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I took the entirety of last week off from running. My body didn’t fight it. In fact, during the first 5 days after New York I never had a strong urge to put the running shoes on. This is quite unusual for me. In the four previous marathons I’ve run, I have been eager to get right back out there on the pavement the next day, whether I am physically able or not.
I don’t know if it was just the beating I took running the five boroughs or the cumulative effect of running 5 marathons and 3 Half-Marathons in 53 weeks, but physically I just didn’t want to run. I think after what I’ve put it through though, I owed it to my body to listen.
A full eight days out now, however, and I’m starting to get itchy. I woke up yesterday morning and seriously thought of jumping in as a bandit in a local half-marathon that goes right by my house. I chose to be smart, knowing I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to let the throttle out. I could have paced a friend of mine as well, but at that distance, at some point I wonder if I might not have felt the need to just go.
Yes, I am getting itchy. My shoes (both my Bikilas and my Kinvaras) are calling to me; or maybe it’s my feet that are calling to them. Either way, before this day is through, there will be miles run. It is time.
What’s my point in all of this?
Just that after beating your body into the ground, maybe it is best to listen to it when it is asking for a break. Recovery and rest are no joke.
Like I mentioned earlier, in the past four marathons I have been eager to get back out running as quickly as possible. I wonder if it that urge has more to do with fear than desire. I wonder if some small part of me was afraid if I didn’t get out there as soon as possible, I simply wouldn’t. Some runners (and I know I have been guilty of this) also have this irrational fear that if they don’t run as often as possible they will lose fitness*. It can sometimes border on the edge of compulsion. And seriously, aside from maybe flushing out some built up lactate, I can’t imagine just how productive those post-marathon runs really are.
So this week, I’m taking a new approach. Mentally I know I’m ready to run. My plan for my assault on Heartbreak Hill is coming together. Boston is only (only?) 5 months away. I may not PR at Boston, but I know I’ll improve on last year’s performance. My official training cycle doesn’t start until mid-December (or mid-January, depending on whether I follow an 18-week or 12-week program). Until that training cycle starts, I’m gonna listen to the legs and let them lead the way.
This last week has been luxurious, surprisingly pleasant really. This coming week I will take it slow and easy. And if my legs are ready? Next week it’s back to some real mileage…but only if my legs (and the rest of my body) tell me so.
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How long do you take to recover after a marathon?
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*I don’t mean the “oh my God I’m gonna gain weight!” fitness. I mean the “oh my God, I’m gonna lose the ability to run a certain distance at a certain pace” fitness.
Run Luau Run 
So glad to hear that you are listening to your body and that you are not back out there sizing up the competition and getting it done. Enjoy the recovery time and before you know it, the legs will be running at full throttle again.
Good job listening to your body. You’ve logged a ton of miles and races this year, and you probably really needed to take a break. Sounds to me like you’ve got the right approach, mentally, needed to crush Heartbreak and have a great Boston run next year.
Let me help your legs decide…
LUAU, LUAU, LUAU!!! 🙂
Thanks for this! I admit, though I am not able to run due to this injury, I have that fear of losing fitness. Cross training has never appealed to me, but I am trying. And perhaps it will help for those hills in Boston!
great post. way to be smart and not beat your legs into the ground! are you talking about the half that was in Newton yesterday? if i had known about it a little earlier, i certainly would’ve been there. enjoy your restful week:)
I’m always stunned… STUNNED… by how little recovery people take after a marathon… People are back out there the next day, and back at regular training within a week.
Me personally, I take the first full week off… no running. Period. Even if I’m not that stiff and sore, I just take it off. I have NOTHING to gain by jumping back out there. Then I ease back into it starting in the second week… But I won’t do any speedwork or long runs for nearly a full month.
My rule of thumb is to allow a day of recovery for every mile raced… So even for a half I won’t ratchet back up to full strength for almost two weeks.
this is a great blog post! glad you gave yourself time to recover! NYCM was my first marathon and i was happy to give myself time off from running 🙂 it gave me an opportunity to catch up with friends and do other things that i had to either postpone or give up during training. i did go for a recovery run though saturday so that was nice. but i’m going to ease my way back in 🙂 you will rock boston! good luck!
Great post! I’m prolly not the best one to ask these questions of though. I’ve only run 1 marathon (Boston) and I did an ice bath, burgers and beer the night of, a short (2.5 mi) recovery run at about 15 min/mi pace the day after, 4 miles the next day, a day off, race week strides, day off, pre-race facilitation, and then ran a PR in the Groton Road Race (10k) 6 days later. Then I did like 34 miles the next week and my coach forced me, literally INSISTED that I take the next week off of running COMPELTELY. I hated it. And the first weekend in June I ran a half-marathon. My body always tells me i NEED the next-day recovery run. I didn’t do it after one race (the Boston Prep) and I literally couldn’t walk the second day after. But, we are all different and the IMPORTANT thing is to listen to YOUR body.