You did it!
Whether you feel like this after the race:
Or like this:
It’s time to recover.
Let’s take a lesson from experience.
I had a patient who, a week after she ran her first marathon, she was already planning the next one. In fact, she ran a half marathon only a few weeks after her marathon. I advised her that I thought her body needed more time to recover, but she persisted and even tacked on a spartan race. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, and she developed some knee pain. She made a full recovery, but it took her months instead of weeks because she didn’t recover properly after her marathon.
There are two big factors when we are looking at race recovery that we need to keep in mind, which are subjective reports and objective measures. Subjective reports are how you are feeling in terms of energy level and soreness. Objective measures are measurements of inflammatory markers in your blood. To nail your recovery, you must think about how you are addressing BOTH of these factors.
Here are some tips to help you get it right.
*Disclaimer* If you are questioning whether you have a true injury vs. just post race soreness, you should see your physical therapist or doctor as soon as possible.
1. Rest
I know. Earth shattering revelation right? But so often I treat runners who have already signed up for more races just weeks after their marathon. I think that sometimes the notion is “I’m in my peak racing condition so I should capitalize on that” when the reality is that your body is stressed and depleted and needs to recover. Almost all sports have an off season where athletes have a chance to recover. I typically recommend taking at least 7-10 days off of any exertional physical activity beyond walking, and at least 3 weeks off of running, especially if you just finished your first marathon. One study found that it took 8 days for objective markers of inflammation in the blood to reduce to baseline levels after a marathon. (1)
2. Sleep
Sleep is well known to be the most effective recovery tool at any human’s disposal. Deep sleep is typically when most of the physical restorative processes happen, and REM sleep is where more memory formation and cognitive recovery takes place. In fact, one study showed that sleep deprivation caused increased blood levels of the same inflammatory markers that were found to be elevated post marathon. (2) This is the time to prioritize sleep, especially now that you don’t need to wake up early to go on a run!
3. Nutrition
Now is not the time to let go of all of your good eating habits that you built up during your race training! It doesn’t have to be that complicated though. One study showed that taking in protein along with carbohydrates during and after a marathon helped improve subjective report of recovery 72 hours later. (3) Not to mention that adequate protein intake is widely accepted as essential for recovery of tissue damage in the body. What does that mean for you? See if you can add a protein shake somewhere in your day, especially if you already have a difficult time getting adequate protein.
4. Active recovery
We put this last for a reason. Once you have checked off 1-3, then you should focus on active recovery techniques. This includes massage, cold water immersion, and compression primarily. Both massage and cold water immersion have been shown to help improve subjective recovery (decreased soreness) but did not have a strong impact on objective measures of inflammation. (4) All that to say, don’t go for a run 2 days after your marathon just because you got a massage. You might feel better, but your body hasn't recovered yet.
Congratulations again to those who completed a marathon or half-marathon! You should be so proud of your achievements. Now just make sure you recover as hard as you trained and you’ll be ready for the next one in no time!
At Alterra, we specialize in helping runners resolve any and all of their injuries that limit their running ability or performance. If you're local to Boston's Back Bay area and are recovering after running a marathon, we'd love to help! Book a free discovery call to chat with a therapist today.
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Disclaimer: The information in our blog posts is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a healthcare provider before making decisions related to your health. Use our content at your own risk.
Sources
Bernat-Adell MD, Collado-Boira EJ, Moles-Julio P, et al. Recovery of Inflammation, Cardiac, and Muscle Damage Biomarkers After Running a Marathon. J Strength Cond Res. 2021;35(3):626-632. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000003167
Simpson N, Dinges DF. Sleep and Inflammation. Nutrition Reviews. 2007; 65(3):S244-S252. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2007.tb00371.x
Saunders MJ, Luden ND, DeWitt CR, Gross MC, Dillon Rios A. Protein Supplementation During or Following a Marathon Run Influences Post-Exercise Recovery. Nutrients. 2018; 10(3):333. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10030333
Wiewelhove T, Schneider C, Döweling A, Hanakam F, Rasche C, et al. (2018) Effects of different recovery strategies following a half-marathon on fatigue markers in recreational runners. PLOS ONE 13(11): e0207313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207313
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