recovery programme after half marathon

niallse

Hi all, On Sunday I ran my first half marathon in 2hours 8 mins. I am soo stiff and sore now though. Does anyone have any advice regarding getting up and running again? How soon? How far? Should I do other activities first?

I am due to run a 5 mile cross country "race" on 8th October. At the moment I'm not sure I am going to be ready for it. I hurt all over!!!! :-(

Thanks in advance for any help/advice

Mick

staceyseeger

Stretch, drink plenty of fluids & do some cycling or eliptical to loosen up the muscles. Congrats on your time! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

crux

If you can swim freestyle then that gets my vote, not breast stroke though, too much on the knees. Other wise easy Cycling is best to get those muscles gradually loosened up.

RentThisSpace

Good time on your first half. After a major race like a half (or any significant distance), you should perform what is called a reverse taper routine the following week, or weeks, depending on you level of conditioning and fitness. Considering this is your first half, you should probably go for at least two weeks of reverse tapering. Reverse tapering is basically a reversal of your half marathon training schedule, with much less intensite and more cross training (bikes, weights, yoga, etc.). Since your muscles went through a lot of stress during the run, probably more than they ever have, they will need some time to recover. This doesn't mean sitting on the couch eating Cheetos, but rather some reduced effort exercises to allow for your muscles to heal and still maintain their flexibility

Start with an easy 30-to-40-minute run later this week to see how things feel. If you can run without aches, pains, or altering your stride, continue to gradually build your running time and distance with a few more 45-to-50-minute easy runs. If all goes well, by week three you'll be back to a solid foundation of miles.

I don't see a reason why you couldn't hit your 5 miler on Oct 8th.

rachel5576

Congrats on your first Half!!!! As for recovery I think everyone is different. I ran my first half in May with the same time as yours. I tried to run but it took almost 2 weeks before i could do it without any pain. I just ran my second half on Saturday and im pretty sure i could run pain free today if i had the time. I think you might have to just try an easy run to know.

Sunday i was really sore. I stretched really well and used my foam roller also loaded up on bengay. That helped a lot.

If you might be able to just run instead of "race" if that would be easier.
Im curious to hear what others say.

Good Luck and Congrats!!!

arc918

Congrats on the race! I like to basically do my taper in reverse to help recover. I would for sure take a walk today, you can try an easy run. It seem counter intuitive, but running (very easy effort) will help you recover and feel better.

niallse

Wow guys, Thanks for all the replies. The great thing I take from it all, it that you are all so consistant in your advice, which comes from experience. Thank you!

I have just been for a swim - only 750 meters but feel a little better already. I will also walk to the train station home from work ( 2 miles) rather than catch the bus.
The reverse taper sounds sensible, so will give that a go too, perhaps a 30-40 mins on Thursday evening to start me off.

A colleague in work recommended taking Science in Sport recovery drinks. I suppose, that should be a good idea, only thing is I'm clearly trying to lose weight at the same time, so don't want to be boosting my energy intake at a time when I'm physically not able to burn off loads of calories (at least for a week or two).