Back in April I ran my very first marathon – the London Marathon. Taking on any new challenge brings new stresses to your body and recovery is as important as your training.

I religiously used my OOriginal Sport London themed OOFOS recovery flip flops after the race and found that whilst I had a lot of the expected aches and pains from running a marathon- my calves recovered the quickest, something I directly attribute to my OOFOS. In addition, I still haven’t lost any toenails which seems to be a rarity amongst distance runners! From that moment on I was converted to OOFOS (I’m now the proud owner of three pairs!) and continued to use them as an essential part of my post exercise recovery, whether that is a short run, a long run or a gym session. 

The marathon wasn’t my sole focus of 2018. In fact it was just one third of my biggest challenge yet. This year I am taking on the London Classics which consists of: the London Marathon, Ride London 100 mile cycle and Swim Serpentine which is a two mile swim. So as you can imagine I have had a crazy summer running, swimming and cycling. The last few months have seen the highest volume of training I have ever undertaken, on the road, in the gym, in the pool, at the velodrome, in open water- I have been training hard. But one thing that still remains as important as my training is my recovery. Applying what I learned from the marathon I use my OOFOS as a crucial part of my recovery. Stretching, foam rolling, sports massage and rest are all also vital, but alongside this I get my feet into my OOFOS as soon as possible after I kick my running shoes off, step off the bike or get out the pool. 

Whilst my OOriginals are perfect for post run or fresh out of the pool when I am a bit damp, what soon became apparent was open toed shoes and lugging bikes around do not mix! When we cycle we often take the DLR to the Olympic park or hitch the bikes up to the bike rack and head out to Richmond for some hills. Those ten toenails that survived the marathon have had some pretty close encounters with my other half running over my foot on numerous occasions as we brave public transport with the bikes. Also loading the bikes on and off the roof rack isn’t easy in flip flops, particularly given that I’m pretty clumsy! I’ve recently fallen in love with my OOmg low shoes as they offer a great way to get my essential recovery in from the minute I get off the bike but also offer my feet a bit more protection. Additionally, with a late autumn marathon fast approaching closed toe shoes are definitely the way forward for facing the wet weather!