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Runner's Forum: How long should I rest?

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    • CommentAuthorjunebug1
    • CommentTimeApr 30th 2008
     
    junebug1
    Hi all!  I just finished my first half-marathon 3 days ago and am now wondering how long I should rest.  The only things that are still bothering me are my feet/ankles, from pounding the pavement I am guessing.  I think I made a mistake and ran yesterday, about 4.5 miles and they were complaining loudly afterwards.  Today I did the elliptical and tomorrow I plan to do a spin class.   I know I'm going to miss running if I don't get to do it again soon, but understand that I need to give my body time to heal.  Some additional information is that I wasn't planning to run the full half- I'd only run about 6 miles all at once previously but once I got going I felt great and it continued for the entire race.  So I know my body wasn't used to that long of time either.  Thanks for any advice you can give me. 
  2.  
    karaterockstar
    you should take about a week off from running, but don't let let that keep you from excersing. cross train. go swimming or bike. this will take some pressure of your feet/ankles.
    • CommentAuthorKDogg
    • CommentTimeMay 1st 2008
     
    KDogg

    just wait until the pain goes away and then slowly resume running. How long you have to wait depends on a lot of things, so there is no exact number that any of us can give to tell when you are good to go

    If the pain persists longer than a few days, then the issue might be more than some kind of late onset soreness. If you were improperly trained for your half marathon, it is possible that you have damaged the bones in your feet and if that is the case, you can count on missing about 4-6 weeks

    • CommentAuthorwestconn
    • CommentTimeMay 4th 2008
     
    westconn
    My general rule for half and full marathons is to not run one day for each mile raced.  This assumes that you ran the race full-out....and left nothing in the gas tank at the end of the race.  So for half marathons, I will wait about two weeks.....but will cross train (bike, swim) after about 3-4 days.  For marathons I wait about 4 weeks and start the cross training after one week.  If you ran the race as a "training" race for a future race on your schedule.....you likely didn't run it as hard as you could and probably can shorten the post-race rest quite a bit.

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