Recovery time after a half?

[Raenstoirm]

I am thinking the recovery time after a half is nil (maybe a day or two since I am not used to the milage- but ideally I will be by the time I run my first half so that wont be an issue ).

I ask, since I have been asked to run a zombie obstacle the weekend after my first half. I love zombie races so I would love to run it with my cousin, but I dont want to tell her yes only to find I am too exhausted or sore or something to actually participate. (It is the kind where you wear flags and the zombies steal the flags from you, so I will have to be on the top of my game to survive!

)

 

[dlbwright]

I just ran my first half in June. I was surprised on how NOT sore I was. I could feel 'something' in my quads for about 2 days after the race, but after that I was just fine. JMHO, I think you would be fine. Good luck!

 

[cewait]

Really depends on a number of factors…
1) Your training for the half – make sure that you are really ready for the half. If you do fall off the training wagon a bit, then run the half a little lighter than capable.
2) Your effort during the race – if you are running near a max aerobic effort, recovery will take a little longer
3) Your recovery ability – start and continue a program of stretching post run. Take regular yoga or Pilates class to improve flexibility and thus recovery.

In general, the rule of thumb is to recover one day for each mile of a hard race. I would expect that you will be able to run with the zombies with little issue though you may have to work just a little harder to keep away. I would plan on it and if you have any late training issues come up, pull back on the half race effort.

 

[JessM]

I think you should be fine to participate a week after your half. I was pleasantly surprised that after my second 14 mile training run I wasn't sore at all. If you train well for your first half you should recovery relatively quickly.

 

[John VN]

Really depends on a number of factors…
1) Your training for the half – make sure that you are really ready for the half. If you do fall off the training wagon a bit, then run the half a little lighter than capable.
2) Your effort during the race – if you are running near a max aerobic effort, recovery will take a little longer
3) Your recovery ability – start and continue a program of stretching post run. Take regular yoga or Pilates class to improve flexibility and thus recovery.

In general, the rule of thumb is to recover one day for each mile of a hard race. I would expect that you will be able to run with the zombies with little issue though you may have to work just a little harder to keep away. I would plan on it and if you have any late training issues come up, pull back on the half race effort.

my bolding

Coach, tell me that isn't so.....

First Ironman beginning of November (140.6 miles), Space Coast Half Marathon beginning of December (13.1 miles), Dopey beginning of January (48.6 miles) and the Celebration Marathon (26.2 miles)a few weeks later. (total 228.5 miles)

Maybe a bit much for 63yo McFlurry John

OK, I'll just have a McFlurry or two extra and take things slower.

 

[timmac]

my bolding

Coach, tell me that isn't so.....

First Ironman beginning of November (140.6 miles), Space Coast Half Marathon beginning of December (13.1 miles), Dopey beginning of January (48.6 miles) and the Celebration Marathon (26.2 miles)a few weeks later. (total 228.5 miles)

Maybe a bit much for 63yo McFlurry John

OK, I'll just have a McFlurry or two extra and take things slower.

It's important to keep in mind that level of effort and level of training still play into it. Where you're doing an ironman, I'd assume that's your "hard" race. Everything after that is probably a lot easier, and some (like Disney) by their nature are more like fun-runs than actual races anyway.

Also note that the 1 day of recovery per mile doesn't necessarily translate well to an ironman, where 112 of those miles are biking (which is substantially different than 112 miles of running!)

 

[cewait]

my bolding

Coach, tell me that isn't so.....

First Ironman beginning of November (140.6 miles), Space Coast Half Marathon beginning of December (13.1 miles), Dopey beginning of January (48.6 miles) and the Celebration Marathon (26.2 miles)a few weeks later. (total 228.5 miles)

Maybe a bit much for 63yo McFlurry John

OK, I'll just have a McFlurry or two extra and take things slower.

Well, I can honestly say that you are an enigma to the training world. Not from your monthly race mileage but from the fact that you can take on a McFreeze in the middle of a marathon with no head rush or sugar high or other things…

 

[Bookwood]

Also watch your nutrition before and between.

 

[paxsarah]

my bolding

Coach, tell me that isn't so.....

First Ironman beginning of November (140.6 miles), Space Coast Half Marathon beginning of December (13.1 miles), Dopey beginning of January (48.6 miles) and the Celebration Marathon (26.2 miles)a few weeks later. (total 228.5 miles)

Maybe a bit much for 63yo McFlurry John

OK, I'll just have a McFlurry or two extra and take things slower.

You know the cycling miles don't count in that recovery calculation, don't you?. I have heard the same rule of thumb - but it's not total abstinence from working out, just no hard or intense workouts for that number of days, no speedwork, etc. I would suspect the OP's zombie race would be fine - it probably depends on how hard they want to avoid becoming infected (at my zombie race my flags were gone within five minutes so the rest of the race was just a fun run).

 

[dragitoff]

like other posters have said, it is different for everyone. This year I ran the WDW full in January, PR'd a half 6 weeks later, PR'd a 5k the week after that, PR'd another half 2 weeks after that, and then PR'd yet again on another half 2 weeks after that.

The full is the only race I had any soreness, tightness or anything for more than a few hours post-race. For that, I took it easy the first week (only ran 2 miles or so a few times at a slow pace) and then resumed training for the half the following week although I didn't kick it back up to normal pace until the 2nd week following the full.

 

[KellyKapowski]

With proper training 13.1 miles is just another training run.