Forums >Racing>Training Between Races
Hello! I'm running two 50Ks that are only three weeks apart. I'm wondering if anyone has experience and/or hints on the most effective way to recover from the first while still keeping my fitness up going into the second. After a marathon, I typically find myself lazing about for a couple weeks, and always feel really sluggish after that, so I'm hoping to go into this with a plan that will help avoid the malaise. Any advice would be much appreciated!
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Different individuals recover at different speeds, so you probably want to take a reasonable recovery for you.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Thanks, but that doesn't really answer my question.
I think that was his point. W/o know more it is tough to really give good advice.
What works well, for many people, is active recovery. The basic idea is that blood flow improves the healing/recovery process. The way you increase blood flow is to stay active w/o stressing the injured/repairing parts. After marathons, I try to walk a lot (well maybe not a lot, but more then usual). So, after marathons in Nov and Dec I spent the next 2 or 3 days walking at least 5 miles an easy pace (just north of 3mph) and then followed the next day with a recovery run. After that, was back on a relatively normal schedule with runs a bit easier then normal.
That worked for me, YMMV. From 10/31 to 12/20 I ran 5m Race, marathon, 1/2 marathon, 5k, 5k, marathon, 5k. In those races PR 1st marathon (3:31:47), 2nd fastest 1/2 marathon (1:38:37) and PR'd last 5k (21:13).
Ray
I'm an ultrarunner and have done ultras as close as 1 week apart. For the 2 weeks, after your first 50K, I would do a reverse taper. Run mileage similar to the previous 2 weeks before your 50K only in reverse. Then the week of the race, I'd taper just like the week before the 1st 50K. Good luck!
Andy
"Any idiot can run a marathon. It takes a special kind of idiot to run an ultramarathon." - Alan Cabelly
With a couple weeks between 50Ks, I wouldn't worry about. I would probably try to minimize speedwork for a couple days after the first one especially if I was noticing soreness, but then I would forget about that one.Then I would taper ahead of the next one. With three entire weeks between them, I wouldn't really worry about this issue at all.
However, as I was trying to suggest, I strong suspect that people vary in their experience, and in how fast they recover, which I think also varies with the effort, and the terrain. I have not done a race effort 50K on the track yet; I expect that will take at least a few more days of recovery than an easy 50K on trails, and perhaps a fair bit more recovery. As you might guess, I have done my 50Ks on trails pretty easy, so I haven't needed much recovery. If I ran them harder, I might well need more recovery.
Yeah. All depends. One big thing is, how hard are you planning on racing them? I run frequent 50Ks mostly as supported long runs with friends. That doesn't stop me from caring about AG placing, but if I were to run a 50K as a goal race, it would be very different.
However, if this is your first time doing this, to some extent you're just going to have to play it by ear, regardless of effort level. I agree that active recovery is good -- try to avoid that lazing about. Beyond that, do what feels OK, don't push it. Worst case, you get an extra 3-week taper for your next race.
If Salazar had raced a 50K in his racing days, he might have needed half the first week til they let him back out of the hospital