Welcome to Getting Fit at Fifty

My name is Art Davis and I started running in 2007 to lose weight. Check out my before and after photos at the bottom of the page. I ran my first 5K and 10K in 2007 I went on to run my first half Marathon and full Marathon in 2008.























Friday, April 26, 2013

Healthy Writer’s Club: Recovery Period

 

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming." -  Frank Shorter, 1972 Olympic marathon gold medalist

Recovery period after running a marathon is very important. A lot of runners completely overlook it and go into recovery with no plan. Your plan should have two goals:  Prepare for recovery without injury. Set new targets for yourself.

slowdown

I walk everyday for 30 minutes for one week after running a marathon. The next week I run 4 times for 30 minutes a day. I gradually work my speed and distance up from that. I have learned from experience that this recovery plan works best for me. I have jumped back into running too quickly after a marathon and then got injured.

RockNRoll-st-louis

I start planning my next race or series of races. I need a goal to shoot for or I loose focus. I promptly signed up for the St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. That means after a short break from running to let my body recover and heal it is back into training.

running_pictogram

What advice do you have for the recovery period?

4 comments:

  1. Great advice on the recovery week. I started running in late September and ran my first half marathon last month. I took a week off after that (longest break since I started), but in hindsight should’ve done something closer to your walking recovery week. I recently planned out my running schedule from now until November and will be running a couple more halfs…but I am looking at maybe running my first full marathon this fall. Pretty sure actually, but until I register, it’s just talk and training. Good read.

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    1. Run a second Half then sign up for your full.
      I ran two halves this spring then ran a full.
      Looking back it was probably to much.
      good luck.

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  2. Recovery, typically after you run a marathon you do a reverse taper. some people even just take a week off and do walking etc, very light work. After my marathons I spent time resting and walking, that was it.

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    Replies
    1. I do pretty similar with my walking the first week, then I gradually work my back into long runs.

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