My 47th marathon last weekend went reasonably well, finishing just over three hours for 25th overall from a field of nearly 140 . Dropped off the sub3 bus at halfway and cruised in with a one hour thirty minutes half and a positive split of nearly five minutes coming home in just under one hour thirty five minutes for the second half. Anything less than five minutes positive split is considered acceptable.

Post marathon I try and rehydrate as quickly as possible and then take on nutrition within the 30 minute window when your muscles are desperate for fueling. Luckily post Bibra I was able to dive into some french bread, swimming in maple syrup surrounded by fruit, thanks to my good mate Rob.

My first run was the compulsory Thursday morning running group at Yelo. 5:30am kick off come rain or shine for a 10k easy run up to a 14k threshold run.  Lately it had morphed from my ultra 10k easy run into a ‘ball busting‘ 14k threshold preparing for Bibra.  I was more than happy with progress and off the back of this run, as well as some good paced Sunday long runs with the BTRC group, I had revised my Bibra Lake estimated time to a sub 3. Unfortuanterly I realised quite quickly on the day this was not going to happen as I struggled to hold sub3 pace from the start. Not a problem, my A-goal race , the Perth marathon, is in October so I have twelve weeks to go from a 3 hours four minutes to a two hour and change finishing time.

Today I ran another 10k around one of my local parks, Bold Park, in Perth, a mixture of trails and concrete paths. A bit of elevation to raise the heart rate but took it very easy. Recovery is as important as the taper period when it comes to marathon running. Post marathon you are suspectable to injury as your muscles are recovering from the beating they were given during the event.  I’ve seen images of muscles before a marathon and the same image post marathon. Before all the muscles are aligned , post marathon its looks like spaghetti bolognaise. ! It brought home to me how we really need to take recovery seriously.

From a post by Jay Johnson on the http://www.active.com website.

Yet that’s the problem: If you resume your training post-marathon with structural, fascial and metabolic issues, you’re setting yourself up for problems in the coming months. So let’s take the question, “What does marathon recovery look like?” one item at a time.

Marathon Recovery Rule 1: Take a Shower

Immediately after the race you should forget the fact that you’re an environmentalist and use some extra tap water for a contrast shower. What is a contrast shower? Alternate between cold water and hot water on your legs—one minute hot, then one minute cold. The cold water causes vasoconstriction (i.e. blood vessels close and get smaller) of the blood vessels in your legs, while the hot water causes vasodilation (i.e. blood vessels open and get bigger). This oscillation between the vessels closing and opening helps rush oxygen-rich blood to your legs.

After the marathon, your legs are full of muscles which, on the cellar level, are damaged and have millions of micro-tears. Should you feel guilty about wasting this water? Probably. But it works. As the G.I. Joe cartoons said in the 1980s, “Knowing is half the battle.” It’s up to you to decide if you want to do this. It’s worth noting that there is some fabulous information on the Web from Steve Magness, one of the brightest running coaches in America, that discourages icing after hard workouts. He argues it may inhibit the body’s signals for greater adaptation. But, when you’ve just run a marathon, you need to do all you can to help aid the repair of damaged muscle tissue.

Marathon Recovery Rule 2: Eat Protein, Sleep, Then Get Moving

After your contrast shower, have a nice protein-rich meal. Then, get a good night’s sleep. The next day, you take the day off from running, right? Wrong. You’ve got to get moving the day after the marathon. I know it’s hard, but you need to go for at least a brisk walk, and possibly a light jog. Do something to get blood moving in your legs to help facilitate the healing process.

More: Optimal Post-Marathon Recovery Nutrition

This run or walk is your check-in with your body post-race. Is your left knee sore and your right gluteal muscles tight? Or maybe you have horrible blisters on one foot but not the others. You need to gather this information so that you can take it to your therapist or coach to figure out what you can do in the future to minimize these issues that may have held you back some during the race.

Marathon Recovery Rule 3: Invest in Your Recovery

The next step you should consider following the marathon is to invest a little money in yourself. Visit an Active Release Technique (ART) therapist. Why? Because in the final miles of a well-run marathon, there is undoubtedly a breakdown in your biomechanics, and that breakdown means that you’re asking more of one muscle group or more of one side of your body than the other. Simply put, you’re likely asymmetric when you finish the marathon, and you need someone who can help you gain back that symmetry and take care of any little injuries you may have incurred during the race.

How do you find an ART therapist? Search for a physical therapist, chiropractor or even a highly trained massage therapist in your area; the key is that they’ve taken the time to broaden their knowledge base and get an ART certification.

More: How Sports Chiropractors Prevent Injuries in Runners

When athletes are worked on by an ART therapist, their minor injuries or “niggles” tend to go away after one or two sessions. Now, I know what you’re thinking. This will cost money and that money could be spent on a new pair of shoes. But, when you consider the money and time spent seeing an ART therapist, it’s a small fraction of what you spent on your marathon registration, traveling to the marathon, lodging and meals. Plus, most good ART therapists will give you a small list of strengthening exercises you can do to strengthen your minor muscles, or improve symmetry. So find a good therapist and invest some money in yourself so that when you resume training you’re 100 percent healthy, and ready to train at a new level.

Marathon Recovery Rule 4: Cross-Train Before You Resume Running

Recovery from a marathon has long been thought of as: Take X number of days off, then start running again. But, a new model for marathon recovery values the healing power of getting oxygen-rich blood to damaged muscle tissue. One way to do this is to swim or aqua jog. Both are good because you simply move some blood around the body, and speed up the healing time of the cellular damage that occurred in your leg muscles during the race.

lso, there is some benefit to being in water for the lymph system, as the hydrostatic pressure of the water gives your lymph system a gentle massage that helps flush out the toxins and waste products you might be holding onto post-marathon. Biking, cross-training on the elliptical and hiking are good choices, too—all three of these activities meet the criteria of getting blood to your damaged muscles.

So when do you start running? That’s very much up to you. For many of you, the thought of going two or three weeks without running is hard to imagine, yet many elite distance runners take a long break after a marathon. This is a great time to cross-train, which could include activities as gentle as a brisk walk or a hike. The key here is that you should give your body some time to realign and heal from the stress of a marathon.

Marathon Recovery Rule 5: Get Stronger Before You Start Training Again

The good news: You have time to do some serious, focused non-running ancillary work at this time. I refer to this as General Strength and Mobility (GSM) and, in the days following the marathon, it’s a great time to complete this type of work.

Post-marathon GSM practice proves beneficial because every runner has weaknesses, often with their minor muscle groups, and this work helps strengthen those areas. Use the lunge matrix warm-up and the myrtl routine before and after cross-training. When you return to running, keep these elements as part of your training, and you’ll be that much closer to running injury-free.

More: The 5 Best Core Exercises for Runners

Remember, the reason to do GSM work is to stay injury-free, which will allow you to run more miles and more intense workouts. This work can be a bit boring and definitely is not as enjoyable as a nice run with friends. But if you want to improve as a runner, then you need to improve your basal level of general strength, and you need to improve your hip and ankle mobility. Think of this work as an insurance policy again injury for your next block of serious run training.

acing a marathon is a huge accomplishment, and you should be proud to finish. But you should also take the steps following the marathon to ensure that your next phase of serious run training goes well. Invest in yourself with everything from a contrast bath to a couple of ART sessions to daily GSM work. If you do these things, you’ll be ready to run even faster the next time you toe the line.

What you do (and don’t do) in the hours and days after your marathon is just as important as your training to ensure you can recover properly to avoid injuries and of course, to do it all again! If you’ve already finished your goal marathon, keep these do’s and don’ts in mind for next time, and if yours is still upcoming, follow this advice to ensure you recover well after your big effort.

Do’s

Hydrate: This should be your first priority when you cross the finish line. After a marathon, you need to not only drink water, but to replace the electrolytes you lost during the race. In fact, most experts suggest consuming 24 ounces (700ml) of liquid for every pound of body weight lost, and one gram of sodium for every litre of water you drink. So if you lose one pound during your marathon, you’ll need 700ml of water and 700mg of sodium.

Eat a recovery meal: You may not feel like eating immediately after you cross the finish line, but it’s important to at least have something small as soon as possible. Once your stomach has settled, you should aim to eat a well-balanced meal that contains a mixture of carbohydrates, fat, protein and micronutrients.

Walk: Or do some other form of gentle activity. As tempting as it is to just sit down and not move, you’re better off doing some light, easy movement, like a slow walk, for about 30 minutes after the race to allow your heart rate to return to normal and to keep your blood flowing through your muscles to help clear lactic acid and kick-start the recovery process.

Don’ts

Drink too much: Alcohol, that is. Of course, you’re going to want to celebrate your accomplishment, but alcohol can negatively impact your muscles’ recovery process. On top of that, many runners make the mistake of switching to beer before they’ve fully rehydrated after the race. Since alcohol is a diuretic, drinking too much before you’ve had enough water and electrolytes can dehydrate you even further. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a couple of cold ones to celebrate, but make sure you prioritize proper hydration and post-race nutrition first, then drink in moderation after.

Limit your food intake: You’ll be taking some time off running after your marathon is complete, but this doesn’t mean you should be cutting back on how much you’re eating. Your body is going to be in recovery mode for several days or even weeks, and it needs calories and nutrition in order to repair itself. If you find your appetite is suppressed in the days following a marathon, make sure you take advantage of the times when you are hungry and eat. As much as possible, try to make sure the food you’re eating are nutrient-dense, too.

Return to activity too soon: After a marathon, you should take your time with the comeback. Your body will be stressed after months of marathon training, and the only way to bring it back to normal is through rest, so don’t rush it. Opt for low-intensity activities, like walking or yoga, for at least a couple of weeks before you attempt to run again. For some runners, this can be a frustrating time, but do your best to embrace the downtime and be patient: if you allow yourself to fully recover, you’ll be able to start your next training cycle off stronger and healthier.

From a post I wrote in 2019…

Passive recovery means stillness and inactivity. By contrast, active recovery means being active in a way that promotes recovery rather than intensity

A few weekends ago I ran marathon number 44 , which was a controlled effort for sub number 31. After celebrating with a can of Guinness , or three, it was off back to the mainland and time for active recovery. Now when I recover from a marathon it is not a pretty sight. It’s a bit like drinking really, I can drink like a 18 year old (please note I only really drink after the Rottnest Marathon as it’s tradition and the beer mile because, well, it’s the beer mile?!) but I recover (and suffer) like a 80 year old. Personally I think the reason hangovers get worse ,with age , is because otherwise we’d all just keep drinking to excess and ,unfortunately, this can only end badly as we grow older. If there is a God, ( and it’s a bit if,) then I can see why he (or she?) programmed us this way. Best thing to do is abstain completely but then how can you enter the Beer mile, it is a quandary ?

Right , back to me recovering. Normally after a marathon I give myself a minimum of three days off , sometimes even up to a week. After that I gotta run, I mean ‘ c’mon ‘ we’re runners, it’s what we do right? Anyhow I say ‘run‘ in the loosest sense of the word because my legs are normally well and truely ‘goosed’ and it feels like you’re running on wooden stumps. The first gradient I encounter can result in racing people walking and minding their own business. The look on their faces when this old, balding , bearded runner (?) sidles up to them is priceless. I’m not sure if they just feel pity or disgust at my inability to pass them in a reasonable manor. Of course over time I eventually get back to a some sort of pre-marathon form and pace and it’s onwards and upwards to the next one. (Remember , there is always a next one.)

The week after my last marathon , Rottnest, was particularly testing as for some reason I only gave myself Monday off running. Tuesday I was back into it and ‘stumbling‘ around Kings Park trying to convince myself this was a good idea, when it clearly wasn’t. This continued for the whole week,  truth be told and as I type this post I really question my decision. Was running a week after a marathon achieving anything bar humiliation ?

Funnily enough I googled “passive recovery after a marathon” and Google returned a post I had written in November 2016. How good was that ? On rereading the post I impressed myself (which is easy to do , mind.) So it’s worth another read (link below)

https://www.runbkrun.com/2016/11/07/the-day-after-the-marathon-active-or-passive-recovery/

For me after Rottnest I felt I should have opted for ‘passive’ recovery and piled on the kilograms before starting again. Weight is another good indicator of recovery and if you aim to put on at least a couple of kilograms before setting out on your next adventure it won’t be a problem. After carbo loading before a marathon and adding a few kilograms after, to aid recovery, running the marathon itself suddenly seems worth it ?  I’m sure I read somewhere that Meb Keflezighi,  or Ryan Hall,  liked to add a few kilograms after a marathon and wouldn’t start training until he had. Probably Meb , but looking at Ryan since he retired it may have been him !!

From the Guardian online.

Your immune system has taken a battering, your muscles are torn in lots of places and you won’t fully recover for a few weeks.

The severity of the damage and speed of recovery after a long distance run depend on how fit the person is to start with. For the casual runner who has spent several months training properly, the physiological damage during the marathon would have started as a gradual congestion of waste products in the body. “Your tissues are asked to do something that they’re not normally asked to do at that speed at that number of repetitions at that distance,” says Neil Black, head of physiotherapy at the English Institute of Sport.

The fatigue leads to soreness and tightness in the muscles. This means that the runner starts to move slowly and inefficiently. “When they slow down, they will change their gait slightly,” says Clyde Williams, a physiologist at Loughborough University. “They’re changing to a recruitment of muscles that have not been used for training and that’s when you get fur­ther aches and pains.” In addition, about halfway through the race, the constant pounding of the feet on the roads starts to cause pain in the joints.

At about 20 miles, levels of glucose in the bloodstream start to drop and the stores of carbohydrate energy in the body are almost depleted. Runners will become more aware of the distress signals that the various parts of the body are sending to the brain. “The distractions of the crowds and the bands and the cheering become less of a distraction and the focus goes more on the body,” says Williams.

Dehydration is also a risk. Runners drink water en route to replace the fluid lost through sweat but can’t fully replace it, simply because of the time it takes to get water through the digestive system into the bloodstream.

All this adds up, effectively, to major trauma. After the race, runners are left with microscopic tears in their leg muscles, which leak proteins such as myoglobin into the bloodstream.”The body’s defence mechanism will see these tears as damaged tissue and will set up an inflammatory response,” says Williams. Part of this response is that free radicals are released, which also attack the tissue. This leads to the familiar soreness.

Runners often pick up a cold or an infection afterwards, as the immune system tends to be suppressed for several hours after the marathon.

It takes weeks for the body to return to normal. “A lot of people, after a week, feel reasonably well recovered but it would be very unlikely they truly had recovered at a physiological level,” says Black.

Hammering out 26.2 miles takes a toll on your body—not to mention all the training miles leading up to race day.

It’s time you got some rest.

Rest from running and recovery look different for everybody. Some runners need weeks of reduced mileage to work back into hard running while others, like elite ultrarunner Michael Wardian, can run seven marathons on all seven continents in seven days.

For those us of not like Wardian, deliberate rest from running is important to getting back into regular training.

This guide will teach you the basics of how to recover from a marathon, including how to massage, what to eat and how to rest before easing back into running.

What to Eat to Recover After a Marathon

Eating is an important component of training. You need to eat the right foods (and enough of them) to sustain your longest days, and you have to find nutrition that doesn’t upset your stomach. But what you eat after your run is just as critical because it replenishes lost nutrients and repairs spent muscles. The best post-run foods do both, and taste delicious.

Your body burns lots of carbohydrates—its favorite fuel source—during a marathon, and your muscles break down from the extended effort. So, it’s important to refill your tank with both carbohydrates and protein to restore balance (a 2:1 carb to protein ratio is recommended).

As with everyday nutrition post-marathon, reach for real, whole foods like leafy greens, lean proteins and fats rich in anti-inflammatory omega 3s to aid recovery.

And don’t forget to hydrate. Your body needs water to function properly and flush waste products out of your system. A good goal: Drink about half your body weight in ounces each day. That’s 60 ounces for a 120-pound person or 100 ounces for a 200-pound person. But remember this is just a rule of thumb. As temperature and humidity changes, so do your hydration needs (for example, warmer weather calls for more water).

When in doubt, check your urine; your pee should be light in color, not dark like apple juice, or worse, soda.

How to Massage After a Marathon

The 26.2 miles you just ran is likely the longest distance you covered since you began training, and a lot can happen over that distance. Inflammation and aches and pains from a couple of dozen miles pounding the pavement is almost always guaranteed.

Massage helps alleviate some of the aches and pains by loosening knots and adhesions in muscles or soothing nagging problems like plantar fasciitis.

Here’s how you can massage after your run:

• Save your shins. While you’re sitting down, stretch out your leg in front of you. Press your thumbs into the muscles on either side of your shin bone and rotate your ankle in every direction. Search for sore spots up and down your leg, and give them some extra attention. Repeat on the other leg.
• Get the glutes. Put a foam roller or a lacrosse ball beneath your glute and roll it around. When you hit a tight spot, keep the pressure there until it loosens up. Repeat on the other side.
• Care for your calves. Your calf muscles absorb a lot of impact from running, and they’ll begin to feel it after a marathon. Sit on the floor and place a foam roller beneath your calf muscle. Roll forward and backward to release tight areas on both legs.

A word of caution: Know when to call it quits. Massage can be uncomfortable at times, but it should not produce sharp pains, numbness or tingling. If you feel any of those, lighten up or stop for the day.

Running a marathon puts a lot of stress on your body. In addition to eating right and massaging away knots, your body will need time to repair itself. That’s why you need rest after running a long race.

How to Rest After a Marathon

But rest isn’t passive. Resting after a marathon takes conscious effort, and your body will thank you for it. Generally after a big race, it’s a good idea to take at least one full week of non-running recovery. During this sacred period, it’s OK to exercise, just keep it light and mostly resistance free. Think leisurely walks, hikes or bike rides.

And, make sleep a priority because your body and muscles recover best when you’re asleep. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends seven or more hours of sleep per night for adults. Getting the recommended amount of shut eye will make you more alert and ward off sickness, too.

But the CDC says only about 35 percent of adults get the sleep they need, which affects more than just running recovery. Inadequate sleep is linked to chronic health conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression, according to the CDC.

Bottom line: You will train and recover better if you get better sleep. If you’re struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep, try these tips:

• Avoid drinking alcohol late in the evening.
• Before bed, eliminate exposure to blue light from TVs, computers and smartphones (if you must be online, consider downloading a free app like Flux that filters blue light).
• Get to bed at a consistent time, preferably before 10 p.m.
• Set your thermostat between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Track your sleep to understand your sleep quality.
• Avoid working or reading in bed.

Finally an article from coach Jeff from Runners Connect gives you a few pointers about recovery. Funnily enough doesn’t mention the T-trains ‘train like it never happened approach’.

 

Recovering from a marathon is a critical component to a perfect training plan that runners often neglect.
Unfortunately, if you don’t properly recover from your marathon, you’ll increase your injury risk, increase the total marathon recovery time, and limit your long-term potential – making it harder to break your PR and stay healthy.
As a running coach, I’ve heard all the arguments from athletes wanting to jump back into training or racing immediately after their race.
More often than not, runners who do not follow a proper post marathon recovery plan find their subsequent performances stagnating or they suffer from overtraining symptoms.
Today, we are going to give you the best ways to recover from a marathon; this article will outline the science behind post marathon fatigue, so you can feel comfortable knowing you’re preparing your body for optimal performance down the road.
Then, I am going to provide you with an optimal post marathon recovery plan to help get you back to running your best as soon as possible.
Marathon recovery is critical and often overlooked. This article will provide you with the ultimate marathon recovery plan and the time it takes to get back

What Happens To My Body When I Run A Marathon?
Marathons are tough on the body – there’s no way to sugar coat this fact.
Muscles, hormones, tendons, cells, and almost every physiological system is pushed to the max during a marathon race.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Boston qualifier or it’s your first marathon, 26.2 miles is 26.2 miles and your body has undergone tremendous physical duress, let alone the stress you have put on your body running according to your marathon training schedule.
Here is a list of some of the scientifically measured physiological systems that are most effected after a marathon and how long each takes to fully repair.
Skeletal Muscle
Muscles soreness and fatigue are the most obvious case of damage caused by running the marathon distance.
One scientific study conducted on the calf muscles of marathon runners concluded that both the intensive training for, and the marathon itself, induce inflammation and muscle fiber necrosis that significantly impaired muscle power and durability for up the 14 days post marathon.
Accordingly, it will take your muscles about 2 weeks post marathon to return to full strength.
Cellular damage
Cellular damage post marathon, which includes oxidative damage, increased production of creatinine kinase (CK) – a marker that indicates damage to skeletal and myocardial tissue, and increased myoglobin levels in the blood stream (which often results in blood being present in urine).
One study concluded that CK damage persisted more than 7 days post marathon while another study confirmed the presence of myoglobin in the bloodstream post marathon for 3-4 days post race.
Both of these studies clearly indicate that the body needs at least 7-10 days of rest post marathon to fully recover from the cellular damage caused during the race.
These markers, along with a suppressed immune system, which is discussed below, is the primary reason that the optimal marathon recovery schedule avoids cross training the first 2-3 days.
Immune system
Post marathon, the immune system is severely compromised, which increases the risk of contracting colds and the flu.
Furthermore, a suppressed immune system is one of the major causes of overtraining. A recent study confirms that the immune system is compromised up to three days post marathon and is a major factor in overtraining syndrome.
Therefore, it is critical that you rest as much as possible in the three days following a marathon and focus on eating healthy and nutrient rich foods.
The research clearly indicates that the marathon induces significant muscle, cellular, and immune system damage for 3-14 days post race.
Therefore, it is essential that all marathon runners have a 2-3 week marathon recovery protocol that focuses on rest and rejuvenation of these physiological systems.

How To Recover After Running a Marathon
We’re going to outline a nutrition, rehab, cross training, and running plan for the 3 weeks after a marathon. This rehab plan is guaranteed to help you recover faster and return to training as quickly as possible.

Immediately post race
The immediate post race recovery protocol can be a little difficult to plan ahead of time, so I wouldn’t stress about it pre-race.
Focus your energy on pre-race nutrition and race strategy. These notes are simply to give you some guidance after the race.
After you cross the finish line, try to get something warm and get to your clothes. You’ll probably get cold very quickly, and while it won’t help you recover, getting warm will sure make you feel a lot better.
Try to find something to eat. Bananas, energy bars, sports drinks, fruit, and bagels are all good options.
Many marathoners can’t eat soon after finishing, so grab a handful of items and make your way to friends and family.
When you get back to the hotel room, you should consider an ice bath.
Fill the tub with ice and cold water and submerge your lower body for 15 minutes. You don’t need the water too cold, 55 degrees is optimal, but anything colder than 65 degrees will do.
After your ice bath, you can take a nap or walk around to try and loosen the legs.
At this point, you’ve done about all you can do for the day. Relax and relish in your accomplishment.

Days 1-3
Running: None
Cross Training: none
Recovery Tips and tricks:
Soak in a hot tub for 10-15 and stretch well afterwards.
Each lots of fruits, carbohydrates, and protein. The Carbs and protein will help repair the muscle damage while the fruits will give you a boost of vitamin C and antioxidants to help combat free radical damage and boost your immune system.
Light massage will help loosen your muscles. Don’t schedule a deep tissue massage yet, just a gentle effleurage massage or a light rolling with the stick.

Days 4-7
Running: One day, 2-4 miles very easy
Cross Training: Optional – Two days, 30-40 minutes easy effort. The focus is on promoting blood flow to the legs, not building fitness.
Recovery Tips and Tricks:
Continue eating a healthy diet
Now is the time you can get a deep tissue massage if you have areas that are really bothering you or that are injured.
Contrast bath your lower body. To contrast bath, take large trash cans and fill one with hot (hot bath temp) water and the other with ice water (cold enough so some ice still doesn’t melt) and put your whole lower body into the cold. Hold for 5 minutes and then switch to the hot for 5 mins. Repeat 2 or 3 times, ending with cold. This helps rush blood in and out of the area, which facilitates healing.
Epsom Salt Bath. About an hour before bed, massage your legs out with the stick or self massage and then soak in a hot/warm bath with 3 cups epsom salt and 1 cup baking soda for 10-15 minutes. After the soak, stretch real well and relax. This always perks up my legs quite a bit and you’ll also sleep great.

Days 7-14
Running: Three or four days of 4-6 miles very easy.
Cross Training: Optional – Three sessions total. One easy session and two medium effort sessions for 30-45 minutes.

Days 14-21
Running: Begin to slowly build back into full training. My suggestion is four to five runs of 4-8 miles with 4 x 20 sec strides after each run.
Cross Training: 1 easy session, 1 medium session, and 1 hard session of 40-50 minutes.
Don’t worry about losing any running fitness during this recovery period.
First, it’s much more important to ensure proper recovery so you can train even harder during your next training cycle.
If you don’t let yourself recover now, you’ll simply have to back off your workouts when it matters and put yourself on the verge of overtraining.
Likewise, you won’t lose much fitness at all.
In my experience, it takes about 2-3 weeks of training to get back into good shape and ready to start attacking workouts and planning races.
Try not to schedule any races until 6 weeks after your marathon.
I know you may want to avenge a disappointing performance or you’ll be coming off a running high and you’ll want to run every race under the sun.
However, your results won’t be as good as they might be if you just wait a few weeks and let your body recover and train a little first.

Patience is a virtue, but it will pay off in the end.

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Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.

Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )

T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in.  It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong,  storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)

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Marathon number 47 was Bibra Lakes, a small event a  hundred kilometres outside Perth, around a lake funnily enough.  It was a small out and back and then six laps of the lake on a footpath and just about totally flat, bar the puddles ! Conditions ranged from perfect to horrendous depending on the rain, albeit there was little or no wind to talk off so overall no complaints.

The worst rain was probably right on the start time and as you can see below it was pretty heavy when we set off. Luckily my mate Rob lent me his rain jacket for the initial out and back loop which was enough to take the torrential rain out of the equation. Unfortunately we got hit with a worse squall later in the event and Rob and his jacket were nowhere to be seen, although by this time I was in race mode and the rain wasn’t an issue.

This would be my second marathon since 2019 and my first since Melbourne 2022 which didn’t end well, mainly down to little or no marathon training. The goal initially was to run as close to sub 3 at Bibra in preparation for my A-race later in the year in Perth.  Training had been going so well thought I reassessed and gave myself a chance of a sub3 at Bibra. With hindsight this was a mistake. My training had been going well but I was probably a few months short of what I needed, no worries, sometimes you have to roll the dice albeit with marathons the end result is normally predictable.

A two week taper had made my legs feel heavy and maybe watching my favourite footy team the night before wasn’t ideal preparation, although they did win.  In my defence I still got at least seven hours sleep so I don’t think this was an issue. I lined up at the start with no niggles and feeling pretty good which is the best you can hope for truth be told. As I said earlier my training had been going well but I was missing one of the most important runs and this was to become pretty obvious very quickly once the race started.

Holding marathon pace became an issue early in the game and this was due to no medium long runs at marathon pace in my training leading up to the event. I had the short threshold runs covered (my Thursday morning Yelo runs) and the longer weekend runs (although probably too faster a pace?) , and good weekly distance with elevation but no 20-25k midweek runs at marathon pace .  With the legs feeling heavy at the start my heart rate was way too high early on and keeping my seat on the sub3 bus was becoming a problem.  I had the same feeling at Melbourne in 2022 where I hung on for ten kilometres and was then unceremoniously ejected out the back and stumbled home in 3hours 17minutes. I was determined to go further at Bibra and set the target at halfway minimum before the bus driver punched my ticket.

Eventually I managed around 26 kilometres before the bus really started to leave me, with 16 kilometres to go I was still on track for a sub3 but knew I would start to lose time kilometre by kilometre moving forward, it was now about limiting the damage. I found I could hold a 4:2x pace and set my  new goal race finishing time at under three hours and five minutes. That’s a thing with marathons you have more than enough time for plan A, B and even C , most important thing is just keep moving forward, stay in the game,  eventually you will finish.

I lost contact with the 3 hour bus on lap four so dropped down a few gears and started to run to feel , fast enough that it was an effort, I was racing , but not too fast that I couldn’t maintain the pace.  My splits for the six laps were pretty consistent , with 25  minutes for the first three and then 26  minutes for the last three. ( splits 25.34/25.46/25.55/26.24/26.57/26.46) A few guys came off the bus and I went past them but no one chased me down and I eventually finished 25th from a field of just over 130 runners. In the end I finished in 3:04:37, not the sub3 I wanted but probably what I deserved.

One of the best things on the day was the support, these smaller ‘grass roots‘ events are so good as you know the organisers, the supporters, the volunteers and your mates come along to race or support you. It’s such a social event, you’re surrounded by like minded people all working towards one goal, getting you to the finish line as quick as possible.   Also,  being a six lap course , you’re always only a few kilometres from your mates and there’s aid stations every few kilometres manned by volunteers who also cheer you on your way.

I have been training with Ben Tay, who was driving the sub3 bus. Ben is an accomplished marathon runner capable of running close to two hours thirty minutes so a sib3 was a training run for him. The bus would be on time.  My two training buddies Andy and Ben also joined me and the three of them would all run sub three, albeit cutting it very , very close.  It was great to run with the guys to halfway and I would hope to join them for longer at Perth in October.

Rob must have felt sorry for me as afterwards he treated me to French Toast at a local bistro. Best recovery food ever. Thanks Rob.

What have I learned from Bibra ? Running sub3 is definitely on the radar tHis year. I loved the marathon distance and was able to finish strong with consistent splits, I just need the splits to be consistently quicker. To do this I need to be more relaxed at marathon pace and the only way to do that is run at marathon pace more often. Training for marathons isn’t rocket science. To sum up , you need one threshold run a week, one long run at a slow pace, some elevation, a median long run at marathon pace ( the run I was missing) , race often and as much distance as you can handle without getting injured.  Add in consistency and there you have , a marathon plan summed up in a paragraph. There really is no need for any coaching or plans as long as you are disciplined and week in, week out hit your targets, simples.

For Bibra I had put in the distance and time as you can see from my Strava extract below ( you are on Strava right ? http://www.strava.com )  I had put in a good block of training and consistently turned up all year, as well as racing four ultra marathons.  What I had missed was smaller races at faster than marathon pace.  I hadn’t got my marathon pace legs until later in the training block so had avoided half marathon and 10k races, this was a mistake. Racing fine tunes your preparation and gives you an idea of where you are and what time to expect in the marathon. I’m a big believer in the ‘your half marathon time , doubled,  plus ten minutes‘ as a really accurate indicator for your marathon time.  For a sub3 attempt you should be able to run a 1:25 half, or close. Of course this is not set in stone and all runners are different but as an indicator I find this works as well as most.

Right I’m itching to get the trainers back on and get out there to start training for my next marathon. There is the small matter of a backyard ultra to finish first, it would be silly to just concentrate on marathons right, far too easy.  Just under four weeks before Birdy’s backyard Ultra ( https://birdysbackyardultra.com.au/ ) , my fourth attempt at this beast of a last man standing event. In previous years I have managed 24 hours, 28 hours and 36 hours, an upward trend which is unusual with my racing these days ? It would be nice to break 48 hours but it will be more about hanging out with good friends, similar to Bibra but for days not hours.

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Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.

Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )

T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in.  It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong,  storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)

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