Sage: how many days off (i.e. no running) do you recommend after a marathon where you blow up?

Are you me?

I blew up shortly before Heartbreak hill and walked the last 3 miles

dfa wrote:

Are you me?

I don't think so, though quantum physics suggests entanglement at the microscopic level. If entanglement obtains for macroscopic entities then it is possible that I am indeed you (and you me).

Blow up or not, it’s good practice to abstain from all running for at least 2 weeks after marathon effort. 4 weeks preferable.

Ffffffffff wrote:

Blow up or not, it’s good practice to abstain from all running for at least 2 weeks after marathon effort. 4 weeks preferable.

He raced 32k and walked 10k. That doesn't require two weeks off of no running. I'd be jogging the next day.

Boston Billy wrote:

Ffffffffff wrote:

Blow up or not, it’s good practice to abstain from all running for at least 2 weeks after marathon effort. 4 weeks preferable.

He raced 32k and walked 10k. That doesn't require two weeks off of no running. I'd be jogging the next day.

+1 ... as suggested, treat it as an MP long run, and move on after a 48-72 hours of recovery. You should be somewhat fresh after the taper period, and as long as you're mentally sound, and not borderline burned out, start planning your next race. If you feel physically and mentally fresh to get after it, no reason not too.

You only ran 16 miles, which means you need zero days off.

Taking days off after a marathon is never a good idea unless you are sick or injured.

Much better is to run easy for a few days to help flush your tissues, speed recovery, and to benefit from the exercise.

After my fastest marathon, I ran steady base pace for a week, then won a 10k on the track by 10 seconds after leading the last 5 laps. My total was 98 miles for the week. What you do after the marathon depends mostly on the training you've been doing before the marathon.

Sage would schedule another marathon in two weeks.

He is “paid” to be an ultra runner though, so unless you want to under perform on both the roads and trails I wouldn’t listen to him.

reader of thing sage posts wrote:

Sage would schedule another marathon in two weeks.

He is “paid” to be an ultra runner though, so unless you want to under perform on both the roads and trails I wouldn’t listen to him.

10/10

And somewhere in his answer, Sage will likely include his finishing place at Boston and the fact he has beaten Anton Krupicka

He has a point wrote:

Sage will likely include his finishing place at Boston and the fact he has beaten Anton Krupicka

lmao

ghost_coach wrote:

Boston Billy wrote:

He raced 32k and walked 10k. That doesn't require two weeks off of no running. I'd be jogging the next day.

+1 ... as suggested, treat it as an MP long run, and move on after a 48-72 hours of recovery. You should be somewhat fresh after the taper period, and as long as you're mentally sound, and not borderline burned out, start planning your next race. If you feel physically and mentally fresh to get after it, no reason not too.

I agree too. I typically go on a easy run of say 2 miles either the day after or two days after finishing a marathon if not seriously injured. I may run half my normal average mileage the week after a marathon and never pushing the pace during that week. Week 2 may be back to my normal paces and distances if my body feels okay. Listen you how your body feels once you get a mile or 2 into your runs to let you know if you are ready for a full run. In my first marathon I got a BQ by 5 minutes in mostly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 60's. I felt good enough to quickly get back to my prior weekly training of 35 to 45 mpw so I ran another marathon about 2 months later and ran it 15 minutes faster with temperatures starting at about 40 degrees and ending in the low 60's. I thought I may a well run that 2nd marathon while still in good condition and see if I could better my time with cooler weather. That faster time was just fast enough to move me up to wave 1, corral 8 for 2017. If you are injured you may be able to jump back into training and run another marathon this spring. If you need a BQ for next year now may be the best time to attempt it.

It is cliché, but it is cliché for a reason: let your body tell you when it is time to run again.

I have run 4 marathons, and my recovery time was different after each. If the same person cannot apply a consistent rule to themselves, I don't know that anyone else can really tell you what you should use as a rule.

If your legs randomly buckle, or if you are having excessive stiffness when you get out of bed or get up after sitting for a while, or if you are having trouble going up or down stairs, it is not time to run yet.

If you are just a little more sore than normal, then you might be able to do some light jogging, but probably just a few miles at really easy distance pace.

Once that soreness is no longer present, you can start running easy distance of your usual duration (assuming that your usual duration is still reasonably attainable relative to how much down time you ended up taking).

Once you are running easy distance days as comfortably as you were before the marathon, you can consider running more moderate efforts.