DCM 09 Done - now what?

ct_roy

Right, so that's my first ever marathon out of way thankfully!
Right I've well and truly bitten the bug and am wondering what's the best advice now to maintain momentum for all us marathon newbies who are now experiencing another first - the aftermath.

The body is feeling plenty of pain today and to be honest I'm looking forward to a break from the running for a week or two - jeasus god knows what I'll do with all the spare time! I'm sure the body needs this recovery time too.

After that I'm keen to build on and maintain what was an unbelievable experience.

So what next? Do I kick in to maintenance mode and plan another marathon for some time in the spring and maybe enter a few 10k's etc. in the meantime?

I'm concerned about the mental side of things as much as the physical. How does one stay motivated after conquering the marathon?

God if feels like I've just finished the Leaving Cert or something!

gerard65

Physically your muscles are wrecked. Your immune system is wrecked. Give yourself time to recover. Eat well, sleep well. Its been shown that there is no such thing as a recovery run in the week after a marathon. A few walks/ swims will do. Ease back into training, although your fitter than you've ever been your also vunerable to injury/illness. In a couple of weeks decide where you want to go from here. Maybe pick a 5K/10K to aim for to keep yourself motivated over the next couple of months. You've loads of time to plan your next 'big one'.

Oisin11178

Luton marathon in 5 weeks.:)

ct_roy

gerard65 wrote: »

Physically your muscles are wrecked. Your immune system is wrecked. Give yourself time to recover. Eat well, sleep well. Its been shown that there is no such thing as a recovery run in the week after a marathon. A few walks/ swims will do. Ease back into training, although your fitter than you've ever been your also vunerable to injury/illness. In a couple of weeks decide where you want to go from here. Maybe pick a 5K/10K to aim for to keep yourself motivated over the next couple of months. You've loads of time to plan your next 'big one'.

cheers
so what you're saying is it might be a bad idea to go on the tear this weekend - i guess I'll just have to fight the urge

How Strange

gerard65 wrote: »

Maybe pick a 5K/10K to aim for to keep yourself motivated over the next couple of months. You've loads of time to plan your next 'big one'.

Jingle Bells 5k early Dec, Aware 10k 12th Dec and 1/2 marathon in Waterford on 12th too.

aero2k

gerard65 wrote: »

Its been shown that there is no such thing as a recovery run in the week after a marathon.

I suspect there have been many, many recovery "hobbles"!