Half Marathon Training Continues! Race Week and Beyond (Part IV)

Just as you need a race strategy to achieve a PR on race day, you will need a post-race strategy to help you recover after your effort (and maybe prepare you for another race down the line). The duration of your recovery depends on race distance. Use the following as a guide:

5K: Jog 1-2 miles after your race, and follow with some light stretching. Have a recovery snack, and follow with a post-race recovery meal within two hours. Take the following day off. Jog easy (with days off) for the next week.

If you want to race for another 5K PR, pick one week from your Track Work phase and repeat the workouts. Then follow a Race Week schedule to prepare you to race again.

This cycle can be repeated three more times before you will need to go back to Road Work.

10K: Jog 1-2 miles after your race., and follow with some light stretching. Have a recovery snack, and follow with a post-race recovery meal within two hours. Take the following day off. Jog easy (with days off) for the next week.

If you want to race another 10K PR, pick two weeks from your Track Work phase and repeat the workouts. Then follow a Race Week schedule to prepare you to race again.

This cycle can be repeated two more times before you will need to go back to Road Work.

Half Marathon: Walk half a mile to recover after your race (do not stretch). Have a recovery snack and follow with a post-race recovery meal within two hours. Take the next three days off, taking care to eat well and drink plenty of fluids. Jog easy to finish off the week. Then jog easy the following week.

If you want to race for another half marathon PR, the first thing you need to do is find another half marathon to race. If there is one available, count back from race days and plug in those weeks from your training schedule. For instance, if there is another half marathon in four weeks, count back four weeks in your training schedule (including Race Week), and begin to train again.

This cycle can only be used this one time before you will need to go back to Road Work.