Now is the time to take a one-week holiday from running and let your body heal. You've just spent the better part of three or four months following a structured training program.

Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play It can be tempting to get back on the horse and run hard after the post-race soreness subsides however, doing so dramatically increases your chances for niggling aches and pains and even injury. It simply means gradually increasing your runs for the next two weeks while keeping the intensity easy. That doesn't mean lying on the couch eating Ho Hos for two weeks. The rule of thumb for recovery is to take one day easy for every mile in the race.

I will give you some guidelines to follow, but keep in mind that the key to efficient recovery is to practice patience, be aware of how you're feeling as you progress, and understand that healing continues even when the soreness subsides. Congratulations on your first half marathon finish! It was a perfect day for a race, and a fantastic event! Much like your training, recovering from a half-marathon - especially your first - is highly personal. I do plan on doing another half, so I want to make sure I don't rest too long and end up back at square one, or not long enough and get injured.

What do I do now? I really need a training/recovery plan that is structured - I need that structure to stick with it. I used the Hal Higdon 13-week novice training plan to prepare, however, I have not been able to find a lot of info about a recovery plan after running a half-marathon. I finished in 2:37 - a decent time for me - so I am pretty happy with the whole experience. My only goal was to finish and experience the race. Coach Jenny, I ran my first half at the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon this past weekend.

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