Race week! Active recovery run

It is race week!
This Sunday will be the NN marathon Rotterdam 2025! With 17000 runners for the full marathon and +/- 950000 supporters (based on last year) this is by far the most popular sportingsevent in the Netherlands.
The runner up - the Amsterdam Marathon has 22500 runners but less than 100000 supporters.
For this edition the NN Marathon Rotterdam sold out in less that 30 min after general sale started. I was able to buy my ticket via early access which started 1 hour before general sale (early access was granted to the runners of the 2024 edition).

Race week means: rest, recovery, carbo loading and picking up the BIB number before the race starts.

I feel ready for Sunday! Yesterday’s dreas rehearsal provided good feedback on my pace, gear and nutrition plan. Based on yesterday I updated some features and printed my personal raceday plan + checklist.

Resting and recovery
Resting and recovery are two related but also separate things. Resting you can do with reducing your running distances and improving your sleep. Recovery will follow when you rest. Active recovery means you do some training that will speed up your recovery without the need to fully rest. Combining both strategies is best for getting ready for race day!

My run today was an active recovery run. My aim was to keep my heartbeat below 130 BPM regardless the running speed. That way you can increase blood circulation so your body can speed up recovery a little bit.

With only 5km the impact of this run on my trainingsload is small so it provides a great excuse to go for a lunch run ;)

Happy running