Young man on morning run

It might be tempting to skip the stretches after a run, but if you have the time to stretch, you should do it. “Being more flexible makes for a happier experience,” Maharam says. It’s also important to cool down your muscles after working them during a long run. Maharam suggests a quick, cold shower before work or icepacks to relieve inflammation. More importantly, eating and hydrating within 30 minutes of your run are essential for recovery. “You need to have protein to replenish any smaller, microscopic tears [in your muscles] so you don’t have any post soreness, and carbohydrates to replenish all the carbohydrates you burned off,” Maharam says. His post-run snack of choice is chocolate milk. “It has sugar, carbs, protein, fluid, everything.”