How to Recover After Running a Marathon

Hammering out 26.2 miles takes a toll on your body—not to mention all the training miles leading up to race day.

It’s time to get some rest.

Rest from running and recovery look different for everybody. Most runners need weeks of reduced mileage to work back into hard running, making deliberate rest important before getting back into regular training.

What’s more, studies have shown that your body’s inflammatory biomarkers don’t return to their baseline until at least 8 days post-marathon. Your body can adapt to some stress, which is what you work on during training–increased mileage and intensity so your body can perform at its best over 26.2 miles. But racing a marathon is a grueling all-out effort that requires much more recovery than anything you’ve done in your training.

So how exactly can you recover after racing a marathon? Let’s break it down.

After a marathon, it’s a good idea to take at least one full week of recovery. During this sacred period, it’s OK to exercise, just keep it light and low-impact. Think leisurely walks or swims. If you’d rather sit on the couch, eat snacks and post your race photos, that’s okay too. Your body (and mind) will appreciate the break.

But wait, what about those folks who run back-to-back marathons or keep their running streaks alive at all costs? Running back-to-back marathons is not generally recommended, but it can be done depending on your goals.

If you’re running a marathon as a training run for an ultra race, or you want to take in the sights of a new city by foot, you can be more lax with your recovery. But if you’re running one marathon as your goal race, and plan to push yourself as hard as you can, this article is for you.

During your recovery week, the urge to forgo caution and lace up your running shoes can be strong. Making it even more challenging is the “post-race blues” many runners experience after a goal race.

How to Handle the Post-Race Blues

Keep yourself occupied with other activities in the meantime–you know, those hobbies you neglected when you were training. It could be time to finally weed your garden, clean out your closet or catch up with your non-running friends who roll their eyes every time you mention “splits” or “pace.”

At long last, your recovery week has come to an end. It’s time to slip on your shoes and gingerly test out your post-marathon legs. Everyone’s first run back will feel a little bit different. I often find that my lung capacity and heart rate struggle more than my legs. I feel out of breath running at what would usually be my easy pace. Other runners deal with residual soreness from their race. It’s important to go by effort and not pace. If you struggle with this, put a piece of tape over your watch face so you can relax a little bit–or ditch the watch completely (gasp!).

Once you get that first run under your belt, it can be tempting to ramp up the mileage and intensity to what you were doing pre-marathon. However, it’s important to slowly ease back into training. Studies have shown that muscle damage from the race lingers for longer than just one week post-marathon, so proceed with caution. Just because your legs don’t feel sore anymore doesn’t mean they’re completely recovered.

Here’s what a four-week plan post-marathon can look like:

• Week 1: Rest or light cross-training
• Week 2: Return to easy running at 20 to 25% of your peak marathon training volume (if you peaked at 50 miles per week, put in 10-12 this week)
• Week 3: Increase mileage to 40 to 50% of your peak marathon training mileage. You can throw in three to four 20-second strides during your easy runs.
• Week 4: Increase mileage to 60% of your peak marathon training mileage. During this week, you can ease back into a workout. I usually start with a fartlek run consisting of 10 sets of 45-seconds of hard running with 90 seconds of jogging in between. Try to avoid setting pace goals for yourself and run based on effort.

Many athletes have a hard time falling asleep the night after a big race. This could be due to residual adrenaline, all those caffeinated gels you took or the excitement of finally accomplishing your goal. If you don’t sleep well the night after your race, don’t sweat it. Just be sure to emphasize quality sleep for the remaining week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends seven or more hours of sleep per night for adults. Getting the recommended amount of shut eye will make you more alert and ward off sickness, too.

If you’re struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep, try these tips:

• Avoid drinking alcohol late in the evening.
• Before bed, eliminate exposure to blue light from TVs, computers and smartphones (if you must be online, consider downloading a free app like Flux that filters blue light).
• Get to bed at a consistent time, preferably before 10 p.m.
• Set your thermostat between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Track your sleep with a smartwatch to understand your sleep quality.
• Avoid working or reading in bed.

Your body burns lots of carbohydrates—its favorite fuel source—during a marathon, and your muscles break down from the extended effort. So, it’s important to refill your tank with both carbohydrates and protein to restore balance (a 3:1 carb to protein ratio is recommended).

As with everyday nutrition post-marathon, reach for real, whole foods like leafy greens, lean proteins and fats rich in anti-inflammatory omega 3s to aid recovery.

And don’t forget to hydrate. Your body needs water to function properly and flush waste products out of your system. A good goal: Drink about half your body weight in ounces each day. That’s 60 ounces for a 120-pound person or 100 ounces for a 200-pound person. But remember this is just a rule of thumb. As temperature and humidity changes, so do your hydration needs (for example, warmer weather calls for more water). Be sure to take in electrolytes, too, which you can find in sports drinks, juices or specialized drink mixes.

When in doubt, check your urine; your pee should be light in color, not dark like apple juice, or worse, soda.

The 26.2 miles you just ran is likely the longest distance you covered since you began training, and a lot can happen over that distance. Inflammation, aches and pains from pounding the pavement for hours is almost always guaranteed.

Massage helps alleviate some of the aches and pains by loosening knots and adhesions in muscles. However, I recommend giving your muscles a couple of days post-race to work through the residual soreness before digging in.

Here’s how you can massage after your race:

• Save your shins. While you’re sitting down, stretch out your leg in front of you. Press your thumbs into the muscles on either side of your shin bone and rotate your ankle in every direction. Search for sore spots up and down your leg, and give them some extra attention. Repeat on the other leg.
• Get the glutes. Put a foam roller or a lacrosse ball beneath your glute and roll it around. When you hit a tight spot, keep the pressure there until it loosens up. Repeat on the other side.
• Care for your calves. Your calf muscles absorb a lot of impact from running, and they’ll begin to feel it after a marathon. Sit on the floor and place a foam roller beneath your calf muscle. Roll forward and backward to release tight areas on both legs.
• The power of percussive massage. Percussion massage guns are becoming more and more popular, and for good reason. Massage guns place the power of percussion massage right at your fingertips, helping you dig deep into tight areas, breaking up adhesions and improving mobility.

A word of caution: Know when to call it quits. Massage can be uncomfortable at times, but it should not produce sharp pains, numbness or tingling. If you feel any of those, lighten up or stop for the day.