Half Marathon Revisit

tmlandis

I know there have been several posts about half marathons and training. I did one two weeks ago and it went okay, not speedy, but not the last one done and I finished so that's all that matters to me.

My question is, how many rest days do y'all take before race day and then how many after before you pick back up exercising? I rested two full days before the last one and only one after and I'm unsure if the two days before is necessary.

I used to really look forward to my rest day in the week, now I hate it!

iuangina

Before - I will wind down my training for about 2 weeks before the race...that means short runs that are not very intense. I usually rest anywhere from 1-4 days before a race (depending on the course). Sometimes I will run a mile the day before to loosen up my legs (but only if I've had to travel to the race site by plane or in a long car ride)

After - I usually rest one day for every hour I spent racing.....so for 2 hours - 2 days; 3 hours - 3 days; etc

mum23boys

After my first half marathon I ran the next day. Not hard or long, but for about 25-30 min to help loosen up my muscles. I felt less stiff that way. Great job on finishing the half! Congrats!

catweazle12

I taper for two weeks before a half or full marathon. Runs are relaxed and shorter. I try not to walk around the race expo the day before. It's amazing how far you walk at the big expos.
'iuangina' has good advice, 'Sometimes I will run a mile the day before to loosen up my legs (but only if I've had to travel to the race site by plane or in a long car ride)'
After I take a few days off. Depends on how I feel. Definitely get a massage. I seem to remember reading somewhere "a day off for every mile"... Agree with you on the rest days... they are hard to take

tmlandis

I do taper before. My training plan actually did say to run 15-20 minutes the day before but I didn't . Maybe I will next time. I never thought about a rest day for every hour, that's good advice! I do get a massage for sure though, it really does help those sore, tired muscles recover. I am a super slow runner on a good day, I think a full marathon would take me 5+ hours so I'm scared to do a full!