Whether it’s a marathon, half marathon, triathlon, cycling, climbing or hiking, Team In Training (TNT) participants achieve their personal best while fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Along the way, TNT expert coaches provide participants training resources and a supportive community to reach the finish line.
But, once you reach the finish line, it isn’t quite over…
Recovering from a marathon is a critical component to a perfect training plan that runners often neglect. Unfortunately, not properly recovering from a marathon can increase injury risk, increase the total recovery time, and limit long-term potential. The following are six tips for post-marathon recovery:
1. Replenish and warm up as quickly as possible. After you cross the finish line, you’ll probably get cold very quickly, so make sure you get into a blanket or warm clothes. Try to find something to eat; some good options include bananas, energy bars, sports drinks, fruit and bagels. Many marathoners can’t eat soon after finishing, so grab a handful of items and make your way to friends and family.
2. Consider an ice bath. When you get back to your hotel or home, you should consider an ice bath. Fill the tub with ice and cold water and submerge your lower body for 15 minutes. The water temperature should be colder than 65 degrees, but 55 degrees is optimal. After the bath, nap or walk around to try and loosen your legs.
3. Rest for three days and consume fruits, carbohydrates and protein. During this rest time, you shouldn’t run or cross train. However, you should soak in a hot tub for 10-15 minutes each day and stretch well afterwards. It’s also important to eat fruits, carbohydrates and protein. While the carbohydrates and protein help repair muscle damage, the fruits will provide a boost of vitamin C and antioxidants. A light massage will help loosen your muscles, but don’t schedule a deep tissue massage just yet.
4. Start promoting blood flow to your legs. During the four to seven days after the race, take one two to four mile easy runs. Cross training is optional, but two days of 30-40 minutes at an easy effort is suggested. If you have areas that are bothersome, now is the time to get a deep tissue massage. Also consider a contrast bath or an Epsom salt bath.
5. One week after the race, ease back into your workouts. Once you’re seven days out, you can take the next week to ease back into light workouts. Go out for three or four days for an easy run of four to six miles. Consider three cross training sessions – one easy workout and two at medium effort for 30-45 minutes.
6. Two weeks out, it’s time to build back into full training! In the next week, go out for four to five runs of four to eight miles with four 20-second strides after each run. For cross training, consider one easy session, one medium, and one hard session of 40-50 minutes. During this period, it’s important to ensure proper recovery so you can train even harder during your next training cycle. Try not to schedule any races until six weeks after your marathon. If you wait a few weeks to let your body recover and train a bit first, your next race will have much better results!
Since its inception in 1988, when a team of 38 runners trained together for the New York City Marathon and raised $320,000, TNT has trained more than 600,000 people and helped LLS invest more than $1 billion in research to advance breakthrough cancer treatments that are saving lives today. To learn more, go to www.teamintraining.org.
What happens when a group of nurses, doctors and cancer survivors of all ages come together to climb the highest mountain in Africa? History is made, and more importantly, lives are saved.
Lights, Camera, Action!
Hollywood cinematographer and cancer survivor, Lila Javan, and her team, Team Javan, of 14 supporters – ranging from age 19 to 60 – have officially started their 12-day climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for cancer cures. Team Javan has been vigorously training for the past several months as part of Climb 2 Cure (C2C), a new fundraising adventure offered in LLS’s Team In Training program.
Lila will be filming the entire climb from start to finish, and starring in the documentary of her career. This is no ordinary “girl against the mountain” story. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – one of the most deadly blood cancers – twice. Lila dreamnt about taking-on the big climb from her hospital bed, and now she is literally moving mountains.
An Uphill Battle
At age 39, Lila received her AML diagnosis right before she was about to shoot a big movie. Fortunately, her recovery was so miraculous that six months into remission, she joined LLS’s billion-dollar fundraising campaign, Team In Training and ran the Los Angeles Marathon. But her journey to fight cancer didn’t end there.
Armed with the fact that every three minutes someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer, Lila was determined to give back. After being in remission for almost five years, she was planning a trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro— a bucket-list challenge that she was hoping to complete one day. Just when she was looking into flights, she was re-diagnosed with AML.
During her months in the hospital, her friends added a big picture of Kilimanjaro to her hospital room to keep her focused on her goal. After undergoing a second bone marrow transplant, Lila once again achieved remission and formed the Climb 2 Cure campaign, which represents a group of people coming together in teams to raise money for LLS as they train together for the ultimate adventure of a lifetime.
Rising Action
Several participants on Team Javan are doctors and nurses who Lila inspired to join while in the hospital at UCLA. Team Javan is the first official C2C team – with a total fundraising goal of $100,000. As of today, Lila has personally raised over $24,000. Team Javan has inspired dozens of other participants across the U.S. to form their own C2C teams who will also be climbing Kilimanjaro throughout the year and raising significant money for LLS — including Ghost Hunter stars Jeff Belanger and Dustin Pari.
A national coach will help train C2C participants for the big climb with regularly scheduled hikes that simulate the duration of the hike days on Kilimanjaro.
Stay tuned for Team Javan’s epic photos and videos – including behind-the-scenes content and footage of the team’s experience on the mountain. Notably, on January 12, they will be able to soak in the spectacular views of a full moon from one of the highest points on earth. See photos of Team Javan in Africa below..
Learn how you can donate to Team Javan and help them reach their fundraising goal for cancer cures, or become involved with Team In Training’s Climb 2 Cure here.
As Vice President of LLS’s Office of Public Policy, Bernadette O’Donoghue leads strategic public policy development at the federal and state levels, providing input from patients to help improve access to care and accelerate cures.
This week was a monumental victory for cancer patients. The 21st Century Cures Act, which will significantly speed access to new lifesaving therapies, was signed into a law. Now, cancer patients, survivors and their families are closer to improved diagnostics, treatments, and ultimately, cures.
This legislation will ensure that innovative scientific research goes from bench to bedside to the patients who need it most. It includes a $4.8 billion funding increase for the National Institute of Health (NIH), including $1.8 million for the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
Furthermore, the law will support new biomedical research, promote innovative clinical trial designs, expand opportunities for patients’ voices in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug development process, and provide new tools for patients to better access experimental drugs when they have no other options.
Over the past two years, since Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) launched the initiative, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has been actively engaged in the initiative and has tirelessly advocated for the passage of this legislation.
With more than 30,000 letters, phone calls, and Congressional visits, LLS staff and advocates have been on the frontlines in support of the 21st Century Cures Act. We have proposed policies focused on the needs of patients, met with White House and FDA officials, amplified the voice of patients in front of Congress, mobilized to visit elected officials across the country, and rallied communities across the country to advocate for this legislation.
As we celebrate this victory, we also know there is more work to be done. LLS will play a vital role in ensuring that the law is implemented appropriately. When the legislation goes under annual review by Congress to approve investments in medical science, we will be there. When additional actions from the NIH and FDA are needed to enact policy, we will be there. We will continue to serve as the voice for blood cancer patients every step of the way, as we work to accelerate cures.
LLS advocates and staff met with Chairman Fred Upton and Rep. Diana DeGette at the Energy and Commerce Committee round table in Kalamazoo, Michigan in April 2015. (Source: @LLSAdvocacy Twitter)
LLS advocates and staff on Capitol Hill meeting with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)'s office in June 2015. (Source: @GailGoodell Twitter)
