Inexpensive Post-Race Pampering!

It's no big secret:  Medium to long distance races can be rough on your body.  One of my biggest pet peeves as of late is when running blogs show off ways to pamper yourself post race, but it's not really anything cost effective or stuff to genuinely make you feel better.  It's just splurges that might temporarily make you feel better, but it's more emotional like "Ooo!  I just bought a fancy candle or perfume!  This will make me feel great after a race!"  

 Yeah...right.  

My philosophy is, you don't need perfume after a race.  (It'll just make you smell like sweat and perfume!)  You really don't need anything all that fancy.  The most expensive thing that I use post race are my compression sleeves, and sometimes I wear them during the race too.  But, here are some products I like to use post-race to reward myself for my hard work.

Face wipes.  Oh man.  After the Nike Half Marathon in DC, they had simple neutrogena face wipes in one of the tents you walk through post-race.  I grabbed one and wiped my face and neck down and felt totally rejuvenated!  Afterwards I didn't feel totally gross eating brunch with my parents, while sitting on the metro, or when my husband and I decided to drop into a few open houses since we were house hunting at the time.  (Although I will admit, I also switched shirts post-race.)  Any face wipes will do to be honest.  I like the fragrance of Yes To's cucumber face wipes, but Simple's fragrance free, no frills wipe are also nice.  Both are hypoallergenic, and carry-on friendly if you have to get to a race by plane!

Trader Joe's Peppermint Tea Tree Tingle line of shower products.  This one is a little more specialized since you'll only find it at Trader Joe's grocery stores.  There's shampoo, conditioner and body wash.  All three are fantastic and have a nice, cooling tingle.  Each item in the line is $3.99 for 16oz of product.  

Heal your feet!  Your feet (okay, and your legs) just took an absolute beating.  One of my favorite things to use after a long run is J.R. Watkin's Foot Repair Salve.  (It can also be found on Birchbox's website if you have points or want the extra points for the purchase!)  It's a nice, thick salve that I really slather on my feet and put on some thick, soft socks to allow it to be absorbed without getting the floors all greasy.  (And to avoid any slipping issues on the bathroom floor!)  This also has a nice, cooling tingle, definitely helps soothe sore feet, AND helps moisturize them.  

...But what about your legs?  Here you have a couple options.  Sometimes I like to opt for the compression sleeves like I mentioned above.  Other times...I really like to use the Body Shop's Peppermint Cooling Leg Gel.  (Anything in their peppermint foot care line is great!)  It's got a cooling sensation, and also acts like a moisturizer.  This is another one where you may want to keep your legs covered, since it does feel a little tacky until it dries.