This is a big time of year for those running marathon races! While there’s typically a lot of prep and planning leading up to running a marathon, we often find that many runners don’t have much of a plan for after their marathon.
A few weeks after running a goal race like a marathon is one of the most common times for a new running injury to pop up. Fortunately, we’ve found a few key tips that help our runners avoid a new setback during this crucial period. While these tips are relatively general, we do find runners often aren’t optimizing their more basic recovery needs.
We’ve listed these tips in the order of how often they are the main issue in terms of likelihood of causing a new injury among the hundreds of runners we’ve helped with injuries post-marathon:
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. People are vastly different. Some can run the day after a marathon and be fine, while many cannot run without a significant limp from soreness for up to a week plus post marathon. We see the most issues when people have false beliefs around what their training should look like based on what others do. If you’re feeling great relatively quickly after the marathon - consider being on the conservative side with your return to training for the first 2-3 weeks back. Consider all training variables (frequency, intensity, time, and type) and try to not increase too many variables all at once.
SLEEP. While it is commonly challenging to sleep the night after running a marathon, for many reasons, you want to make sure you get extra sleep for the first 1-2 weeks post-marathon. Read more on sleep’s importance with recovery in our blog post here.
EAT MORE. For multiple days after a marathon. Eat a balanced meal rich in carbohydrates and protein helps promote recovery for many reasons. Your body’s energy demands for recovery and replenishment of glycogen stores extend for multiple days after a longer physical event.
REPLENISH ELECTROLYTES & FLUIDS. You lose a ton of water and electrolytes from a longer physical event. Be sure to not be waiting until you're thirsty to be hydrating.
LIMIT ALCOHOL. Alcohol can interfere with muscle repair and can contribute to worse sleep quality.