Post Marathon (Tips and Tricks to help with the recovery)

Congratulations! You made it! You finally accomplished one of your ambitious goals. This section is to assist in your mental and physical recovery.
Recovery starts when you cross the line.

Recovery starts as soon as you cross the finish line. Understandably, you may feel exhausted and want to sit down immediately. However, before taking a complete break, it’s important to hydrate your body and consume some food. There will be people around to assist you, so don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it. If you’re feeling unwell or have pushed yourself too hard, seek medical attention from the nearest medical tent.

It’s essential to monitor your body temperature after the race. On warmer days, your body temperature can continue to rise once you stop running, as the convection effect to help with evaporation is no longer working. To avoid overheating, pour cool water on your head and neck. On cooler days, your body may lose heat quickly once you stop running. To prevent this, use space blankets provided by most marathons until your body stabilizes.

It’s common for the mental aspects of recovery to be more difficult than the physical ones. Your body may recover faster than expected, but after a few days, you may start feeling uneasy, even depressed. This can happen to anyone, even those who rarely experience depression. In this segment, we’ll help you through the first days and manage the emotional period that may follow the marathon. It’s important to know that what you’re experiencing is normal. After the race, you may feel like you’re no longer the center of attention, and that may create a sense of loss. Goal-oriented individuals may feel empty once the race is over, as the goal that has occupied their minds for so long is gone. Even experienced runners may question whether all the time and effort they put into training was worth it. However, you can take steps to lessen the effects of these feelings. If you’re not planning to run another race, it’s important to deal with the sense of loss and find new goals to pursue. Remember that going through these emotions is normal, and it’s possible to get through them with the right mindset and support.

1. Acknowledge that life has changed and that these feelings are actually quite common.
2. Have open discussions with your family, friends, or running partners about how you feel.
3. Make a plan in advance. For those whose goal was simply to run a marathon, the best remedy is to go out and run a few short workouts in the following weeks. This will get you back to a healthy mental state quicker than anything else.
4. Give yourself time for your body to adjust both physically and mentally.
5. Make new goals. Hopefully, you can see there are benefits to running other than simply finishing a big race. For many, dropping down to the occasional 5k or 10k can be just as rewarding. Personally, there was a long period of time when I worked out without running any type of race.
6 Use this time to formulate a new training plan and set new goals for the weeks and months ahead.