Marathon Race Week Plus One - Marathon Recovery

Congratulations! - You did it! You’ve met your marathon goal. Now it’s time to relax and bask in the warm golden glow of your success. But wait a minute - you’re work isn’t quite done. You did your training and finished your race, but there is one more thing you need to complete - your recovery.

Running a marathon is a stressful event, both physically and mentally. Your marathon training required a well thought out plan. Your marathon recovery is no different. You need a recovery plan that will help your body and mind heal and rebuild in strength. There are a number of physical and mental symptoms that you may suffer from after your race, including:

• Dehydration - Immediately after your race you should drink enough fluids to erase any dehydration built up during your race. You need to be careful here. Drink just enough to correct dehydration. Don’t over hydrate. Some slower runners or runners that drank too much during the race could become hyponatremic by drinking too much fluid.

• Nutrient Replacement - Some runners have a suppressed appetite for a few hours after their race. Others are ravenous. In any case, you will certainly be very hungry shortly after your race. You will probably be craving high protein or high fat foods. This is a signal for your body that it needs protein to repair damaged muscles and carbohydrates to replenish depleted glycogen stores. Don’t worry about your diet - just eat hearty!

• Muscle Soreness - The muscle stiffness and soreness you feel after your marathon is caused by damage to your muscle fibers, tears to your connective tissues and fluid accumulation in your muscles. You will probably have some muscle fatigue and stiffness immediately following your race, but most of the muscle soreness will begin 8 to 12 hours later. The muscle soreness will probably last between 2 and 5 days. Rest with some light running will minimize your muscle soreness. An ice bath or sitting in a tub of cold water immediately after your race will also help with muscle recovery.

• Depression - Oddly enough it’s not uncommon to suffer from mild depression after your race even though you should feel ecstatic. It is thought that there are two causes to post marathon depression - a depletion of brain neurotransmitters and an emotional let down. There isn’t much you can do about the neurotransmitter depletion. Time will take care of that. To avoid an emotional let down try to set a new goal right away. You are feeling just a bit blue because you feel a little lost after your race. You have been working so hard to meet your goal and now that it’s complete, a big part of your life over the past few months is gone. Setting a new goal give you something else to begin working towards.

• Illness - Another common post marathon problem is illness or infection. The intense training and even more intense race can depress your immune system and leave you susceptible to respiratory infections and other illnesses. The best way to avoid these illnesses is with proper rest and supplementing with vitamin C.

Strength Training  Recovery

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