Running • Sports recovery
After weeks of preparation and 42.195 kilometers of effort, recovery becomes an integral part of the performance.
After the finish line
42.195 kilometers.
After weeks, sometimes months of preparation, crossing the finish line of a marathon marks the culmination of a true sporting project.
But for the body, the race doesn't really end when you cross the finish line.
Muscles, joints, energy reserves, hydration: running a marathon represents a considerable effort and recovery can take several days, or even longer depending on the runner's level, experience and the intensity of the effort.
So what should you do after a marathon? When should you resume running? And what role should different recovery techniques play?
A marathon imposes thousands of repeated impacts on the musculoskeletal system.
Upon arrival, several phenomena can combine: muscle fatigue, depletion of energy reserves, water loss and muscle soreness.
Moreover, these levels may not be at their maximum immediately after the race.
Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, often appears gradually over the following hours and can be particularly present between 24 and 72 hours after exertion.
Feeling relatively well on the evening of the marathon does not necessarily mean that the body has already recovered.
The priority immediately after the race is not to multiply recovery techniques.
It consists first of all in meeting the basic needs of the body.
After several hours of exertion, it is important to rehydrate gradually and resume a diet that provides carbohydrates and proteins.
There is no single universal meal for marathon runners: needs depend in particular on weight, race duration, weather conditions and what was consumed during the event.
The most important thing is not to neglect this initial recovery phase.
The desire to remain completely still for 48 hours can be strong.
However, very light activity can be appreciated after the effort: a few minutes of walking after the finish line, then gentle mobilization in the following days according to how you feel.
However, active recovery does not mean new training.
An intense session intended to «cleanse» the day after a marathon is not necessarily relevant.
After 42.195 km, accepting to ease off the pace is also part of the training.
There's a lot of talk about recovery technologies and sometimes much less about sleep.
However, after a marathon, getting enough sleep remains essential.
Sleep plays a role in many recovery processes and should be particularly monitored in the nights following the event.
However, there is one difficulty: after an important competition, excitement, muscle pain, travel or unusual schedules can disrupt the first night.
It is therefore more relevant to consider recovery over several nights rather than focusing solely on the night following the race.
The use of cold therapy after endurance exercise is common in the sports world.
Whole-body cryotherapy is based on very short exposure of the body to intense cold.
The scientific literature has focused in particular on the use of cold in the context of post-exercise recovery, delayed onset muscle soreness and perceived recovery.
For a marathon runner, a cryotherapy session can therefore be integrated into an overall post-competition recovery strategy.
Cryotherapy does not make the effects of a 42-kilometer race disappear in a few minutes.
It complements the fundamentals of rest, hydration, nutrition and sleep.
At CryoBliss, whole body cryotherapy is performed in an electric cabin without nitrogen, with a short and homogeneous exposure to cold.
After several hours of running, the feeling of heavy legs can be particularly noticeable.
Stendo® pulse therapy is a different approach.
It uses sequential pressures synchronized with the heart rate and can be particularly appreciated for the feeling of lightness felt in the legs.
For runners, it can therefore find its place in a recovery routine after a long run or competition.
Photobiomodulation using red and near-infrared light is also being researched in the field of muscle recovery.
Several trials and meta-analyses have studied its use in relation to exercise.
The results reported in the literature selected by CryoBliss relate in particular to muscle soreness, recovery of muscle strength, and certain biological markers associated with muscle damage. However, the protocols remain highly variable from one study to another.
Therefore, this is an additional tool that can be considered in a recovery routine, and not a solution replacing the fundamentals.
This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions.
And there is no single answer that works for everyone.
The runner's experience, their condition after the race, the intensity at which the marathon was run, and the possible onset of pain must be taken into account.
The main mistake would be to confuse the disappearance of muscle soreness with complete recovery.
Feeling better a few days after the race does not necessarily mean that you should immediately resume long or intensive training sessions.
The recovery must be gradual.
And in case of unusual, significant or persistent pain, it is better to seek the advice of a healthcare professional rather than automatically attributing it to muscle soreness.
Some mistakes are particularly easy to make after months of preparation:
A marathon is not just about the time displayed at the finish line.
The way one recovers after competition also contributes to the ability to gradually resume training and prepare for future goals.
The best strategy is therefore rarely the most complicated one:
Address basic needs before multiplying techniques.
Start back gradually and respect your body's signals.
Recovery technologies can then complement this base.
CryoBliss • Paris
Just a stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe, CryoBliss offers various experiences that can be integrated into a sports recovery routine:
From the first 10km to the marathon, the objective remains the same: not to consider recovery as time lost between two training sessions, but as part of sports preparation.
Book a recovery session
