Marathon Recovery and Why Recovery Starts Before Race Day

<p>How long should you rest after a marathon? Coach Amanda (fresh off her fall marathon) and Coach Nick cover marathon recovery from taper week to your first run back.</p><p><br></p><p>Pre-race recovery: why sleep across your whole training block matters more than the night before, packing a carb-load cooler for race travel, compression socks vs. calf sleeves on flights, protecting your social battery, and how long a shakeout run should be.</p><p><br></p><p>Post-race recovery: why you should eat within an hour of finishing (even when you are not hungry), how to plan food at big-city marathons, how many days off to take (10 days to 2 weeks for Amanda, 7 days minimum for Nick), why workouts can take up to 8 weeks to feel normal, the recovery tools coaches actually use, and how to handle the post-marathon blues.</p><p><br></p><p>Today&#39;s episode is sponsored by CEP and Running Explained listeners get 15% off their entire order when shopping CEP Running online through November 15! <a href="https://ceprunning.com/discount/LRL-NYC-15?utm_source=long_run_labs&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=lrl_nyc_marathon_2026&utm_content=podcast_show_notes_2026-10-08" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Shop CEP Running</a> or enter code LRL-NYC-15 at checkout.</p><p><br></p><p>Offer ends November 16, 2026, at 3:00AM EST. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.</p><p><br></p><p>Timestamps</p><p>0:00 Intro</p><p>2:44 Pre-race recovery and taper</p><p>7:14 Sleep before a marathon</p><p>11:00 Compression socks vs. sleeves for travel</p><p>16:13 Shakeout runs</p><p>26:08 Post-race recovery starts at the finish line</p><p>29:03 What to eat after a marathon</p><p>38:50 How long to rest after a marathon</p><p>45:59 Favorite recovery tools</p><p>50:34 Post-marathon blues</p><p><br></p><p>Training plans and coaching: https://runningexplained.com</p><p>The Weekly Stride newsletter: https://www.runningexplained.com/theweeklystride</p><p><br></p><p>Enjoyed this one? Rate and review Running Explained and share it with your running friend (or someone you do not like, maybe they will like it).</p>