Backs and Beyond - Article 2: Recovering from the marathon (or any other distance)
Hopefully you got
through the marathon with minimal aches and pains, and that little devil on
your shoulder that said ‘never again’ during the last 6 miles has been replaced
by another that says ‘bring it on’!
If you have any
injuries that still haven’t healed a couple of weeks after race day, especially
after a couple of good massages and oodles of icing, then you should probably
get some help from a sports osteopath or physiotherapist. To find one in your
area, just log onto the Flora London Marathon website, or call us on 020 7284
4664 and we can direct you to your nearest sports injury clinic (which might be
ours of course if you live in North London!).
Having a
structured plan of how to get back into running again is a great way of
maintaining the ultra fitness you got from training for the marathon, and also
very important to help prevent muscular and joint injuries that can pop up
through stopping all activity, or in fact overdoing it too soon after race day.
Having a plan
also helps to stave off the ‘post-marathon blues’. This a depression and
feeling of low esteem, which is partly psychological, but also partly due to hormonal
fluctuations which continue for a few weeks after the race until your body gets
to grip with regulating itself again.
I like to look at
a five week ‘rehab’ programme to get you back into regular running. This will
give you a base from which to train up to another race, whatever distance you
may choose.
This programme is
based on having just finished a marathon. The rehabilitation time for other
races is directly proportionate to this. So if you are recovering from say a
half marathon, your ‘weeks’ would last for half a week (3-4 days), and for a
10k race would be 2 days each, if you see what I mean?
Week one - “flushing out the waste”
The first stage
of your recovery is to relax, relax, relax. 26.2 miles takes it out of you and your
muscles which will literally be torn and inflamed in places. This period allows
your muscles to knit together.
It is the time
for you to get some TLC in the form of massage, which will improve the circulation
and nutrition to your muscles, and the drainage of waste products.
During this time
you should be doing a little bit of stretching each day, VERY gently.
Literally stretch
until you feel a little resistance, hold for 30 (by which time you will
probably not feel any stretch at all). The stretches you should be doing are
the same as for preparing for the marathon (see my previous article).
A bit of
moderately fast walking or gently-does-it cycling or swimming would also be
beneficial.
Week two - “getting to know your legs again”
During this stage
your legs will still be healing, and you can help to speed up the healing
process, and maintain your fitness, by doing a couple of short and gentle runs
(30 minutes at a very easy pace) interspersed with two or three easy cycle
rides or swims of 45 minutes each.
Week three – “getting the legs turning”
Your muscle
fibres will pretty much have healed by now, so its time to get the legs moving
at the speed they normally do, although without the higher intensity of normal
weekly training. Getting the speed back into the legs will remind them of what
it is like to run.
I’d recommend
three short 30 minute runs, with a pace cadence of around 170-180 strides per
minute (that is three footstrikes per second). You can use a stopwatch to
measure out three beats per second, or just set a digital metronome to 180
beats per minute. Intersperse this with two or three 45 minute cycle rides or
swims at a higher cadence than that of last week.
Week four – “getting back into it”
Two short runs
with 180 cadence, and a longer run of 60 minutes at an easy pace. Remember to
always back off or stop if you feel really tired, or feel you are becoming
injured.
Week five – “back to normal training”
Week four got you
ready for a good return to a four days running programme. This week should see
you doing your normal ‘maintenance’ mileage.
!!!!!Warning signs!!!!!
At any point in
your recovery, if you suffer from prolonged fatigue, loss of appetite, feeling
lethargic on your runs for several days in a row, severe mood swings or
depression, illness, or injury, you are probably rushing to recover too
quickly. Scale back by a little either in time or intensity and once you’re
back on track you should be fine.
Happy (Re)Hab!
www.backsandbeyond.co.uk