Recovery

[Colinsmith]

What’s the longest time (excluding actual injury) it’s taken you to recover from a HM?

Asking for a friend. 😁😁😁

Ouch.

[SlowLoris]

When I've done more than one I'll let you know.

I went for a run this morning and my legs felt better at the end than at the start.

[AlMorr Half Marathon]

It depends, if it was your first HM I would think it would be a good few day for you to recover, if you ran a HM on a regular basis, say once a month with a few parkruns in between you possibly could run a HM on a Sunday and run a 5K the next day.

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

Cheers. I’m the latter, but this one really hurt for some reason!

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

😁😁😁

After a half marathon I like to take a week completely off running - two for a marathon. I got the idea for this from an elite runner called Tina Muir, but I also think it is difficult to tell how well one is recovering after a particularly hard effort, so it's best to err on the side of caution.

Another thing I recommend highly is to go for a walk in the evening after the half or full marathon (to the pub is a great idea!), and to make sure you walk the following day too. It's a really good idea to keep those legs moving to help prevent muscles seizing up, and to assist blood flow to those tired tissues 😊😊😊

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to roseabi]

I don’t think I’ll be back out before Saturday, and I’m in two minds about that! Maybe tailwalker if no one has volunteered yet...

I never usually get blisters, but I’ve one on the longest toe on each foot, bruised nail, the works. Calves, knees and ankles are all fine - my quadriceps are stiff and tired but not painful. I cycled to work this morning though, and that felt fine.

[mrrun Ultramarathon]

I didn't actually feel any need for recovery after HM, given how much l trained in the run up to it. But, as roseabi points out, giving yourself a week's break is beneficial. After marathon l went out the following day and walked for several hours, gently maintaining muscle movements. After a week or two, you're as good as new and ready for more punishments.

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to mrrun]

I mean, I was slightly exaggerating for comedic effect, but it’s odd how much difference I feel to after a training run - even one with a fairly similar pace. I can run HM in the morning and feel fine within a couple of hours, but not this one. And I think my training was pretty OK. A few too many speedy 5ks maybe; but enough distance in the legs, I think. 🤷‍♂️

[SlowLoris in reply to Colinsmith]

Those speedy 5Ks take more of a toll than you think. I got caught out a little while ago when I did too much in a week and just ran out of steam on a normal run that should have been easy. It was a useful lesson for me. In the week before the HM I just did two short runs at HM pace to keep my legs moving.

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to SlowLoris]

I did taper, and thought I was well set. I find it very difficult to resist the call of parkrun though! Very much on the mend now, thankfully.

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon]

Are you doing anything/did you do anything to aid recovery?

I don't actually have any issues following 9 to 18 miles distances however I always have a protein recovery drink within 30 mins of session ending. I always ensure extra hydration in the 6 to 12 hrs after and I usually have a hot bath and massage my calves in the bath and then a good session with the roller afterwards.

I generally have to work the day after so that ensures a level of moderate (at least) exercise so no chance of stiffening up.

For the longer end of distances or up to 26 I'm usually hungrier the next day and I do eat more.

Of course it depends on how hard you pushed yourself too. I do mine all at endurance level so I'm not looking to be super fast, 5mph usually.

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Well... I had a pint... 😉

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to Colinsmith]

But I also drink a lot of water and ate plenty. I would have had a bath with Epsom salts but google gave me mixed advice on this with the blisters.

I then had to drive back to London later that evening. Not ideal that.

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to Colinsmith]

I would never have alcohol after a big session (aside from the fact I don't really drink) as it slows down the repair process and can actually encourage inflammation.

Add that to the driving, being stuck in one position and you have a recipe for an uncomfortable few days 👎🏼

You could try a recovery drink in future straight away and celebrate after that initial crucial 30 min window. It would be interesting to see if it helps.

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Obviously (with the drive 7 hours later in mind) I only had the one weak cooking lager! Thanks though Jo. I was travelling light this time so that I didn’t have to retrieve a bag at the end of the run but I’ll bear it in mind for next time. Probably even grabbing a chocolate milk would have been a decent idea. 🤔

I had Tailwind during the race, and was well hydrated but I don’t think the Tailwind had much effect to be honest.

I’m going to consciously slow my pace for the next few long runs. I do have a bad habit of just running at the pace that feels good when I start.

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to Colinsmith]

Pretty sure Tailwind is just carbs, you need to get protein in, ideally 20g or so within 30 mins. You can get sachets so you don't have to carry an actual drink. I'm a little surprised they're not on offer at the finish line if only for product promotion.

Every a weak lager will have an effect, unless of course it's 0%! (Which might be an option too as then you have the flavour without the drawbacks) 👍🏻🤣

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to Colinsmith]

This article basically says it would help, just protein drink and hydration with a meal within 2 hrs is best but protein drink plus alcohol and food is better than just alcohol, hydration and food.

livestrong.com/article/4389...

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

On a side note, at around roughly 18km (I think, I’m not exactly sure, I may have been hallucinating...) of the GNR, some people were handing out beers. Only say a 3rd of a pint or so, but it did seem really quite odd to me!

I politely declined. My bladder couldn’t have taken it, aside from anything else...

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to Colinsmith]

🙈🙈🙈 maybe it was an energy drink? That would make so much more sense! 🤣🤣🤣

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

No, the big Geordie fella’s bellowing ‘Beer! Gan on, have a beer man! You’s deserve it like!’ definitely gave me the impression it was... beer. 😊

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to Colinsmith]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

I’m such a careful runner and slow down my already slow pace even more over longer distances. I’ve only run 19k so far, going for the big 21.1k next week, but my legs have never suffered to date. 🤞🤞

Hopefully after a few days of TLC your “friend’s” legs will feel better! 😀

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

😄 Good luck on hitting 21.1. It’ll feel great!

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Colinsmith]

Thanks, I can’t wait to be able to say I’ve done it! 🤞😀🏃‍♀️

[Whatsapp Half Marathon]

Now I have run a few I don't take any breaks, just the usual 2day between Sun and my normal Weds morning run. However, for my first HM I stopped running for a week or two and distinctly remeber my first few runs being quite tough. Almost like I didn't have any running left in me. It felt like that for a few runs.

We all recover different. Let your body tell you what it wants.

Other peoples advice is all very well intentioned, but its not personal to you (or your friend).

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to Whatsapp]

True, true...

[GeorgiosA Marathon]

Did you do the GNR this weekend? Well done!! I have only ran one half marathon, and got injured on it... It took me about 6 weeks to recover from that!

Having said that, I have done a few training runs of half marathon or more, and managed to recover well from them - hydration and protein right after the run helped!

[C3PO Marathon]

It generally doesn't take me too long, as long as I've trained properly for it. The walking advice is so true. After one of my HMs, I ended up joining friends on a walk, which ended up taking 1 hour each way. I wasn't thrilled, but I felt great the next day.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Shame you discounted injury really ... I'm still in recovery nearly 12 weeks on

For the three HM races I've done I always munch a protein bar and/or drink a chocolate milk shake straight after, immediately followed by a glass of prosecco and a full roast dinner! Works a treat for me Blisters and sore toes were the worst, but I didn't really notice any effects on my running - possibly because I had a really easy scaled back week after each event with short, slow 'no expectation' runs.

All you need to do is keep moving - walking and cycling will be just fine, no hurry to run if you don't feel like it just yet

[Colinsmith Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Everything is feeling much better now I'm back cycling, thanks Linda.

[Decker Ultramarathon]

Its hard to say as everyone is different and at different stages. For my two HM races, I took a few days off. Since Jan, I’ve been trying to work in a 20k distance into my long run and recovery has slowly gotten easier. Now it feels like coming off a 10k. My runs are a bit slower in pace than yours though I think. Harder push runs require more recovery time for me. Strangely, Cereal (honey nut cheerios) with milk and vector granola are quite effective for me. I realize that makes no sense. 🙄 I use the app myfitnesspal now to ensure I take in enough calories and maintain weight after losing quite a bit. Not feeling weird, just dropped from 165lb to 154 and then to 151 on long runs. Now I maintain an average 155 which feels right.

[Sqkr Half Marathon]

I don't really feel funny after a half any more (the first two times I was pretty sore, but I seem to have got used to it now) but I always take a week off anyway, because it's nice to take a break. I sometimes have a bit of a protein drink afterwards, I think it does help. The vanilla Tailwind one is nice in a big frothy coffee. With a shot of baileys, if I have it 👍