Zero Week?

The old adage, still practiced by some today, is that you take extended time off from training after a marathon. The strictest interpretation of the rule is one day off for every mile run, in other words 26 days after a marathon. After I ran my first marathon 6 years ago I considered what this meant and was, as I often am, skeptical. However, testing myself, I tried running a couple days after the marathon and learned the hard way that there is at least some semblance of reason behind the rule. My legs were dead. That one mile I managed to eek out felt every bit like a 27th mile. Maybe they're right, I thought. After all, Olympic champion Frank Shorter says: "You're not ready to run another marathon until you've forgotten the last one."

Have I Lost My Mind?

The problem is: running gets in your blood. It also has much to do with your mental and emotional well-being. In the most positive sense, we become addicted to running. Let me tell you from hard experience: there are addictions which are much worse, and more destructive. If you're a runner, allow yourself a bye on this one. Running ain't cocaine, or alcohol, or nicotine. It's about as clean an addiction as you can have. Feel free to indulge.

But I digress. The fact is that asking a serious runner to take 26 days off from his or her sport is like asking LeBron James to not shoot the ball. You just can't do it.

Zero week describes a typical post-marathon regimen. No miles. That's reasonable. Remember, you have to rebuild some muscle mass which was lost in running your marathon and you also need to restore fuel supplies to the musles. Attentiveness to post-race diet is of vital importance. Do it successfully and you can get back to meaningful mileage sooner than later.

If you have to test yourself, and you are pretty much over the normal aches and muscle soreness from your marathon, go ahead and log a few miles. But don't jump right back into full steam ahead. At least that's my plan as I round into the third week post-Chicago. I ran a bit the first week, once or twice, then stretched it out slightly the second week. This week I plan to log 25 or 30 miles. But my situation is perhaps a bit different than most, for I have decided to have another go at 26.2 just 5 weeks after Chicago. To some degree, I'm making up a plan as I go. Raceday will tell whether I have a clue, or not. Wish me luck, just as I wish luck to any other runners out there who are racing again 5 weeks after Chicago. Let's get those endorphines jumping and maybe even knock down some personal records.