It will come as no surprise that after a marathon your legs will be sore and tired. Previously, we covered the pains you experience after a marathon and how long they might last. But this didn’t tell me how long it would take for me to recover and feel ready to race again. I looked at my historical running data to see what I might find.
Here are my stats from the Red Rock Canyon marathon in March. These are 
my running speeds (minutes per mile) starting 8 days before the marathon.
Min / Mile
8.4
8.6
8.6
8.2
7.9
8.5
7.7
8.7
** 9.5 – Marathon
9.9
9.1
9.0
+8.3 – Recovered
8.1
8.3
Sunburst Marathon last week – Running speeds (minutes per mile) starting 8 days prior to marathon
Min / Mile
7.5
7.6
7.9
7.5
7.0
9.2
9.4
7.4
** 7.7 – Marathon
8.8
7.9
8.2
+ 7.2 – Recovered?
How long does recovery take?
Based on this data and some of the spotty data from previous races, I’d have to say that it takes my body about 4 or 5 days to feel good enough to resume my typical running speed. The pain doesn’t go away as fast but it’s nice to know that I’m not losing the speed benefits of my training.
It takes 4-5 days to recover your speed
How long do you think it takes you to recover from a marathon? Leave a comment and let us know.
