How to Do a Recovery Run: 4 Benefits of Recovery Runs

A recovery run is a form of active recovery for runners that involves easy runs at a shorter distance or slower pace than usual. Recovery runs follow high-intensity “key runs” within twenty-four hours, meaning that you are forcing your body to exercise in a pre-fatigued state. This is why recovery runs are sometimes referred to as “pre-fatigued” or “pre-exhausted” fitness. Frequent, serious runners who run more than three times a week are recommended to do recovery runs because they’re a great way to keep up your fitness without overtraining your muscles.

Recovery runs can be a beneficial exercise for anyone who runs four or more times a week. While these runs don’t directly repair your muscles, reduce lactic acid build-up, or even speed up the recovery process, they still have a number of other useful advantages. Here are some benefits of recovery runs.

1. 1. Improves your performance. Similar to the concept behind taking rest days (days on which you do not train to give your body the chance for recovery), lowering the difficulty of your runs can help your body be capable of peak performance on race day. Recovery runs can raise your fitness level by pushing you to work through your lingering fatigue and helping you break through your exercise walls, which athletes hit once their glycogen stores have been depleted. These runs also rely on proper pacing, which can help you become a better runner over time.
2. 2. Increases your blood circulation. Proper blood flow is necessary to carry out your body’s natural processes, and improved circulation can help flush out waste that can inhibit your body’s ability to perform. Improved circulation can also keep your muscles from getting too stiff the next day after a hard session, which can help reduce pain or soreness.
3. 3. Improves your running form. When you do a recovery run at a relaxed pace, you can focus more on your running form as you exercise. When you’re less focused on speed or distance, you can work on improving aspects of your run like elbow or arm movement or posture.
4. 4. Improves your mental health. A relatively slow run can help clear your mind and relax your body even more than a hard workout can. Knowing that you have to take it easy can force you to get out of your head, while the endorphin release will also help you feel better physically and mentally.

The pace of your recovery run depends on the type of runner you are, but the general rule of thumb is that your speed should be anywhere around 50 to 75 percent of your normal three-mile pace—or, one to two minutes slower per mile.

Even if recovery runs are performed at a slower pace than your usual training sessions, you can still get a quality workout. Follow these steps on how to execute a recovery run.

1. 1. Perform a high-intensity run first. Recovery runs are most effective after hard training. If you’re training for a half-marathon or other running event, wait until twenty-four hours after your last hard run before you try your recovery run.
2. 2. Pick a level route. A course or path with varying elevations can drain more of your energy than you want. Choose a relatively flat path like a running track for your recovery run to avoid overstraining yourself.
3. 3. Slow down your pace. Your recovery run should energize your body rather than burning it out. Keep your pace at around half to three-quarters of your normal training run speed, or what’s known as a conversational pace (a speed you can maintain while also being able to speak). If you’re still not sure how fast this is, try a ‘talk test’—if you can’t maintain a conversation without running out of breath, you’re running too fast.
4. 4. Keep it short. Though it may feel like you can keep an easy pace for hours, your recovery run should only last between 20 to 45 minutes.

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