Post Marathon Recovery in the Three Weeks After Your Race

You have completed your marathon. Now the recovery process starts.

It is the day after your marathon run and now your muscles are probably aching quite badly. You can barely move and today, the last thing that you want to do is to go out for another run.

But you have other upcoming races that you have signed up for and if you don’t keep training, then you won’t be able to complete these.

What is the best way to recover post marathon? For an immediate recovery plan, read top runner Mok Ying Ren’s tips. For the next three weeks, here are some good post marathon recovery tips.

The Next Day

The last thing that you should do is to go out for a run, the very day after your marathon. Your muscles would be aching and you would be feeling rather tired. So listen to your body and spend the day relaxing and celebrating your achievement. After all, you have just completed 42km so why inflict further pain and torture on yourself?

However, if you feel like getting out of the house, then you could do a slow walk or stroll to keep your muscles moving, but don’t try anything more than that. Even the elite runners take a break after their marathon runs.

The First Week

In the first week after your marathon, try and refrain from strenuous running. Instead you should do simple, low-impact exercises that will boost your blood’s circulation and help your muscles to heal after the gruelling run. These include swimming and yoga. However if you feel good at the end of the week, then go out for a short, light run, but not more than 30 minutes – at an easy pace.

The Second Week

How you treat your second week of recovery largely depends on how you feel after the first. If your muscles are still hurting, don’t do running. Instead, do cross training, and invest your effort in other exercises such as swimming and yoga.

But if you are feeling relatively okay to run, then you can go out for short sessions, but try not to go too hard on yourself. Keep the pace relatively slow and do not run for more than an hour at a single time.

The Third Week

In Week Three, you should be okay to ease yourself back into your normal running routine. Try and start the week with an easy run and as the week progresses, gradually move back into your normal training routine in terms of both pacing and intensity, but listen to your body at all times when you are running and do not over-exert yourself. Remember that “prevention is better than cure.”