Running Online

After The Marathon

By
Art Liberman
of State of the Art Marathon Training

While completing a marathon is indeed a great personal accomplishment, it is essential to take care of a few basic tasks prior to relaxing and celebrating immediately after the race. Recovery from the physical demands of the marathon begins right after you cross the finish line. If you chose not to take time to incorporate these simple procedures, you will no doubt be reminded in the days after the marathon of what you put your body through by feelings of excessive soreness, fatigue, and pain. The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way...that is, if you follow the suggestions listed below!

Issues to Consider Immediately Following Your Marathon

Determine if you have a need to visit the medical tent. Excessive pain to muscles and joints should be checked out by the medical personnel on hand. Also take care of blisters at this time so that they can be treated properly. After crossing the line, get something to drink. Suppress the urge to consume alcoholic beverages until later in the evening after you've had a nice meal. Within a few minutes of finishing, grab something to eat. Stretch thoroughly within 20 minutes of finishing. Do not even consider lying down...KEEP WALKING. Sign up for a post-race massage (if available). Soak your legs in some cool water. Later in the day (3 - 4 hours after the race), spend a few minutes in a warm whirlpool. After you return home or to the hotel, have a nice lunch. This should be a well-balanced meal that includes the majority of its total calories in carbohydrates. Don't overlook consuming at least 20 percent of the total calories from protein sources. Do not take a nap or lay down for long periods of time (that is unless you wish to be very sore or nauseous!); Instead, stay on your feet by taking a walk or perhaps going for an easy bike ride, spinning for a few miles. Above all keep moving to minimize leg muscle soreness. Later that afternoon or evening, go out and celebrate. If you trained properly and followed all of the pre-race and marathon strategy suggestions, you should be able to do just about anything you wish (including dancing)! Above all, have a great time!

Rebuilding Your Mileage Safely

After experiencing the personal satisfaction of completing one's first marathon, many runners are interested in getting back into their training immediately. While completing a marathon is quite exciting and motivating, extreme care must be taken in the months following the marathon regarding rebuilding mileage to pre-marathon levels. The effects on the musculo-skeletal system are tremendous as muscles have undergone micro-trauma, a fancy word for very small tears of the muscle tissue which normally occurs as a result of the physical demands of the marathon. This is a normal occurrence. These tears require adequate time to heal and regenerate. Jumping right into a heavy training schedule will slow down the recovery of muscles and soft-tissue. Even if the micro-trauma damage is minimal, the soft connective tissue and bones of the body are in a vulnerable state immediately following the marathon. To reduce the possibility of causing an injury, a prudent approach to the full resumption of training should be taken. Some texts state that runners should take a couple of weeks off with no running after a marathon. Instead, it is recommended to engage in cross-training activities to maintain cardio-vascular fitness while at the same time, allowing the body to heal. My feeling is that you must listen to what your body is saying. If you are able to run a mile or so the day after the marathon without altering your normal stride and aren't injured as the result of the marathon, go ahead. If you are extremely sore, however, take a walk or an easy bike ride to loosen up the legs. Please refer to the chart which follows - Rebuilding Mileage (Chart IV). You will note that each subsequent week following the marathon, 25 percent of one's previous weekly mileage is added. In the chart below, this means that based on weekly mileage of 40 miles prior to the race, 10 miles is added each week following the marathon.

Rebuilding Mileage - Chart IV

Week # Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Total 1 26.2 1 Rest 1-2 1-2 Rest 2-3 31-34 2 3 Rest 3 Rest 3 Rest 3 12 3 6 Rest 4 Rest 6 Rest 4 20 4 8 Rest 6 5 6 Rest 5 30 5 10 Rest 6 8 6 Rest 5 35 6 4 Rest 4 Rest 4 Rest 4 16 Click here to see the chart above in metric form.

Scheduling Your Next Marathon

I'm often asked how soon one can begin training for, and participating in his or her next marathon? The answer to that question depends on lots of factors. Some of these include, but are not limited to: years of running experience, type/intensity of the training program utilized for the previous marathon, energy/effort expended during that marathon, duration/completeness of leg recovery from the previous marathon, among many other factors.    Most experts say that two marathons should be the limit one should run per year (spaced six months apart). This rule applies both to the novice (regardless of marathon pace) along with the advanced runner who turns in a competitive (hard) effort. Experienced runners who complete their previous marathon at a moderate to easy effort may be able to compete an another 26.2 mile race sooner than the recommended six month waiting period. How much sooner depends upon the factors mentioned in the previous paragraph.    The central concept to consider is that the body needs adequate time to recover from a marathon. Training for, and competing in another before one's legs have fully recovered can lead to a variety of overuse injuries. Is it worth the risk? While I don't think that it is, the decision is ultimately yours.

Staying Motivated and Combating Burnout

It is not uncommon for runners to suffer post-marathon depression after finishing a marathon. This is due in part to achieving a goal which took much time and energy. Now that the goal has been accomplished, runners oftentimes feel a void in their lives. Until you are ready both mentally and physically to set new goals, consider the following strategies to deal with reduced motivation and/or burnout: Run simply for fun, not worrying about following a training schedule; Supplement your running by participating in cross-training activities; Take a break altogether from running; Spend more time with family and friends and enjoy some social activities or non-athletic hobbies.

Setting New Goals

When the burnout phase is over, or if you were lucky enough to avoid this period, think about some running goals you'd like to accomplish over the next few months. These don't have to center around a marathon however. Perhaps you may wish to improve your 5-K time or maybe you might be interested in completing a triathlon. See strategies above regarding the setting of new goals.