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You just spent months building the fitness necessary to complete 26.2 miles. It’s tempting to want to keep the momentum going post-race—until you head out for your first run and start asking yourself, to quote Des Linden nine days after setting the Master’s record in the Chicago Marathon, “Errrm, where did all that fitness go?”
After a big running event, you don’t want to just hop back on the hamster wheel. Respecting the post-marathon recovery period is crucial to making long-term gains, and most runners will benefit from at least one to two full weeks off from running. That may sound interminably long (it’s not, and even more of a break can be beneficial, too), but here’s why your body needs that time-out in order to come back stronger.
Don’t Rush the Comeback
Unfortunately, just like the only true cure for a hangover is time, you can’t fast-forward…
