Hi there my running friend this is Coach Claire Bartholic, the Planted Runner, and this is the

Run to the Top Podcast, one of the first and only running podcast dedicated to making

you a better runner with each and every episode. We are created and produced by the

expert team of running coaches at runnersconnect.net where you can find the

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A couple weeks back, I went into detail about the importance of a good warm-up for any kind of run.

Today I'd like to come back full circle and talk about the cool down.

While the scientific and anecdotal evidence of the benefits of a warm-up is very clear, things

get a little murky when it comes to the cool down.

After all, your running is done at this point point so it's much more difficult to study

how much a cool down really helps you running overall and there are a lot of

misconceptions about what you are actually doing when you jog or walk around a bit after a hard run.

I'll go over the four biggest myths about cool downs because even if you do one religiously, it might not be doing what you think it's doing.

Despite that, there are still some great reasons for incorporating a cool down into your routine after each and every run.

I'll explore how you can maximize the time at the end of your runs most effectively.

The first myth about the cool down is that a little jogging after a hard run will remove lactic acid from your bloodstream. Not exactly. The truth is that process will happen if you

decide to jog around for a few minutes or if you drop to the ground

immediately and take a nap.

And if you really want to be accurate,

Lactic acid doesn't get removed from your body.

It gets reconverted back into lactate

...