This feeling is all too familiar. You wake up to the sun being way too bright and coming up way too early while you quickly try to reach for a bottle of water and a handful of Advil. And, as the shenanigans of the past weekend flood your consciousness, you realize you don’t have a hangover. You have a Ragnover. Your legs are sore, you miss your friends and you’re unbelievably hungry. Instead of burrowing deeper into your sleeping bag or blankets for the rest of the day, read these tips to recover faster from your Ragnar Trail race.
Tip One: Move
Sure, it sounds great to stay in bed and indulge in a full season of your favorite show on Netflix, but you’ll feel better if you get out on a short run, walk or hike – even if it doesn’t look pretty. Light movement pumps oxygen-filled blood into your sore muscles, helping you recover faster.
Tip Two: Eat healthy
So, you just ran the furthest you ever have. Or, at least the furthest you have in a while. Even though your stomach is telling you to rob a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Baskin’ Robbins, think protein instead. Grab a protein shake, hearty chicken breast or omelet for breakfast (or dinner, depending on when you wake up). Protein is essential in muscle growth and repair. In other words, it’ll help you be less sore and look stronger.
Tip Three: Hydrate
If you did a Ragnar Trail right, you probably sweated some (or sparkled if you’re one of those people that doesn’t sweat). Dedicate post-race to replenishing those liquids. Rehydrate with Emergen-C to restore your water and electrolytes. Or add it into your NATHAN handheld for easier access on the trails! Electrolytes are just as important in rehydrating.
Tip Four: Relax
You just did something epic, and you deserve to be pampered. Treat your body right by doing some post-race stretching and rolling out. Foam rollers help you get to every sore muscle, whether it’s from climbing the hills or sleeping in an awkward position in the tent. After rolling out, put on your recovery clothes (which isn’t just your favorite pair of sweatpants). CEP socks increase the blood flow in your legs through compression which reduces swelling and minimizes muscle soreness.
Tip Five: Share your memories
This is the only type of hangover where you’ll want to remember what happened before. Take a moment to bask in everything that happened during the two days before. Maybe that means writing it all down in a journal or on your blog, maybe that means sharing all your photos or maybe it’s creating a time to group call all your teammates and go through every moment and inside joke. Then, you can go back to it again and again. But don’t forget to tag us, @RagnarTrail.
Tip Six: Register for your next challenge
There’s nothing that keeps you moving forward than to start training again. Sign up for your next Ragnar to reunite with your team. Because, there’s nothing like re-creating all your inside jokes and making a thousand new ones.
Sure, sometimes it seems like a Ragnover will never end. But, we promise that after a day or so of wandering around in somewhat of a daze where you never want to take your sunglasses off and loud noises surprise you, you’ll be looking forward to your next all-night party.
This is Anke Hildreth with team Speedy Dozen. I just completed my 3rd fabulous, crazy Alafia River Trail Ragnar and it was another epic experience. Thank you for putting on this well organized event. My only comment would be to have a better loud speaker system. While it meant more quiet in the tent area, it was hard to hear announcements of what fun events were going on in the Village area.