How long to 'recover'?

[NeverlandClub23]

How long to recover before running again? I did a 10k last Saturday which was a combo of hills and flat trails at about a 10:40 PR. I could barely go up and down the stairs on Sunday (soreness in the top/side of my quads) but could walk around easily. It's still sore to go up and down stairs but it's better and I can run pain free. Should I wait for that to be gone before running again?

 

[SAHDad]

If you can run pain-free, then feel free to do a short, easy run. You will want to avoid any hard workout for a few days (the general rule is to keep things fairly easy for about one day per mile of the race, but that is flexible, based on ability, training level, fitness, age, etc), but a short run is unlikely to do you any harm, and may be good for you.

ETA - And by the way, congrats on the PR!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Thank you! I was so excited as I'd been training at a 12-13 minute mile pace and I couldn't believe I had gone so much faster and still felt great at the end. I quickly have gone from "I don't really care how well I do in any race just as long as I don't walk and I finish" to "I wonder how much faster I can get my time...". I'll try out a short run tonight and see how I feel. Thanks for the advice!!

 

[FireDancer]

Thank you! I was so excited as I'd been training at a 12-13 minute mile pace and I couldn't believe I had gone so much faster and still felt great at the end. I quickly have gone from "I don't really care how well I do in any race just as long as I don't walk and I finish" to "I wonder how much faster I can get my time...". I'll try out a short run tonight and see how I feel. Thanks for the advice!!

That is how it starts. It goes from I just want to finish to I want to beat my last time to trying to get an age group award.

I think you can go out and do a short run to see how the legs feel. Make sure to stretch out before and after to help with the soreness.

If you get a mile in and you start to get an intense pain above soreness stop and go back home. It is better to take an extra day or two now then push and end up on the sideline for a month.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Congratulations on your PR! Welcome to the fun!

I think you've got the advice you need to make it work for you. Do what you can. Best to move some so you can work through some of those kinks and definitely stretch!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

That is how it starts. It goes from I just want to finish to I want to beat my last time to trying to get an age group award.

I think you can go out and do a short run to see how the legs feel. Make sure to stretch out before and after to help with the soreness.

If you get a mile in and you start to get an intense pain above soreness stop and go back home. It is better to take an extra day or two now then push and end up on the sideline for a month.

It definitely has begun! I've missed running in just the two days I haven't been able to. Every time I see someone with a running bumper sticker or T-shirt I want to honk or wave and scream "Me too!" . It's so ridiculous how it has taken over my life but I love it! It's such a personal challenge and experience like I've never experienced and it's only just started.

I only ran 3.5 miles tonight and felt great!

Congratulations on your PR! Welcome to the fun!

I think you've got the advice you need to make it work for you. Do what you can. Best to move some so you can work through some of those kinks and definitely stretch!

Thank you! I was anxious to start running again as I know how sometimes 2 days can quickly turn into 5 and then 10... I felt really good after the run I did tonight and actually felt better when I went up and down the stairs in my house.

I need to do better with stretching. I tend to get a little impatient with it sometimes