I hate taking breaks. I love to train and train and train! However, I know that is not realistic without some downtime between cycles. We are not superhuman – at least I’m not. I cannot just keep going full force all the time as much as I’d like to. It’s just not possible. The stress on my body and my mind will break me down if I try. I do like to learn the hard way and push my limits. I have never pushed myself too far, but I have been close! In my first year of running marathons, I ran five of them. The last three were within four months of each other. I did not get injured, but I was pretty exhausted after the fifth one. Recently, I ran two marathons three weeks apart. While this is probably not a wise decision according to most runners, I felt that my body could handle it and would have backed off if there were any signs that doing it would be detrimental to me. I knew I couldn’t race them both and had to pick one to go after my personal record and did the other for fun. After doing both races, I definitely needed a break. I was starting to feel pretty worn down physically and mentally by that point.
When you run a marathon, there is damage being done to your body that needs to heal. There can be some temporary effects on the kidneys. This is usually reversed within 48 hours and is due to sodium loss and dehydration. You most likely will experience delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). This happens because of microtrauma to the muscle fibers. DOMS usually occurs the day after the race and can get worse in the few days after. Don’t we all know how painful it is to go downstairs after a marathon! A staircase after a marathon is every runner’s nightmare. You want to give yourself time for your muscles to repair and the inflammation to go away. Of course, being really well trained can help combat some of these things. Even so, a lot of stress is being put on the body during a marathon. Also, you don’t want to experience overtraining by coming back and doing too much too soon. It will take a lot longer to come back from that or an overuse injury than if you just took some time off after the race.
I want to touch on another topic: please do not worry about gaining a few pounds after the marathon. It happens to me every time. I do not let myself stress about it. Your body is recovering. It needs a break. You are probably also dealing with some water retention. Put the scale away. Let yourself appreciate your accomplishment. If you want to indulge a little more than usual, then do it and don’t feel guilty!
After the NYC Marathon, I took eight full days off from running. I went to one spin class after six days. The only activity I did other than that was taking the dogs for long walks. Why did I take this time off? Because I knew my body needed the break. I cannot keep training at the level I want if I don’t let my body heal and recover when it needs to. The batteries need to recharge. All of the soreness mostly went away for me by about five days post-marathon. Given all that I had put my body through for months, taking at least a few additional days off made sense.
Below, I will outline a post-marathon schedule that works for me. The most important thing is to realize that everyone is different and you really need to listen to your body! Recovery time and how to recover can vary from person to person. I prefer to take at least a full week off. Then, I will gradually increase volume and keep all my runs easy for a few weeks. Stop worrying about your pace! I got faster when I let myself chill out and run easy whenever warranted. A good rule of thumb is to do a reverse taper. Do whatever taper you did for the marathon backwards, but cut out the speed work.
The first week post-marathon:Take the time off.
Go for walks to get out of the house. This will help to promote blood flow. I tend to feel down and get a little depressed if I am not doing some type of physical activity. Going for some nice, longer walks with my dogs is my go-to this first week! While I may be eager to get back to training, my mind truly appreciates the emotional break as well. So much of running is mental. When you’ve invested so much time and energy into training for a marathon, it makes sense that the emotional stress can take a toll on you just as much as the physical.
Week two: Either continue resting or start slowly running again.
The first run back, you can feel wobbly and running can feel strange. This is usually the case with me! I feel like I’ve never run before. I tend to keep that first day back to around 3 miles. I like to run around 3-4 days during this week. I keep them all easy-paced and usually try to keep the duration shorter. You can add in some biking or swimming if that’s something you enjoy!
Week three:Gradually increase volume.
Continue to keep all runs easy. I run six to seven days a week during regular training. I will usually get back up to five or six days a week by this time. Add in some more cross-training if you want. I like to do spin classes, but don’t always go all out. If my body is tired, I’ll cut back a little. I will also add other gym classes back in, such as boot camp and barre.
Week four:You can begin to resume your normal training.
If you are feeling good and recovered, go ahead and start training normally again. Reintroduce some speed work and tempo runs one to two times a week. It may take up to a month or even longer to fully recover from a marathon. You want to make sure you do not have any lingering soreness and are not setting yourself up for injury! Be cautious: there is no need to rush. Any fitness lost will come back quickly.
Much of staying healthy during and after marathon training cycles is being in tune with your body. Over time, you will learn the difference between when to push hard and when to back off. Your body will give you the signs; you just have to listen.