Post marathon time off

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pzarnosky
pzarnosky Posts: 256 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Marathon runners,
How long do you take off after a marathon? I've heard up to a day per mile. But I've felt fully back to normal since 4 days after. Ready to go tour the countryside and enjoy the nice part of fall in MI!

Thanks!

Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    A lot depends on how hard you ran. Mine are all trail, so gentler on the body than a road race, so I'll go out again the following day for a short recovery run.

    I generally leave it a week until I start another training cycle though. Again, that's influenced by the frequency of my races; five marathons, two ultras and two HMs this season.
  • swebb1103
    swebb1103 Posts: 200 Member
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    I haven't done a full, but 3 days after my half I was back to 3 miles on the treadmill and felt great.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    If you feel good run. Just take it easy and pay attention to your body.

    I usually try to run 3-4 days later. From there I sorta reverse my taper and increase my distance (to a point - I don't run more than 10 miles unless I am actively training).
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
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    That rule of thumb is not to not run at all for 26 days, but to not run hard for 26 days. Don't race or do speedwork for a while. The program I followed had us do a week of limited running (about 10 miles for the week) then reverse the taper until you are back to where you want to be. Just keep the running easy until you are back to feeling 100%. For some people that's 3-4 weeks, for me about 8. I have found that I can do the miles, but it takes a while for running to feel easy again. OTOH, I have friends who do back to back long races, or do a 5 or 10k a few weeks after a marathon and get PRs because of all the extra strength and endurance from MRT. For a first, I would be cautious and just run easy for a while.
  • KeepRunningFatboy
    KeepRunningFatboy Posts: 3,055 Member
    edited October 2017
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    I would encourage active recovery- jog slow and short distances for a couple days up to a few weeks. When your heart and mind and body are all 3 ready, resume your normal schedule. There is no set rules or recovery plans. Everyone really recovers differently. And oftentimes it depends upon the course and how hard you ran the event. Just enjoy and keep it fun and light until you are ready.
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
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    A couple of days.
  • Vladimirnapkin
    Vladimirnapkin Posts: 299 Member
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    I'm inclined to not run for a couple of days. And then run easy for a couple of weeks. We tend to focus on fall races (XC and then road racing), so mostly just do fun workouts for half the year. I use to do tons of racing throughout the year, but don't enjoy that as much anymore.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    2-3 days, but I don't run hard for a couple weeks afterward. I usually use Hal Higdon's post-marathon plan as a rough guide for the first 3-4 weeks post-marathon to keep myself from going too hard.

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