Post-marathon recovery, soreness, and what to do next?

I can tell you know the right answer but want someone to justify what your heart prefers.

Your body is also being pretty clear about what it needs.

Don't set a timetable. Let your body tell you when it's time. A few pounds and a few weeks of loss of fitness won't be the end of the world. It will also give you the mental break you need.

Fitness can be regained in pretty short order.

Reverse taper. Run very little this week. 15 max. Next week run slow recovery runs. Maybe 20 or so. In the 2nd week you should not be sore unless you tweaked something. But you are still susceptible to injury. Week 3 you can ramp up more, say 40. Still slow and easy. 4th week back to 50 and bring in workouts like tempo again. Good luck.

Thanks both --- soreness is almost gone by day 3, but given upcoming Thanksgiving then 10 day work travel in 4 countries, I might end up taking a 17 day break, and rebuild slowly then.

Nothing much productive to be done between now and when I come back December 7. I am mostly nervous about weight gain (I am a glutton) and losing muscle mass, but perhaps I'll hit the hotels gym for some upper body or core/hips workout, with maybe light treadmill jogs..or nothing.

Hopefully I can then "reverse taper" as suggested Dec 8-21 and get back to regular running 5 weeks post marathon so I don't balloon over Christmas. Then back at it hard in January!

What's a good post marathon goal? I think developing as better runner in general might be a good start, without a specific goal. For me it may be trying things I haven't done before (doubles? especially in winter can be nice, with 1/2 on the treadmilll) and reintroduce speedwork to get better at 5k/10k after months of slow / long running?

I'll have to play it by ear I guess and enjoy normal life! Any other thread/resource you guys used to think straight will be very appreciated. My number 1 priority is longevity and injury prevention --- I love running too much and setbacks are much more of an issue than planned rest!

1 week off

1 week jogging..

if no injuries get back to it. Holidays give you more time to train not less

ukathleticcoach wrote:

1 week off

1 week jogging..

if no injuries get back to it. Holidays give you more time to train not less

Thanks. Soreness was intense Monday, reasonable Tuesday, almost gone by Wednesday, and I feel normal now (Thu). Haven't run or done anything (but eat). I'll take Fri/Sat/Sun off and then jog next week and see where I am at!

Seems plenty cautious for the "no" running part, and once I jog I'll have a better feel for what to do next.

What's the best next steps after a good marathon PR? Go back to shorter stuff for a bit? Have not done any speedwork in 6 months.

Thinking doubles + treadmill workouts will be useful in winter as well. My marathon training was all on singles and a lot of it pretty slow.

Think about it this way. You don't get faster durin your workout. Your workout is breaking your body down and then you get faster because you let your body recover. You just gave your body the biggest workout of your entire life. Why would you not let your body take full advantage of it? Time off right now is part of your training. Take 2 weeks off with no running. 1 week at 50% milage and then take it from there

Jimmy21 wrote:

Think about it this way. You don't get faster durin your workout. Your workout is breaking your body down and then you get faster because you let your body recover. You just gave your body the biggest workout of your entire life. Why would you not let your body take full advantage of it? Time off right now is part of your training. Take 2 weeks off with no running. 1 week at 50% milage and then take it from there

You definitely have a strong point on overload -> recovery -> supercompensation. I go back and forth with the idea of 1 vs 2 weeks off.

If I do 2, I might as well make it 17 days off and not bring running shoes during my work travel since I will only come back on Wed Dec 7.

That'd be the simple and safe solution, and it's not bad to focus on work a bit. I'll be in Poland, France, Luxembourg and the UK and have minimal training time due to meeting/dinners.

Or I bring running shoes/outfit and hit the gym for non-weight bearing (upper body) and hips/glutes/core type of cross training to "keep moving a bit". Or do nothing at all, eat and enjoy a 17 day "training vacation" hoping I won't be 17 lbs heavier by then!

I was on a "running steak" years ago when I ran my last marathon and kept the streak alive for 427 days (until I sprained an ankle). Running in the weeks after the marathon did not bring great results in the months after, at all. No major injuries but not great feeling either.

So yeah, maybe I'll take the lazy (smart?) route and do a full 17 days off. Should keep overuse injuries at bay!

You sound like a robot. You can take your running shoes and jog on your business trip. You don't need to train on your trip though... just relax and go very easy and short for a month. Take 10 days off with no running then you will find a happy medium.

Took 7 days off --- coudn't stand not running and eating like a pig (put on 5-7 lbs in the 10 days since the race).

Only ran 2-4 easy miles on each day, so not overly taxing.

I peaked at 60 mpw before marathon. After that 2 week transition (Week 1 was 0 and Week 2 20ish), does ~35 miles on week 3, 45-50 miles on week 4 seem about ballpak? Then back to real mileage for me (50-60) on weeks 5-6 post marathon?

Training for 5km can be just as intense as for marathon.

2 weeks rest jogging then get back to it. Most marathon training programmes are just an excuse to do nothing before & after them.

Bumping for us marathoners here. I'm taking a week or so off but I don't want to lose my fitness. Good advice here!

InRecovery wrote:

Took 7 days off --- coudn't stand not running and eating like a pig (put on 5-7 lbs in the 10 days since the race).

Only ran 2-4 easy miles on each day, so not overly taxing.

I peaked at 60 mpw before marathon. After that 2 week transition (Week 1 was 0 and Week 2 20ish), does ~35 miles on week 3, 45-50 miles on week 4 seem about ballpak? Then back to real mileage for me (50-60) on weeks 5-6 post marathon?