Getting a massage will help loosen up muscles and help you recover faster. Join thousands of other runners in receiving biweekly running tips, workouts and free downloads! (not just beer) It… I’m usually not a fan of pain killers, but Ibuprofen can really help avoid swelling in these situation. If you're faster than that (you can pat yourself on the back), you need two or three weeks to let your legs recover from the thrashing, he says. This is where some of the best marathon recovery takes place, and so with all the food and liquids replaced inside, settle down for hopefully some of the best sleep you’ve had in a long time. The rule of thumb is only 500ml of liquid each hour after the marathon to recover fluids. Plus: Ultrarunner Dean Karnazes says that two things which really help him are to supplement his already healthy diet with Arnica montana (oral tablets; not rub) and to rehydrate using a recovery drink with a high carb/protein ratio such as Accelerade. It's not a bad idea, in the weeks after your marathon, to try to gain back that extra layer than can help you stay healthy. Take a least a 90 minute nap that afternoon if you want to speed your running recovery. Try to avoid alcohol during this time (although some might say that numbs the pain too, ha) and focus on drinking sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade to help you refuel fast. What and why: Whether you are a multiple-finisher or a first-time survivor, the urge to scarf down lots of yummy but horrible food is almost too much to bear. More insight: Don't let up on your carb intake just because you're done with the marathon. But before you celebrate, here are some things that you should do immediately after the marathon. Most runners find that they are not very hungry after running extreme distances. I usually take two weeks totally off from … However, don’t push yourself too hard or you may overdo it. Here are 10 crucial ways to recover after a marathon or half marathon. Months – or even years – are spent training to finish 26.2 miles. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. Here are 10 crucial ways to recover after a marathon or half marathon. If you don’t give your body adequate time to recover you are much more susceptible to injury and then you’ll be hung up on the couch a whole lot longer than you bargained for. We put our bodies through months of higher mileage, speed work, strength training, foam rolling, and watching our nutrition, and then push ourselves right to the edge of our physical limit for 13.1, 26.2 miles, or beyond. Nothing beats rest and proper nutrition when it comes to repairing your body and preparing it to move again, but there are a handful of strategies for speeding up your recovery. "To be honest, it is so hard for me to just jump in the ice bath," she says. What and why: Getting a quick rub-down immediately after finishing a marathon feels great, but getting a sports massage 24 to 48 hours after your run will help flush your body of the excessive amounts of lactic acid and muscle waste that your body continues to produce in the hours and days after your marathon. Basic nutrition, exercises, days off and a return to training. The Week After the Marathon. .. After a marathon, he said, it “probably takes at least six months for the mind to recover fully.” It can take even more time to recover from longer races, in Dr. Noakes’s experience. He Overcame Addiction and Ran Off 216 Pounds, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. While most runners will not need to know how to get from one 26.2-miler to the next in a single week, that does not lessen their desire to recover and feel like a runner again. A marathon places massive stress on your body so it’s important to give yourself time to recover after a race. This is exactly the opposite of what you’ll want to do after a marathon, but forcing yourself to walk slowly for short distances will help keep the blood flowing in your tired legs. So what to do? Good race recovery is essential to bouncing back quickly after the substantial effort of a half marathon. He followed that up last year by running eight more marathons. Waking up the morning after a distance race usually involves quite a bit of challenges to get moving. Now is not the time to go crazy on your muscles, but lightly rubbing the tight spots on your legs will help break up the lactic acid that has built up and hopefully start to loosen those muscles. Your training is only as valuable as the recovery you're taking throughout it. [slideshow:102264]However, just the idea of taking some time off after a marathon is enough to drive some runners crazy. Don’t push yourself with any intense stretching, but some gentle movements will help get the blood flowing and loosen any tight muscles. A thigh strain or quadriceps strain is a tear in one of the four quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh. Related: The Surprisingly Easy Way to Drink More Water. There are five things you can do that I have learned from other coaches or through personal experience how to get those legs feeling normal again. Article from all-about-marathon-training.com. Receive weekly workouts, running tips and fitness motivation right to your inbox! Plus: The combination of consistent massages and day-after jogs got me through the year. However, if your stuffed nose or coughing is making it impossible for you to rest, you may need these meds in order to recover more quickly. Related: 10 Best Lower Body Stretches for Runners. "As a coach, I don't know I would ever race an athlete in a 10K a few weeks after a marathon, but that doesn't mean one couldn't do it because you have the aerobic fitness to do it. Even if you hydrated like a champ throughout the race and afterwards, the next morning is crucial. Congratulations, my fellow runners! Running: None. But if you’ve got a training regimen to stick to, or are taking part in a multi-day race, you need to recover — fast. It's hard to know for sure whether I would have done all 52 marathons at the pace I did in 2006 without them, but I know they helped immensely. Renowned ultramarathoner Lisa Smith-Batchen swears by the ice bath as the quickest way to allow her to feel like a runner again. May 18, 2020 - Whether it's your first race or 100th, it doesn't end when you cross the finish line. It's much better than just sitting on the couch, because that takes a little longer to get the junk out. Once you leave the icy coffin and warm your legs, the ensuing blood flow will deliver fresh oxygen to the muscle cells, helping the cells repair the damage done from the exertion during the race. The Fall marathon season is nearly upon us and many of us will be in the final weeks of training after months of blood, sweat and tears. Then, get a good night's sleep. It's great to be prepared, but what you do after your race is just as important as what you've done before. April 16, 2014. When all was said and done, I averaged 3:29 per marathon for the first half of the year and sped up to a 3:13 for the second half -- all while my PR was 3:07. What and why: We have all heard how you should keep moving and not sit down immediately after finishing a marathon. That's what I did, and for me, the proof was in the end results. ), The Best Gear for Virtual Fall Marathon Training, Crave Speed? How to Recover from Your First Half Marathon. Failing to properly recover may lead you to injury, burnout and even illness. 7. There are five things you can do that I have learned from other coaches or through personal experience how to get those legs feeling normal again. More insight: Jim Hage, a 2:15 marathoner and one of only two men to win back-to-back Marine Corps Marathons, attests to a primary recovery method called "Hair o' the Dog." Running 26.2 miles puts an enormous amount of stress on your body – … But there have also been small studies showing that weight gain may occur in some people. "I personally sit in the bath and start with luke warm water and then run only cold water until the bath is cold.". Completing a half marathon pretty much guarantees that you have inflicted some damage to your body. Did You Know That Santa Claus Is a Marathoner? So while you’re enjoying the post race bliss, now is the time you need to focus on your marathon recovery. Marathon Recovery Tips: Post marathon training. Use the time you spend recovering after your race to listen to your body. comments from well-meaning NRFs ("Non-Running Friends") to remind you why you go on a run to avoid them in the first place. Wrong. But it doesn’t need to be. Now that you’ve done all the hard work in training for your marathon and you’ve run the race, your attention now needs to turn to recovering. And being able to bounce back is great for your morale. While we can expect our own body to recover differently after each race, there are still a few strategies we can use to aid our recovery in every situation. But that knowledge does not satiate the desire to lace up the shoes and hit the roads/trails/treadmill as soon as possible. If you want to recover well, you’ve got to get in some deep sleep. In the chapter titled “Mile 27” in his best-selling book, Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide, Hal Higdon explains what runners should do immediately after crossing the finish line: That 27th mile is particularly important when it comes to speeding postmarathon recovery so that you can run and race again. Similar to stretching, walking will help loosen those muscles and keep them from contracting and tightening up. ", When should you race again? Painkillers like Advil or Ibuprofen help reduce inflammation, relieve pressure in any of your joints and making it a little less painful to walk. Planting yourself on the couch and not moving for 2 days will only work against you. (not just beer) It… Rest! In addition, it only takes so many "How long was this marathon?" Don't overindulge on junk food, but don't worry if you put on a few pounds as you take a break. To date, he has run 73 marathons and owns a PR of 2:55:34. 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