Runs4Sanity
Just out of curiosity (and already planning my next training cycle),
*Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*
PRs
5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace)
10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)
15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)
13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)
26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)
Mmmmm...beer
I only have experience with my one marathon, but I took two days off afterwards, did a short easy run, then two more days off. I took it pretty easy the following week as well, then started getting back to regular mileage on the third week. I ran my regular mileage for about a month, and then started base building for this cycle. That seemed to work well for me, but everyone is different, and I tend to recover faster than most people it seems.
-Dave
My running blog
Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!
I would wait until you get through this marathon but I understand that you need to register for your next goal race months in advance in some cases.
i like to take 1-2 weeks completely off (up to 3 months in some extreme cases ). Then I typically very slowly build back up over the course of the next 3-4 weeks. I might be overly conservative and some people brag about running the next day. But what's the damn rush? Even if your body can handle it, I find it's nice to have the mental reset and gain a few (or 20) pounds.
i like to take 1-2 weeks completely off (up to 3 months in some extreme cases ).
Like when signing up for a mileage competition.
Dave
While there are individual variations, an awful lot depends on how hard you run the marathon. I recall a quote from Pete Pfitzinger that was something like, "you keep hoping that all of those brutal long workouts will make it hurt less after Mile 20 and it never does." That told me before my first marathon that I should be in a whole lot of discomfort after Mile 20. That also tells me that when people insist they are fully recovered in only a couple of weeks after a marathon, there are three possibilities in what I see in descending order of likelihood:
1. The didn't run the marathon all out.
2. They're starting to train again when they haven't fully recovered. (I should note that I read a quote from one of the world's best coaches although I can't recall who and he said that recreational runners don't give themselves enough time to fully recover from a marathon. His point was that you aren't really fully recovered even when you feel fully recovered).
3. They recover better than world class athletes. (Needless to say, I am just a wee bit skeptical of folks who insist they can pull things off that can't be accomplished by guys who run marathons at a sub 4:50 pace).
I have run four marathons and raced three. Two of those, I was able to run right at the edge of both my aerobic and neuromuscular limits because of good weather and a flat course. One was run at my aerobic limit but not necessarily my neuromuscular limit because I had to slow my pace due to warm, humid conditions. And, I ran Boston at my easy pace so it was nothing but a supported really long, long run.
Recovery from those two all out marathons was extremely difficult. In both cases, it took me over a month to recover physically and I didn't feel like racing hard again for perhaps 5 or 6 months after those races. In the case of the warmer marathon, I was fully recovered in a month and after Boston, I felt normal in about 10 days.
Recovery from the first all out (Nov, 2010):
Week 1 - 9.2 miles
Week 2 - 37.4 miles
Week 3 - 0 miles (The 37 was too much)
Week 4 - 32.7 miles
Week 5 - 70.5 miles and back to speed work (Pretty much recovered by then)
Recovery from second all out (Nov, 2013):
Week 1 - 16.6 miles (I remember doing 8 miles with some buddies a week after the race at a pace roughly 45 seconds slower than my normal easy pace and my comment in my log was "damn that hurt).
Week 2 - 21.8
Week 3 - 40.6 (Did a Turkey Trot this week. I tried to run hard but my time was nearly 90 seconds slower than my PR. That's a loss of close to 30 seconds per mile. That's how unrecovered I was)
Week 4 - 57.2
Week 5 - 22.9 (But I was sick this week and missed several days)
Week 6 - 56.5 (Finally felt pretty much normal)
Recovery from the hot marathon (March, 2012)
Week 1 - 0 miles (Deliberately took a week off)
Week 2 - 28.1 (Did an 11 miler at the end of this week and it felt decent)
Week 3 - 38.5
Week 4 - 73.2 (And I was hitting normal paces and doing speed work
Recovery from Boston (April, 2013):
Raced a half marathon less than two weeks later and my pace was only about 5 seconds per mile slower than my PR pace.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
To be honest, I have two trail marathons in mind by spring next year and one will definitely involve some hiking practice. Land Between the Lakes Marathon in March and then in April there is either the Scenic City Trail Marathon in Tennessee or the Backside Trail Marathon in Louisville KY.
how long or how many days do you take to recover after a marathon...
10 days after marathon one, 6 days after marathon two. But that was me saying running can kiss my grits for that time period more than it was for recovery.
The actual time it takes to recover from running a marathon varies from runner to runner and may or may not be directly tied to the effort put forth during said marathon.
I really don't take time off after a marathon, just a day or two off, then do short recovery runs the first week with a LR between 7 miles and 10, depending on how I feel. I am usually back in the 40mpw by Week 2 (still mostly easy runs) and by Week 3, I'm back training.
IMO, it all depends on (1) your base mileage and years of running, (2) how many marathons you have done (it gets better the more you run them), and (3) the effort made during the race.
Damaris
As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.
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Just out of curiosity (and already planning my next training cycle), how long or how many days do you take to recover after a marathon and how do you slowly build back up, and when do you begin your next training cycle?
1. It took me at least 2 months or a little more before I my legs started feeling better. I've only run one, and I was under trained, working 60-70 hours per week during peek training. But, I was able to run, very slowly mind you, after about 4-5 days.
2. It was a lot, and I mean a lot, of slow miles during that 2 months.
3. I run the full in early Dec, tried to train for an early April half. It was my worse of 8 halves. In late April or early May, I was able to start getting good leg turnover and some speed back.
This is just me though.
1. The times I have not taken 10 days off, I got injured shortly after. So 10 full days off works best for me.
2. I do a sort of reverse taper mileage-wise. No speed work for at least 4 weeks.
3. It takes me about 6 weeks to feel normal again. Maybe even a little longer. I can't picture starting a new training cycle sooner than that. I feel I need the mental break too.
(I think I recover slower than a lot of people)
I really want to do the March one because they have a 60k and 50 miler (for future reference) on this loop, and I want to get an idea of the trail. I have no intentions to race it or run hard, I plan on hiking the hills and just enjoy the trails and begin my experience and journey into ultras.
But march can be a very volatile month, lots of ice or lots of rain. We will just have to see after the IMM.
Are we there, yet?
1. I'm out running the next day as part of the recovery process. It takes a couple weeks before I feel ready to start hard workouts again, not that everything I run those two weeks is easy, but nothing more than moderate effort like easy striders or a few LT pace intervals with full recovery.
2. I measure recovery by how hard the workouts feel and how quickly I recover, so that determines the rate.
3. Recovery is the first step in the next training cycle. That's true even if I don't have a specific race in mind for my next one. I'll be primarily in a base building mode unless I know my next race is going to be a HM or less in length.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
I think I averaged 2 mpw. Not even exaggerating.
1. For the vast majority of my marathons I took 6 days OFF completely. Felt awesome that 1st post-marathon run but typically would only run a few 5ks in the months following. One year I did a 35k trail run a month later but just jogged the 1st half before racing the 2nd. For my last marathon [20th] I resumed running the following week and ran something like 50 miles. I'd raced that one [2nd fastest master PB] but was sick the weeks leading up so wasn't able to extract everything from my training in the race. The high mileage [3000+ mpy] I'd sustained for several years allowed to to bounce back faster, since that's what I was doing in training; increasing frequency [doubles].
2. For the vast majority of my marathons I took 6 days OFF completely. I seem to require much more recovery time than most runners.
3. For my Fall marathons I waited until the Spring, following my base phase, to begin my next training cycle. For the marathon that would be 6+ months, for a 5k or half it would be more like 3 months. I've run several Spring marathons but only really raced one of them and took 6 weeks off before beginning my Fall marathon cycle.
Youth Has No Age. ~ Picasso / 1st road race: Charleston Distance Run 15 Miler - 1974 / profile
delicate flower
My first three marathons wiped me out. I started my recovery the next day though with real easy jog/walk workouts. It took about two weeks until I started to feel good again, and about a month until I could really get back at it.
For my last marathon this past May, I was running again two days later and did 25 miles that week (plus the race). The marathon was on a warm day. My legs didn't get taxed because my body spent all of it's energy trying to cool me down.
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