Post-Marathon Recovery

[Luz]

I know recovery is as important as training, but have never read anything about how to do it correctly. Is there a generally understood way to do it? Or is eating good protein, running less and slower for a few days enough?

[jtshad]

Listen to your body foremost.  If you are still very sore, don't push running too fast.  Get some warmup in, strectch well and start back to running at an easy pace.  The general rule of thumb is to not try to run at a fast/race pace until you have had 1 day of recovery for every mile of the race you ran.  Therefore, wait 26 days before attempting to run tempo/race pace after a marathon.

As far as eating, keep up with the healthy eating habits you had during your training...but of course allow a few indulgences after the race since you earned the reward of your hard work!

Here's to a speedy and healthy recovery!

[Bonnie]

Hi Luz,

For what is worth, this is the plan that I followed: http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=12469

It isn't easy to lay low, but I thought it was very helpful, and I recovered from my recovery really quickly  

Relish your accomplishment!!

[Luz]

Thanks gusy for the advice and the article.  I know it's a fairly no brainer topic, but it's the first time I've taken recovery very seriously and I've botched it in the past.  Smooth also wrote a very concise recovery plan on my blog that is worth sharing here:

Conventional wisdom on recovery is do a mirror image of your taper, a reverse tapering as far as mileage goes. The intensity is scaled way down. Very easy jog like you've been doing to get the soreness and tightness out.

Active recovery exercises include walking, jogging, swimming, stationary bike. Massage and stretching of warmed up muscle is GREAT!

Keep up the nutrition with more emphasize on protein the first half of the week for muscle repair. Hydration is very important. Even though you're running less, your body needs the fluids to bathe and flush out the toxins or by-product of the stress and damage done to muscle cells.

[Michelle Lowry]

I also think taking a week off is a good idea if you've had a long training season (like you have).

[Davy Crockett]

Recovery is variable, there is no set amount of days.   First, what are you recovering from:  Depends on distance and speed.  Second, how well is your body trained to manage the stress.  There are multiple body systems involved including the endocrine system.  As you increase mileage and race more often the body adapts and recovers faster.

To me, it is fascinating to see how the body can recover from the stress we put on it.  For me, it takes me longer to recover if I go dormant.  I’ll quickly try to get the legs moving after a couple days.  The reverse taper analogy is a good one.

Last month, for the first time, I raced two 100-milers within two weeks of each other.   I’ve run 100-milers two weeks apart before, but I never have RACED two in such a short time period.  I accomplished course PRs on both of them.   So, recovery is an interesting observation between the two races.   No, the one-day of recovery for every mile theory is nonsense.  You can train your body to recovery rapidly from stress.   It takes time and hard training, but it can be done.   Now, for me, a week after racing 100 miles, it feels like I have recovered.  In reality I feel recovered, but need another week or so.

Mental recovery is just as important.   Sometimes I just don’t feel like running for several days, up to a week.  So I don’t.   My first runs after a race are always tough, both mentally and physically.  But I know that if I do it, the next day will be better and the next day after that.

Injury throws all this discussion out the window.  Recovery from injury is a totally different matter.
The key is to listen to the body.  Don’t underestimate what the body can do as you continue to push it.

[Scott Hughes]

First of all what I did this week probably wasn't very smart but..... After the marathon I was trashed. The quads were very sore and the lower calves as well. I had planned a 10k on Monday not knowing how well I would feel by then but wanted to run in the Senior games. Sunday I tried walking a few times and even tried a little jogging to keep my legs from going too stiff. Monday morning I felt like crap but went anyway. I did some very slow warm up and at least the legs were working. I ran but never pushed hard. Just found a good tempo and stayed with it. The legs felt much better after. Later in the day they were pretty sore again. I had a Half marathon on Thursday and was thinking about dropping out. By Wednesday afternoon I am feeling pretty good. Thursday, race day, I decided to run but not race. Adrenaline starts pumping and before I know it I am going out strong. Decided to go a consistent pace for the race, not fast just controllable and consistent. After the race I feel great and have ever since. I took off Friday, Sat and Sunday. Will get back out for some easy runs this week.
I would not recommend getting out and racing following a marathon but I feel the way I did it, slow and without trying to go all out, really helped me. My fitness level has been increased a lot. Everyone told me I was stupid, and probably was, but I feel great and ready to race again...only now I feel I can push a bit harder for the next race....2 weeks away.
I have always been told to take a long break after a marathon but of course do I listen?

[Adam R Wende]

I personally like the reverse taper. And though people can race two 100-milers in two weeks, the 26 day theme is not a bad idea. I think the point the article that Bonnie referred to highlights that you may have no pain but still have microdamage. This means you may have the ability to run/race again but the additional cumulative damage is often overlooked. For someone who is injury prone this is a problem. For someone who can race ultras or monthly marathons this may be a moot point. It is the same idea as how long do you taper. Many people only taper one week. Others taper up to three weeks. This puts the recovery debate in the same light. Some bodies may need the extra time to prep and/or recover. One thing that I haven't seen in any of the comments or the article is the benefit of ice. I was not a huge fan of ice until college. Since then I've tried to incorporate ice baths into my recovery routine, be it any training run over 15-miles or any major race effort. I think this has cut my recovery by a third. Also, the course at the same effort makes a big difference. Running downhill at St. George vs. the equivalent effort at Chicago is going to lead to different levels and types of muscle damage.

[Sasha Pachev]

I believe that neural drive damage from a marathon is greater than muscle damage. It is fairly common for people to complain about stale legs three months after a marathon. I have experienced the loss of endurance after a marathon - I could run a good 5 K, but not a good half. The symptoms are like as if you had not slept all night. That sounds to me like more than a damaged muscle.

[Adam R Wende]

Sasha, By that argument, would you suggest a longer recovery is better?

[Sasha Pachev]

Adam:

It depends. You just have to watch out for trouble in body feedback during your runs and adjust. There is no universal formula. But I do have to say that the post-marathon muscle damage is the least of your worries. That is back together in a week at the most, maybe two weeks for some people. Glycogen is also back in a few days. But if the marathon was a true honest all out effort something else is not. What I noticed is that I can run a good marathon two weeks after another, but then two-three weeks after the second I cannot run a good one anymore. I would need a couple of months. So there is some kind of 1-2 punch going on.

Interestingly enough, that 1-2 or 1-2-3 punch effect shows itself in other runners. You often see Kenyans coming to the US to earn money and racing multiple marathons close together. So they do a couple really well, maybe a third one, sometimes even fourth, but then in the fifth they blow up, and then for the entire next year they cannot run well, even after they have cut down their marathon frequency. That could be from increased junk food exposure, though.

[Luz]

This has been great feedback. After my first marathon I never cut back at all, and I suffered a myriad of injuries thereafter. I've learned a lot, but I really have never known what to do with recovery exactly. So this has all been helpful.  With all the different responses I received here on the blog, I decided to combine suggestions.  I believe Sasha's point about neural damage being worse than muscle damage is particularly true of me.  I'd add my tendons and nervous system require more care in recovery than my muscles.  I can trust my muscles to do their job, it's the tendons I can't trust. I settled on a program of slower running & less mileage, and lots of specific kinds of stretching.  I've been extra careful about what I'm eating (good proteins, grains, lots of extra fluids), sleeping and resting extra.  I could actually feel when my muscles started to feel strong again just yesterday, but am still holding back for another 2 weeks or so.  I'm not anxious to begin the harder running again until I have to.  Since SGM, I've been really enjoying my primary reason for running in the first place--just being outside! Thanks again for the very helpful information from my query.