TRAINING USING THE HANSONS Method ends with your half-marathon, the culmination of 18 weeks of hard work. What happens after the race depends on the individual runner and his or her level of running. For example, a high-mileage veteran competitor may run a couple of half-marathons in a single training block. In contrast, a newbie may be completely wiped out and not ready to do another event in the near future. For the purpose of this chapter, let’s discuss post-race recovery in terms of your half-marathon being the culmination of training and the end point of a training segment.
Taking time off from running after the race is important because it gives your body time to restore glycogen and hydration levels to normal. In addition to being depleted of all fuel sources, your exercising muscles feel the burn. How much and what kind of pain you feel the day after your race can vary; however, it’s common to feel stiff, sore, and supremely worn-out. The half-marathon breaks down your muscles on a microscopic level, leaving them in need of rest and repair. Consider the following your plan of action as soon as you cross that finish line.
It often happens that a runner reaches the finish line and then wonders, “Okay, now what?” We spend so much time focusing on training and racing, it is easy to forget to think about what comes after you reach the finish line. No matter what the clock says, as long as you gave the race your best shot, that’s all that matters now. Take those first moments after the race to revel in the fact that you took your body to the edge and made it to the finish. Allow yourself a moment to be proud of this major accomplishment. Along with those positive feelings will most certainly come soreness and exhaustion. You may even think you will never do a race again. But while it can hurt, it’s also true that after that first race, many runners are hooked.
The same general rules you follow after a workout also apply after your half-marathon. Regardless of your finish time, immediate action toward your recovery is crucial and will have a significant impact on when you can return to running. Although you may wince at the thought of eating, you need to try to consume some calories right away. The good news is that you can pretty much eat anything you are craving. It is the calories that are important, not their source. This is a good thing because you usually can’t be picky when it comes to finish line fare. Whatever they are offering, take it. Because you have depleted much of your available muscle and liver glycogen, your body will bounce back far sooner if you do. What’s more, your blood glucose is low, or on the verge of being so, you’re dehydrated, and you have few remaining electrolytes. The faster you start replacing these nutrients, the sooner you’ll be feeling back to normal. That window of optimal recovery time is small, so take advantage of the goodies in the finish chute that first 30 minutes after the race.
Once you have gathered your hardware and snacks, you can leave the finish chute and find your family and friends. As long as you have had something to eat and drink, you don’t need to worry about consuming a full meal until your stomach settles down. If it isn’t a hometown race, go back to your hotel, get cleaned up, and put on some comfortable clothes (and comfortable shoes, such as flip-flops or sandals). By that point you may be ready to sit down for lunch. Although you are probably tired of pasta, focus on taking in a high percentage of carbohydrates to replace all that lost glycogen. If you still aren’t ready for a feast, steadily consume calories to get in a good amount over time. At this point, try to choose more nutritious foods to get your system back on track. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are all great options, along with water, fruit juice, or sports drinks. Again, the details you take care of now will help you down the line.
Continue to hydrate and replace calories as desired. Put your feet up and relax for a few hours; you’ve earned it! Regardless of ability and how hard you pushed yourself during the race, you will likely notice at least some soreness over the rest of the day and into the following morning. Those first steps out of bed the day after the race may be labored, and walking up and down stairs may be an unpleasant challenge. From elites to weekend warriors, no one escapes a hard race without a little soreness. Besides the glycogen depletion, the structural integrity of the muscles has been compromised, so don’t plan any big outings right after your race. In my experience, your first half-marathon dishes out the most difficult recovery. The more you run over time, the easier the recovery seems.
Don’t run at all during this time. Some of you may be thinking that you don’t need time off, but remember that we are approaching this from a long-term development standpoint. With long-term development, we take planned rest time now, and we can avoid unplanned rest time later on! We have learned that taking a break from running is generally very beneficial. Not only should you not run, but you also should avoid putting any new races on the calendar. Some runners fall into a cycle of jumping back into mileage just a few days after a big race, often leaving their legs feeling stale a month down the line. Instead, take the time off now, recover completely, and then go back to running. Enjoy the break and use this occasion to catch up on the things that took a backseat during training. Instead of worrying about your next workout or fitting in a long run, you can sleep in, read the newspaper, and regain some balance in your life. If exercise is a must, limit it to light aerobic activity such as cycling, using an elliptical, or something else that’s not completely weight bearing.
Following your week’s vacation, it’s time to start running again. For first-time half-marathon finishers, we don’t like to specify a time line for your return, other than to advise you to be cautious. Most veterans are itching to get running again after a week of rest. Although we love seeing this enthusiasm, one of the problems we often encounter is runners who want to begin planning their next race before they are even through the finish line chute. It is good to have goals, and we are always glad that a runner wants to continue training, but make sure you keep these plans flexible. For newbies and veterans alike, it is important to wait and see how recovery goes in order to avoid rushing back to running too soon.
Once you have established that you’re fully recovered and ready to get back into your routine, we advise starting with an easy running regimen. Upon your return, you may be stiff, and those first few runs may be more difficult than usual. Don’t worry; you haven’t lost as much ground as you think. A week off will have decreased your fitness minimally. I am not saying you’ll feel amazing on your first run back, but trust me, your fitness is still there. For new runners, try starting with 3–5 miles (about 30 minutes) every other day or so. The first week might look like the schedule in Table 11.1.
Veteran runners can be more aggressive in their return, but their effort should still be based on how the body reacts to resumed training. An experienced runner’s body is probably more accustomed to endurance training, making the comeback somewhat easier. Even so, every runner is different, and you should pay attention to what your body is telling you after your race. If something doesn’t feel right or you are struggling to regain your form, we recommend backing off and letting the body heal itself. When you are ready to start some easy running again, a sample week for a veteran runner might look like the schedule in Table 11.2.
For all runners, resistance training can be picked up two or three times each week. This should be done on days that you won’t be doing SOS workouts in the upcoming weeks, allowing you to get into a routine. For example, if you know that in the future you’ll be doing SOS workouts on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, establish your resistance training days on Monday, Wednesday, and/or Friday. By starting the regimen at this time, you can build running-specific strength without doing a single workout for several weeks.
After following the aforementioned mileage for the first week back in training, you might consider bringing things up a notch for the second week, although your running should still be all easy mileage. This is dependent on how your body responded to that first week. If you are feeling refreshed and looking forward to getting back on track, add a bit of mileage. The beginner should add 2 days with 30-minute runs, bringing the weekly total to 5 days of 30-minute runs each. Advanced runners can add time to each of their running days, aiming for 45–60 minutes of easy running, 6 days a week. If you are still feeling sore and tired, however, give yourself another week to linger at the lower mileage and let your body and mind recover.
After those first 2 weeks of easy running, you should spend the next 2 weeks building mileage, allowing for a slow return to typical training volume. The Advanced Program peaks at about 50 miles, but the average mileage is around 40 miles per week, and the Beginner Program averages slightly less at 30–35 miles per week. The Just Finish Program is in the 20–25 miles per week range. Once you are comfortably running “average” weekly mileage again, you can begin structured training and start to draw up plans for new goal races. Whatever you choose to do, a training segment doesn’t always need to adhere to an 18-week time frame. You may find that as you become more experienced, the length of time you need to prepare for a half-marathon can be shortened by a few weeks. In most cases, a speed or base-building segment can be 10–14 weeks. The more weekly mileage a person is able to tolerate, the shorter those training segments often need to be.
The question at this point is where to go from here. Many runners feel they need to get right back into half-marathon training, others may go back to shorter distances races, and still others will take the leap into marathon training. If you choose the last option, consider using a program from Hansons Marathon Method. The training plans are based on the same building blocks as our half-marathon plans, which will ease your transition to this new distance.
The downtime following your race offers an excellent opportunity to sit back and consider the timing of your long-term goals. For runners who just completed the Beginner Program or Just Finish Program, this can be an ideal time to build up mileage and perhaps gradually enter a more ambitious training regimen for a spring half-marathon. If that first race went well, this time gives you the chance to safely and slowly put mileage on your legs, preparing you for the increased training. The opportunities vary from runner to runner and can change as the seasons allow or geography permits.
Some runners decide to capitalize on the fitness base they have just built by dedicating a training segment to shorter races. As far as 5Ks and 10Ks, this is a great way to build speed and keep your legs feeling fresh rather than simply going right back into training for longer races. A 10-week speed section is especially well timed for runners who have just finished a half-marathon but want to return to the shorter races. These runners are strong from the half-marathon training, and a little shot of speed will make them faster overall.
Finally, half-marathoners may use the race and the accompanying training as a catalyst to build their mileage further and continue increasing their workouts in order to tackle the marathon distance. That can work well for the runner who did a spring or early summer half-marathon and wants to make the turnaround to do a fall marathon. The same is true for a late fall or early winter half-marathon; a runner who has completed this distance can take on a spring marathon without worry. Whatever your choice, the experience you gain from the half-marathon distance will be helpful in any other running or racing you decide to do.