Last sunday I ran my first marathon. I took 3 days off after, then I swam easy on thursday and tried to run last night. I was feeling OK but I was having some pain and tightness in my knees and ankles. Is this normal joint soreness after running 26.2 on the road? Or does this sound like time to go to the doctor again. I already went earlier this week for piriformis syndrome, so I don’t reallly want to go back.
How long do most of you guys wait to start running after a marathon?
P.S. KJGrog I don’t want to hear from you, you would probably race a 10k the day after.
Depends upon how how well you trained before the race and how the race went. I’ve gone running the Thursday after a Sunday marathon and felt fine. I took two weeks off from running after the last one because I knew I needed it. Another question is how long until you run hard again, and that’s probably a month or so.
What you describe doesn’t sound like anything unusual. Run easily a few more times and see how things go.
I was trained well, I just didn’t get the result I was hoping for. The race went well for 22 miles, unfortunately it is 26.2 miles. The last 4.2 were a killer after my performis and hamstrings locked up. I am seeing the PT and have been perscribed stretches for that.
22 miles 7:15 pace
Last 4.2 miles 9:05 pace. I wouldn’t really call it running.
"Last 4.2 miles 9:05 pace. I wouldn’t really call it running. "
Grrrr… That IS running for some of us. :P~ I didn’t avg 10min/mile for my Marathon. But I finished. I did about 9:30 for the first 1/2, went out too fast, and then hit the wall at mile 20. Time was: 4:46
Trae
PS. I took a whole week off after my first Marathon, and ended up regretting it. I’ll do a reverse taper in the future.
Hey Erik! Congrats on your marathon! I really find recovery to be dependent on the individual. I unfortunately take forever to recover, therefore I take one full week off of running and keep my riding to a minimum as well. The second week out, I’ll do a few 30 minute runs and maybe one 45 minute towards the end of the week. I definitely try to go by how I feel and drop runs as needed. I do know it seems like it takes forever for that “I can run forever” feeling!
As for your return to running - it can vary an awful lot. I’ve had marathons that I’ve run fast, and been able to run without any pain at all in about 5 days, and had another (Boston 2 years ago) where I ran fast but didn’t feel right for almost 3 weeks.
However, and please listen to me on this or you may learn the hard way (as I did), any muscle damage you sustained will repair MUCH faster than those connective tissues (ligaments, tendons). In other words, you may feel fine to head out for a run here soon, but I would urge you to double the time it takes your muscles to feel better before you get at it seriously (I’m not talking about short jogs, I’m referring to real training - logging the miles). In other words, if you are pain free after 10 days, do not start training seriously until 20 days have past. The problem with connective tissue is that you won’t feel anything until you have an injury - at least with muscles you can feel tightness or fatigue.
A trick my dad taught me that has worked for me is one full day off for every hour you spend racing. So, depending on your time, 3-5 days should be OK assuming you did not hurt yourself and were well prepared for your race. - zoe
I did about 9:30 for the first 1/2, went out too fast, and then hit the wall at mile 20. Time was: 4:46