Post-Marathon Recovery

It’s November, and many runners have just finished a fall marathon. For some it may be their first, others may have raced to a personal best. Hopefully, you finished “feeling good” and that feeling has carried over into your recovery period. However, if you plan to jump right into heavy training again, you may be in for trouble in the months ahead, in the form of injury or “burnout” from running. Here is some information you can use to ensure that your last marathon won’t be your last marathon.

No matter if it’s your 1st or 50th marathon, a certain amount of time is required for our bodies, and minds (not to mention family and friends), to heal before the next race or season. Some say to allow one recovery day for every mile run- that means around 4 weeks after a marathon- to recover fully. Light stretching and walking is fine for the first few days. Then, easy running or cross-training with swimming, cycling, or water running after 3 to 7 days of inactivity is recommended to help heal the microtears in your muscles that cause most post-race soreness. If your legs still fell heavy, lifeless, and sore after a week of light runs or workouts, continue to go easy or take some more rest days. If not, you can run a little faster and longer the second week. Those who were either undertrained or overtrained, raced beyond their fitness level, or were fighting a specific injury before the race may need more recovery time than the more properly prepared and/or experienced runners.

Psychologically, some may “crash” to varying degrees the first few weeks after a big race, after months of having their lives structured around their training. A good way to recover mentally is to ease into some shorter races four or five weeks after, just for fun. This can give you a good transition into whatever winter activity you have planned. However, remember to keep any races fun; go easy! And, if you don’t really feel like you are ready physically, don’t race.

To avoid injury and recover fully, it may be helpful to think of the training year as a big circle, with the day after your last big race as the first day of the next season. This is because what you do now will determine what you can do over the winter months, which will then determine what type of shape you are in when your next race arrives. If you are planning to run some “off-season” winter races, you should keep some type of aerobic base, even if you are not racing them. Most should decrease their weekly mileage and add some other forms of aerobic activity, such as swimming, cycling, deep water running, or cross-country skiing, in addition to an weight-training program that includes upper body and core (adominals, lower back, and hips) strengthening.

When should you start increasing running mileage again? The answer depends on what your goals are for next year. Those who plan to “peak” for two marathons next year, one spring and one fall, such as Boston and New York, or have an early season triathlon, will want to start building a base earlier, such as January. But even if you are not racing “long” until next fall, don’t wait until July to start building back your base, as you will leave less room for error and more room for injury. Ideally, for a fall marathon, you should reach half-marathon distance by the end of May, no matter what your ability level.

If you follow these steps, chances are you will avoid the common post-marathon injuries that often appear in the winter months, such as iliotibial band syndrome and stress fractures. Better yet, you will enjoy your winter racing or cross-training, and you will have both the body and the energy to “reach new peaks” next year