A recovery week after a half marathon: how a PE teacher fit hot-cold contrast, sports massage and sleep into seven days

Ken, a middle-school PE teacher in Yonghe, is running a half marathon in October. He uses his sleep to decide each day's intensity, then lays out the week after the race in three stages — contrast bathing, a sports massage and a quiet stretch of sleep — and picks a few challenges that fit the plan.

2026-09-22・6 min read

The week after the race is the second half of training

Ken teaches PE at a middle school in Yonghe and runs laps with his students every day, yet he always puts his own recovery last. After his first half marathon last year, he taught as usual the next day and went cycling that weekend, and his calves were sore for two weeks. This year he wants to do it differently: give his body a plan both before and after the race.

He started by looking at the "My Activity" page: your workout log is recorded automatically by the iPhone's Health app, with nothing to type in by hand. The HAOTIVA iOS app reads steps, active minutes, workouts and sleep, only reading and never uploading; once connected, the phone shows the count, time and distance of each type of exercise over the past 60 days, and you can set how many sessions a week you want.

My Activity on mobile: it explains how to record workouts automatically with an iPhone, with the three steps to connect Apple Health below.

Sleep and intensity: let last night's sleep decide how to move today

Rather than logging every single workout, he set himself a rule: look at how long he slept last night and decide how to move today. Under 6 hours, drop down a level to brisk walking, stretching or yoga for 20–30 minutes, holding off on high-intensity intervals and heavy weights for now; at 6–7 hours, keep the usual time but swap the high-intensity part for moderate intensity where he can still talk while moving; at 7+ hours, train as planned, and remember to rehydrate and stretch afterward.

He also remembered a line he liked: one bad night of sleep doesn't affect your weekly goal, and the minutes you skipped can be made up over the next few days; if you sleep badly for a long time, see a doctor. The weekly goal on the "My Activity" page is based on the WHO recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, and he treats it as a reference rather than something to hit every day. All of this is general exercise information and can't replace coaching or medical advice.

My Activity (web version): it explains that your workouts are recorded automatically by the iPhone's Health app, plus the three steps to connect Apple Health and what you will see in the app.

Splitting recovery into three stages

The Fitness & Wellness page has a section called "Recovery is part of training too", which lists the recovery venues that are already listed. Ken split recovery into three points in time and lined up three places for the days after the race.

Stage one, within 30 minutes of finishing: hot-cold contrast plus stretching. "Banqiao, New Taipei | Hot-cold contrast recovery + guided stretching" is NT$880: 10 minutes in the sauna, 1 minute in the cold plunge and 10 minutes of rest, repeated for three rounds, then 20 minutes of stretching with a coach at the end, with an electrolyte drink included; bring your own swimsuit. The page clearly states that people with cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure, or who are pregnant, should not use the cold plunge.

Stage two, that night or the next day: sports massage and fascia release. "Da'an, Taipei | Sports massage and fascia release, 60 min" is NT$1,800 and targets the thighs, back, neck and shoulders. The therapist first asks where you're tightest before working on it, then teaches you two stretches to do at home at the end; the 90-minute plan adds a longer lower-body massage for NT$2,500. The page notes that this is relaxation and upkeep, not medical treatment. Stage three, before bed: check into a quiet room and let sleep take over.

Top of the Fitness & Wellness page: on the right, "What would you like to take care of today?" with four entry points (nutrition, activity, challenges, routes); below, "Spots left today" lists partner venues' sessions with remaining spots and prices.

Challenges: a few goals that fit the plan

Two challenges on the Challenges page fit right into his plan. The "October half marathon" simply asks you to complete one 21.1 km run in October, while "Recovery week: 4 relaxation sessions" asks for 4 stretching or relaxation sessions (yoga, Pilates, stretching) within a week. You join both in the HAOTIVA app, which reads Health to calculate progress automatically.

The one in Beitou is "Finnish sauna + cold spring contrast", NT$980 for 150 minutes: three rounds of sauna, cold spring and outdoor-air rest, finishing with a glass of iced barley tea, and the page specifically notes that weekday afternoons are the quietest. Ken planned to go with friends from his running group.

He also had his eye on "October 100 km run": run a total of 100 km in October to finish, and the badge goes into the trophy case in the app. The page states that HAOTIVA coupons will only be issued once online booking opens, so he treats it as his own goal rather than a discount. For a teacher used to keeping track of his students' scores, watching his own progress bar move forward notch by notch works better than any slogan.

Challenges page: this month's featured challenge sits at the top, followed by three cards explaining joining in the app, automatic tracking and the finisher badge, and below that the full list of challenges, which you can filter by running, cycling, swimming and so on.

Ken's seven days after the race

Here's the plan he put together himself; the intensity gets adjusted each day based on his sleep:

Day 1 (race day): An easy 20-minute walk, hot-cold contrast and guided stretching in Banqiao in the afternoon, and an early night.
Day 2: Only stretching and walking; in the evening, a 90-minute sports massage in Da'an with extra time on the lower body.
Day 3: follow your own sleep rule, and if you didn't sleep enough, just brisk-walk.
Day 4: An easy 30-minute bike ride or swim to keep the blood flowing without building up fatigue.
Day 5: Sauna and cold spring contrast in Beitou, on a weekday afternoon.
Day 6: A 20–30 minute recovery run, at a pace slow enough to talk.
Day 7: look at how your body feels and how you slept, then decide how much of your usual training load to return to next week.

I used to think of recovery as slacking off. Now that it has its own slot on my calendar, I actually feel freer to rest.

Safety reminder

Fitness and recovery content on HAOTIVA is general exercise and lifestyle information and does not constitute medical advice. Sports massage is for relaxation and upkeep, and cold plunges have clear contraindications. If you have a chronic condition, are pregnant or have had a recent injury or surgery, consult a doctor before taking part and let the venue know in the booking notes. If you have persistent pain or swelling after a race, see a doctor first; don't use massage as a substitute for a medical exam.

Free cancellation for recovery experiences like these is usually up to 24 hours before, and the restrictions and exclusions are listed on each listing page, so give them a read before you book.

What you can do now

HAOTIVA is currently adding partners one by one. Partners that are already listed can take bookings and payments online, while the recovery sessions and prices in this article are items marked "Demo": they are for display only and can't be booked or paid for. Actual partners and terms are as shown on each venue's own page.

For now, you can read how to connect on the "My Activity" page, so that once the app is on the App Store it records your training automatically and lets you join challenges; for recovery, you can browse the recovery venues already listed on the "Partner venues" page.