getting going again after 1/2 Mara - Beginners

Marathon Minnie

28/03/2011 at 20:28

Hi Mr MM and I ran the Reading 1/2 on Sunday 20th both putting in pbs. Now we are training again for another 1/2 on 8th May but the last couple of runs we've gone out for have been really really hard work. We are both in our 40s - Not sure if we are still fatigued from Reading or maybe we've just lost our mojo after the excitement of the race???

Just wondering... How long do you guys take to recover from a 1/2 ?????

TimR

28/03/2011 at 21:19

I'm usually pretty drained for at least a week afterwards. Wednesday is usually my worst day if the 1/2 was a Sunday. I'll usually wait until Friday before doing anything. Tim(41)

Marathon Minnie

28/03/2011 at 23:12

thanks for the response Tim. We did try to go out on Thursday but both felt dead on our feet before we'd got to the end of our first mile ! We are both newbies so I guess we should give our bodies a bit more time to recover.

Peter Collins

29/03/2011 at 00:14

I'm a pretty regular runner, did a half marathon just over a week ago (water of life, 1hr 38m) and found, as ever, that the week after is not a good running week for me. Take it easy - you don't need to kill yourself straight after. Oh, and I'm 48, so yes, maybe age has something to do with it. The essence of it is to listen to your bodies.

Edited: 29/03/2011 at 00:14

Marathon Minnie

29/03/2011 at 21:14

Thanks Peter. Sound words. Will easy our way back into training. Next time I will make sure we have a clear week to recover!

Ben Beard

30/03/2011 at 23:26

I did the Liverpool Half on Sunday (27th March) and im still a little sore. Probably not going to go running until Friday now - after my 2nd massage of the week. Im 26 as well, so its definately not an age factor.

The best thing to do is listen to your body and take it gentle on the first run back.

Stella-Maria Thomas

31/03/2011 at 08:43

I did a bit of reading around after doing the Silverstone half on 6th March. Consensus of opinion seems to suggest you should do a reverse taper fortnight afterwards and that you should expect to need a day of recovery for every mile run, so that's 13 days before you can expect to feel "normal" again. It certainly took me the full two weeks.

Edited: 31/03/2011 at 08:43

Doug Hughes

31/03/2011 at 10:23

I did an easy 3.5 miles yesterday (Wednesday) after a HM on Sunday. It didn't feel great, but I should be OK for a 7 mile club run tonight. I find it strange that I feel washed out after a race, as I'd normally run more than 13 miles on a Sunday, and, of course, the race was preceded by a relatively easy week. It seems that running that bit harder in a race makes all the difference to how you feel in the week after.

I don't know about everyone else, but I find that in the aftermath of a race it's really hard to find time/space to stretch. On Sunday I didn't stretch at all after the race on Sunday, and I'm sure that contributed to the stiffness over the next few days.

TimR

31/03/2011 at 12:15

Simply put: You knock yourself out in a race.

My recent half I ran in 2h03m compared to 2h17m in my LSR. That's 1min/mile faster.

My average HR in the race was the same as my peak max HR during an LSR.

Race AVE HR 91% of MAX 166bpm, MAX HR 185bpm or 102% of Max

LSR AVE HR 85% of MAX 155bpm, MAX HR 167bpm or 92% of Max

(I need to adjust my MAX HR now as it was 182 before.)

What is that stretching then Doug?

Stella-Maria Thomas

31/03/2011 at 12:31

In agreement with TimR... You push that much harder in a race. I normally run 10+ minute miles on long slow runs. My half marathon pace saw me pushing 9:30 minute miles, and then there was nowhere near enough stretching afterwards. They body is going to react to that...

Marathon Minnie

31/03/2011 at 20:31

Its deffo not just us then thank goodness. ~We've Been out a couple of times so far this week but still not back on form. I think you must be right with your research Stella-Maria (about 2 weeks for full recovery). Next time out I will factor on taking 2 weeks to get going again an will remember not to expect too much of myself.

Simon O'Sullivan

08/04/2011 at 21:58

Interested to hear that some of you were struggling for a while after HM particularly those around the half-century in years (ouch!) as I am unfortunately closing in on that milestone. I am still struggling 3 weeks after getting a PB of 2:01 at Reading (only previous HM last March Forest of Dean at 2:15)!

I've been running on and off for fitness for more years than I care to remember and entered the odd race in last year or so. I run on average 2 or 3 times a week, 2 runs of up to 5 miles each and one longer usually between 5 and 10 miles. Can hardly be accused of overdoing things since running the HM but am finding I have little energy and the first mile or so gait feels really awkward and can hardly put one foot in front of the other until I get a bit of rhythm going. Although not trying to beat the clock the five miler is taking up to 2 mins longer than I was doing. I'm resting well between training runs and eating/drinking pretty healthily as normal so am well hydrated. I realise this week has been warmer but would have expected to be back to normal by now.

I'm doing the Oxford Town & Gown in May and was going to enter Tewkesbury HM a week later so now think I'm pushing my luck a bit but surely recovery from a 10K will be quicker than this?

slowly into stride

08/04/2011 at 22:33

I registered to sympathise. I did the Fleet half on the same day as Reading, which was my first ever race. Wanted to break 2 hours but missed my last long slow run due to a pulled muscle so lurked around the back early on and finished strong in 2hr6. The point being I actually didn't go that hard; I've felt more tired after training runs.

I then went on holiday the week after, drank moderately and ate, er, a bit more than normal but nothing spectacular. I' m not exactly a paragon of healthy eating anyway. Then I had the standard back-from-holiday blues for a further week, felt a bit ill as if I had a low-grade virus.

When I started again this week, it appeared I had forgotten how to run. Can't breathe properly, always seem to be going a stride too quickly and never 'gliding', getting fed up and bored very quickly. I have struggled with 3 miles which I used to barely even notice.

I think it's 2 things: 1) After a race, training isn't as much fun so it's easy to get demotivated and 2) the weather has changed. Before I got injured / tapered, I was training seriously in Jan/Feb, in temperatures usually between 2-8C whereas the last 2 days have been over 20C. I'm not acclimatised yet and I suspect the others on this thread who are struggling might be in the same boat.

Peter Collins

08/04/2011 at 23:23

It's a fair point. The weather has heated up dramatically!

slowly into stride

11/04/2011 at 22:45

Another thing about the heat - I think because I start off at a comfortable temperature, I probably go quicker earlier, whereas in cold weather the first 2 miles are about, literally, warming up.

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