Recovery after Half Marathon

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devilwhiterose
devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I did my first half on Sunday. The day of, my hip flexors and feet were killing me. It took until last night for me to be able to walk up the stairs without crawling. I couldn't lift my leg without wanting to go through the roof because of my hips. Today, the arch on my right foot hurts pretty bad, and the outsides of my feet are really sore. I feel like I got beat with a baseball bat on the bottom of my feet. My hips feel better today, my quads are slightly sore.

On one hand, I'm pretty sure it's evident I need better shoes.

How long should I give it before I start running again (2 mile, 3 mile...)? Is there a timeframe? I mean, I'm betting I'll feel good by Friday/Saturday...too soon?

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  • timeasterday
    timeasterday Posts: 1,368 Member
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    Not sure why it's so painful but I think a week's rest is good then ease back into running. Try to do something active this week like biking to get some blood going in the legs.

    Jenny Hadfield has a good recovery plan here:

    http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/how-can-i-recover-from-my-half-or-full-marathon
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    Generally, active recovery is best. I try to be up and moving by Tuesday (even a walk is ok). I won't do anything strenuous for at least a week. The first few days are always very slow recovery jogs, and extensive foam rolling. You might feel ok by Friday, but then you will start to jog and realize that your body is very tired still. That's ok.

    Though if your hips are hurting that much, I would suggest adding some glute strengthening exercises to your routine. Runners tend to over-use our hip flexors to account for weak glutes.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I like to run two or three easy miles the day after a half. It really keeps me loosened up.

    But either way try to move as much as possible.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
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    Just go by how you feel. I ran my first half marathon last Sunday and ran 5 miles with no problem on Wednesday. Don't run if you're hurting though!
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    Congrats on running a half! That is on my bucket list =)

    I've never done in, so I don't know from personal experience, but I've heard that ice baths can really help reduce soreness. I'm not sure if they are still effective at this point, or if they have to be done as soon as possible after the race.
  • itsfatum
    itsfatum Posts: 113 Member
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    One or two days is usually enough for me to recover after a race. If you are not used to exercising often and regularly, I would say three days is enough, unless the forth day you really feel that you should give X body part more time to recover because it's still injured from overuse.
    Listen to your body, he will give you the best tips ever, on real time.
  • RunMyOregonBunsOff
    RunMyOregonBunsOff Posts: 862 Member
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    Maybe a few nice walks or easy short jogs but I wouldn't run until I get new shoes if they hurt your feet that bad!
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    One or two days is usually enough for me to recover after a race. If you are not used to exercising often and regularly, I would say three days is enough, unless the forth day you really feel that you should give X body part more time to recover because it's still injured from overuse.
    Listen to your body, he will give you the best tips ever, on real time.

    I'm pretty sure her body is a she.
  • jenn26point2
    jenn26point2 Posts: 429 Member
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    From someone who just ran a full marathon in vibrams this weekend, rest until you feel well enough to start doing things again. My feet were very unhappy the day of (felt like they'd been beat with a bat, too) but the arches felt fine. My hip flexors had a fit later in the day after I sat around for a while. The next day all the "overtraining" pains were gone (hip flexor pain, that hip stiffness that screams for an oil can, etc), and only DOMS remained. Today (2 days post marathon) all aches and pains are a thing of the past and the only thing that remains is a tiny bit of quad stiffness after sitting a long while.

    The body is adaptive and will bounce back quickly if you trained properly and didn't injure yourself in the process. Hang in there. You should be ok by the end of the week.
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    Congrats on your half. Do an easy 2-3 mile run, if needed take walk breaks every few mins and mix it up. I run half marathon every weekend these days and usually my first run after the half is slow and easy recovery run.
  • jenn26point2
    jenn26point2 Posts: 429 Member
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    Congrats on running a half! That is on my bucket list =)

    I've never done in, so I don't know from personal experience, but I've heard that ice baths can really help reduce soreness. I'm not sure if they are still effective at this point, or if they have to be done as soon as possible after the race.

    Ice baths are an AMAZING part of my recovery. Standard tub size, filled with cold water, sit down, dump in 18-20 lbs of ice, sit for 15 minutes. BEST RECOVERY AID EVER!!! I won't EVER skip my ice bath.

    How long you have to run before an ice bath is warranted is up to your body... when I was training for just halves, it was anything over 10 miles. During marathon training, it was anything over 15 miles (b/c I'd had a ton of halves already in the year and my body had adapted to the half marathon distance, so it bounced back very quickly from those distances). For the next marathon, I'll probably stick with anything over a half marathon til I'm closer to race day - then anything over 15.
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    From someone who just ran a full marathon in vibrams this weekend, rest until you feel well enough to start doing things again. My feet were very unhappy the day of (felt like they'd been beat with a bat, too) but the arches felt fine. My hip flexors had a fit later in the day after I sat around for a while. The next day all the "overtraining" pains were gone (hip flexor pain, that hip stiffness that screams for an oil can, etc), and only DOMS remained. Today (2 days post marathon) all aches and pains are a thing of the past and the only thing that remains is a tiny bit of quad stiffness after sitting a long while.

    The body is adaptive and will bounce back quickly if you trained properly and didn't injure yourself in the process. Hang in there. You should be ok by the end of the week.

    My right arch seemed to cramp up at mile 7 and I tried to stop and stretch what I could but I just kept going. I felt like my hips needed the oil can yesterday! I woke up Monday morning feeling like I was in a full body cast! I think I'll try a workout dvd tomorrow night to stretch out a little bit and then do a small run on Friday or Saturday. I want to get back into it asap. It was a blast and I want to do another! Definitely need to get better shoes though...man... :noway:
  • cms721
    cms721 Posts: 179 Member
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    Running is like a bad marriage. You end up getting hurt, you drink a lot, and you keep coming back for more.
  • dschassie
    dschassie Posts: 192 Member
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    Running is like a bad marriage. You end up getting hurt, you drink a lot, and you keep coming back for more.

    OMG, might have to steal this one...

    I would advise to start with a walk and work your way up to an easy run. And yes, definitely make sure you have proper foorwear for your next race, that'll certainly help. I also encourage weight lifting to get a stronger core, back and legs. Having some strong muscles in these areas will help with endurance, avoid injury or early fatigue and help you bounce back faster after the run.

    Congrats on your first half, that's a major accomplishment! :drinker:
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    That's a pretty rough go. If you run any future ones, maybe reevaluate your training plan. It will make the recovery a lot easier.
  • bacamacho
    bacamacho Posts: 306 Member
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    I think the next chance you get you should get out for a walk to loosen things up. See if things start to feel better after you warm up. If it still hurts after maybe 1.5-2 miles, might be something that needs a good week of rest.

    Congratulations on your half!
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    Running is like a bad marriage. You end up getting hurt, you drink a lot, and you keep coming back for more.

    This made my morning!!! :laugh:

    I feel better today. Feet are still a bit sore but I feel like I'll be ok to do something short on Friday or Saturday. Everyone at work has perfected mimicking my "stiff walk". I'll tell you what though, it's a good kind of pain. I can't wait to do another (when I can get some better shoes). I felt like such a badass when I finished that thing.

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