:
Stay Hydrated with ReHydrateWhile staying hydrated and drinking plenty of water before, during and after any activity is essential to maintain adequate hydration, water is not always enough. When we sweat we lose many important electrolytes such as Sodium, Potassium, and Magnesium. These essential electrolytes are important to replenish to maintain a proper electrolyte balance. Signs of imbalanced electrolytes include cramps, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and more. Incorporating withinUs™ ReHydrate + TruMarine® Collagen into our post-run regime has been key to speeding up our team’s recovery and improving our overall athletic performance.
However, electrolytes aren’t only useful when exercising. Try adding withinUs™ ReHydrate electrolytes into your routine when travelling, spending time in the sun, or anytime you feel like you need an added boost of hydration to your day. withinUs™ ReHydrate also has the added benefits of withinUs™ TruMarine® Collagen including aiding in joint repair, lean muscle gain, and to help maintain healthy bones and joints.
Read more about the importance of electrolytes here and here.
Refuel after the run with withinUs™ Plant Protein
Refuelling after a run, or any activity is an important part of the recovery process. withinUs™ Plant Protein + TruMarine® provides 25g of premium, well rounded, multi-source plant-based proteins, iron, and essential amino acids. Plus every scoop includes a full serving of TruMarine® Collagen. The perfect combination to support lean muscle mass and support bone and joint health. Learn more about how to incorporate plant based protein here.
Rest and Recover
Some of the most common causes of injury from exercise are a result of overtraining and training infrequently. Training too frequently with not enough time in between to recover not only overworks your body but can lead to unnecessary injury. While doing intense workouts with long periods of inactivity in between is also harmful and can deter you from your fitness goals. Finding your balance of training and rest will all depend on your current fitness level, goals, and other individual factors. Everyone’s training routine will be different, but taking the time to find out what works best for you is key to making exercise and activity a regular part of your life.
**GIVEAWAY CLOSED**
Let us know in the comments below how you prepare or recover from your runs for a chance to WIN* a withinUs race day pack (including all the products mentioned above).
*Giveaway ends October 20, 2021. Winner will be contacted via email. Open to Canadian and US residents only.
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