as long as it is just soreness rather than pain, as short run will probably help more than hurt, even if you feel terrible while you are doing it, you just kind of plod along. Much like the walking you did on the TM, it just loosens things up and gets the blood flowing and all. It will probably be up to 2 weeks before you are able to be back running what you were before the race. It's a matter of what you feel like doing though, you just ran a marathon, no one will fault you for taking a couple days off, and the fitness you would lose would not be that great anyways. I find taking a few days off and going to a movie or out to dinner or doing other things i sacrifice to nightly training time during the build up to be very enjoyable and rejuvenating.

Recovery varies significantly from runner to runner. As for me, I do one very easy week, then I'm usually racing again in 2-3 weeks. If all goes well, I may still have 3 or 4 more good races before I wrap things up.

That being said, I should point out that I run enough miles to come back fairly quickly, I've run enough marathons to adapt to the stress, and I'm always, always, always ready to back off and cancel any racing plans if I'm not recovering the way I'd like to.

There's a fine line, and it can take a long time to learn where it is.

I ran my first marathon this past Sunday. I took Monday off, and ran 3 easy miles the last 3 days. I was pretty sore Tuesday but I think the easy running helped. I also used the foam roller and stretching after the runs. I plan on doing all easy runs the next couple of weeks, adding miles as I go. I'm also prepared to back off if I need to.

If you are targeting a spring marathon you have plenty of time. I don't think a couple of lower mileage weeks will affect your fitness level. The consequences of doing too much too soon and getting injured are higher than being conservative and losing a little fitness.

Good luck.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Long Run Nick:
My observations and personal experience about recovery after a "hard/raced" marathon are a lot of folks get injured 2-3 weeks after a marathon because they "come back" too quick. Take your time. Your recovery is a reward for the hard work. Enjoy it. Oh, if you want to be at this 20-30 yrs down the road--you won't be in quite the hurry. I like the "formula" 1 day recovery for each mile raced--marathon 26.2 days--I usually add another 1.8 days and chill for 30 days. EZ stuff--real ez stuff. Nick<HR>

I could not agree more. So many people want to rush back in to training following such a demanding race, myself included. In the past I would be running within a week once the residual soreness was gone. Now I am going to force myself to take a month off from running. First two weeks total rest, then two weeks of x-training. The Hanson Runners always take 2 weeks off after their marathons and many Kenyans take much longer than that. Any loss of fitness will be regained in a hurry. Just watch you food intake.