Post-Marathon?

I am no expert since I'm doing my first too but I signed up for a half about 6 weeks after the full. I figure it'll be something to keep the post marathon blues away and far enough away that I'll be recovered. I guess as far as your other options are what are your goals? I'm pretty passionate about running so I don't think I'd want to drop it to do something like fitness classes but it you're "take it or leave it" on the running then sure try something else.

if you are properly trained for the marathon and recover properly then there is no reason you need to take all that time off from running. my PR for a 10k came two weeks after a marathon that i was well prepared for.

i have done 16 Marathons and 17 Halfs, 2 or 3 fulls a year the last few years. I have done 8 half's and 2 full's this year and here is my general routine after a full.

In the first 30 minutes after crossing the finish line... at least 12 oz of chocolate milk, as much water as i can get my hands on, CLIF Bar or other protein bar, chips and pretzels to replace the salt, banana, bagel, and some cookies or something with a little sugar.

refueling quickly is very important with the chocolate milk being the key part of it all, i was amazed how much better my recovery was when i added that to the routine. you can use a protein drink like muscle milk or myoplex instead of the choc milk if you prefer but choc milk is more natural.

Within an hour, get your legs COLD. An ice bath is the best way to go (again, another thing that i was amazed at the benefits i noticed when i started doing this after any run of 16 miles or more). Here is a great blog i bookmarked that gave me a ton of ice bath tips that are obvious when you think about it... but it would have taken me a while to think of them all regardless http://www.sweatonceaday.com/2011/07/how-to-take-an-ice-bath.html

If you cant get to an ice bath then get in some water, any water. walk into the ocean (Long Beach Marathon ends at the beach and you can walk less than 400 yards and be standing in cool water, perfect) a lake or go find a hotel and get in the pool and stay as far from the hot tub as you can even though that seems like a good idea, it isnt. I really want to get some 110% compression socks, you can put ice packs in the socks at the end of your run - genius! you need something like this.

if the race has free massage - a lot do, even some of the huge races, figure out where they are going to be before the race so you dont have to think post race, then get one about an hour after finish. this isnt crucial but helps.

then do not lay around all day as much as you really want to. be sure to get up and hobble around a little during the day, that evening, hit the foam roller - if you dont foam roll after long runs, you need to start. you can do it while watching tv but just do it. the one i bought came with a dvd of suggested ways to use it, or you can surely find many blogs and videos on the topic.

have a big celebratory dinner and savor your beer (since after one you will probably pass out).

monday, day after marathon - easy bike ride. this is incredibly important, do something to shake out those muscles and do your best not to be sitting for too long, extra trips to the water cooler to re-hydrate and keep the legs from getting stiff.

Yoga is also very much your friend, within 2 days of the marathon get to a yoga class, maybe each day after the race if you can.

wednesday, 3 days after the race go for an easy run, i will do 5 miles slow. first mile might be a little stiff but by mile two i loosen up and even though it is really slow, it feels good.

after that, listen to the body and dont do anything tough like speed work or a tempo run for another week, take a few days off to rest not just the body but the mind but by the time you are two weeks after the race, you are ready to do a 10k if you want, i have done a half 2 weeks after a full which isnt for everyone but 3-4 weeks out anyone should be physically ready for a half.

The flip side is that your body can recover quickly if you follow my plan or something similar but the mind is another thing, dont burn yourself out, do some easy runs, run with that friend who is slower than you and do some cross training and hit the yoga classes.

If it's your first or second marathon; then I wouldn't do the half. I would take off 2-4 weeks and then build back that anaerobic ability first. Although; I managed to gain lifts up until 4 weeks out; then now my lifts are better than ever. My 2 mile run time got slower because of the marathon; I've finally got it back. I didn't recover enough and I payed for it.

Um, I ran the NYC Marathon two weeks after my first full in SF. Also, I was back out running that Thursday evening with my run club. Everyone else who ran the marathon hit the park on Tuesday night soooooo yeah.

OP do what feels good for you. One of our pacers did NYC and just ran the Philly marathon on Sunday. He also ran Chicago.

For those long distance runners out there... what's your schedule look like post-marathon? My marathon is Jan 19th and I have a couple options:

- 1/2 marathon for my favorite charity 6 weeks later - Is this too soon? I guess it would all depend on how my body recovers from the marathon race?

- Join a running group - My running schedule is so packed and centered around my traing that I've held off joining a local running club I've been interested in because I don't really have the flexibility to run on their scheduled days

I would do both of these. You put a lot of work into building a base to run the first marathon, I have never understood why people shut it down and then start again from scratch. The running club could be fun, I don't see why the running club would interfere with the half marathon.

Um, I ran the NYC Marathon two weeks after my first full in SF. Also, I was back out running that Thursday evening with my run club. Everyone else who ran the marathon hit the park on Tuesday night soooooo yeah.

OP do what feels good for you. One of our pacers did NYC and just ran the Philly marathon on Sunday. He also ran Chicago.

You are an experiment of one. What works for you might not work for someone else. You are very fortunate that you were able to do this and remain healthy. Kudos to you.

There is a big difference in recovery time from a marathon based on how fast you run it compared to your easy run pace.

If your MP is right around where your easy run pace is, then it's really just an extended long run, which the general consensus is it will take about 7 to 10 days to fully recover from.

If you MP is significantly faster than your easy run pace, then it is a significantly harder effort than a long run and will therefore take much more time to recover from. Using myself as an example, my MP is 2:00+ per mile faster than my easy run pace. After my last marathon, I took an entire week off from running and did some hiking. When I started back running, I did a reverse taper and it wasn't until nearly 4 weeks post race that I felt like I could run with the same comfort, pace and effort that I was running before the marathon.

So, for the OP. I agree with a previous poster that said to stop worrying about the race after the marathon because your only focus right now should be to get to the starting line of the marathon healthy. After that happens and you have successfully completed your first marathon, I think you could do the half, but I wouldn't suggest it unless you plan to just run it easy. If you try to race it, I think you might be disappointed in the results because you probably won't be full ready and in race trim in that short of a turnaround.

Carson Speaks the truth.

I agree that you need to focus on one race at a time. Also that you could do the half, but that you probably aren't going to be racing it. Running it should be fine. I often sign up for a bunch of races a month or 6 weeks after a marathon to capitalize on my increased fitness and to try to set new PRs in shorter distances. However, I've been doing this for 10 years. After my first marathon I took a lot more time to recover.

Now I scale back, maybe run 20 miles the week after, and increase from there back to my baseline. I also start lifting again (2x a week - during training I only do bodyweight). I am 6 weeks out from my last marathon and up to 38 miles/week. Taper in reverse is a good idea if you want to get back into training. All of it depends on how you are feeling after your race. Good luck!

For me it's dependent on the effort I put into the race. If it was my "A" goal race then the following month is mostly unstructured running (go when I feel like for however long I feel like at whatever pace I feel like) and do some different things. I like to volunteer at our local trail races. It's nice to give back and be involved in the community from the other side of the aid station table. Then after a month or so things get more structured. I do not fall off the running wagon.

If the race was part of a bigger picture in the training schedule I take one week where I do a reverse mini-taper mid-week then it's back on the training schedule by the weekend.