Marathon Recovery

4 watchers
Apr 2015
7:31pm, 28 Apr 2015
1,710 posts
  •  
  • 0
Wazelle
It depends on how hard it was, whether I have picked up niggles and how I feel. Perhaps I am getting more used to them. In the old days I always got a bad chest infection a couple of weeks after the marathon. Now I don't.
Apr 2015
7:54pm, 28 Apr 2015
319 posts
  •  
  • 0
jdarun
A lot depends on how the race went. Last time for me, I trashed myself so badly in the last half hour I wasn't able to run for a week (walking was bad enough). Time before, much more under control, felt pretty good in a few days. Any sign of an injury and its best to take things pretty easy too IMO.
Apr 2015
8:08pm, 28 Apr 2015
First-time poster!!
  •  
  • 0
Running Auditor
Interesting that a couple of people have mentioned getting the lurgy. My recovery plan was a week off then a couple of gentle runs the following week. That plan was scuppered - I did the Brighton marathon, rested a week, did one recovery run and then got raging tonsillitis and spent 5 days in bed!

(hi all by the way, I'm new) :-)
Apr 2015
8:50pm, 28 Apr 2015
10,495 posts
  •  
  • 0
Girlie
I rarely run a step until at least the Weds/Thurs following a marathon- I tried it earlier in the past and it wasn't pretty. It works for me although I do seem to recover a bit quicker now than I used to.
Apr 2015
9:36pm, 28 Apr 2015
1,396 posts
  •  
  • 0
Canute
There is no simple rule for all. The requirement for recovery depends on your genes; on your training history over recent years; on the adequacy of preparation over recent months and on how near to your limit you pushed yourself during the race.

For many runners who have pushed near to their limit, there is evidence of serious stress on the body (such as weaker contraction of heart muscle; greater susceptibility to respiratory infection, etc.) persisting for period of a week or longer.

So if you pushed near to your limit in the race, anything other than very light exercise in the first week is risky. In the second and third weeks it is sensible gauge just how well you have recovered before building up training volume and intensity. I think that comfortably effortful stride-outs for short distances (50-100m) in the second or third week can be a helpful indication of how well you are recovering – but in many instances, the risks of pushing too hard too soon outweigh the potential benefit of resuming demanding training before the fourth week.
Apr 2015
11:58pm, 28 Apr 2015
1,397 posts
  •  
  • 0
Canute
RA, sorry, I did not notice that you were a first time poster. Welcome to posting on Fetch.

Sorry to hear about the tonsillitis after Brighton. This might have been a coincidence but it is quite likely that immune suppression increased the risk. Nieman and colleagues found that the risk of respiratory infection in the week after a marathon is about 6 times higher than in comparably fit runners who had not run a marathon. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

It is interesting to note that Nieman found heavy training before the marathon also increased risk of infection prior to the race. Those who did more than 60 miles per week in training were twice as likely to suffer a respiratory infection during the two months prior to the marathon than runners who did less 20 miles per week. However other evidence indicates that fitter athletes who have built up training load gradually have reduced risk of infection.

Overall the evidence indicates that it is healthiest to build up training very gradually before a marathon, and recover well after the event.
Apr 2015
7:49am, 29 Apr 2015
6,787 posts
  •  
  • 0
LouLou
I usually get recovery wrong and run too soon - this time my legs feel virtually normal apart from a hamstring and calf issue which isn't as bad as I feared. I have walked a few miles each day since marathon - reckon we covered about six miles yesterday due to poor choice of hotel location on holiday!!

I'm desperate to pull my trainers on but on the other hand I also want to recover well, not get I'll and let my body heal. I don't have DOMS in quads or glutes and have never felt this "fresh" after a marathon. Attributing it to running race pace for only 2/3 of the race and jogging the rest on a sore calf!
Apr 2015
7:50am, 29 Apr 2015
6,788 posts
  •  
  • 0
LouLou
P.s and doing a lot of strengthening work pre-race.
Apr 2015
7:27pm, 29 Apr 2015
2 posts
  •  
  • 0
Running Auditor
Thanks Canute, very interesting. I followed the P&D plan (up to 55 mpw) pre marathon, so happy that I built up slowly. Am thinking that I will take even more time than originally planned recovering, just to be sure. My next marathon is in September, so have some time yet!

Got something to say?

To join the discussion, sign in or join us.

About This Thread

Maintained by fetcheveryone
Ok, so this applies to *all* marathon runners, not just the ones off the telly ;-)

What's your s...

Related Threads

  • events
  • marathon









Back To Top
X

Free training & racing tools for runners, cyclists, swimmers & walkers.

Fetcheveryone lets you analyse your training, find races, plot routes, chat in our forum, get advice, play games - and more! Nothing is behind a paywall, and it'll stay that way thanks to our awesome community!
Get Started
Click here to join 112,109 Fetchies!
Already a Fetchie? Sign in here