How Long Does It Take To Recover From A Marathon (And How Can You Tell?)

How long does it actually take to recover from a marathon? And how does a marathon affect your heart rate variability? Sarah is running the London Marathon and is tracking her stats before and after race day to find out!

↓↓ Have you ever looked at your heart rate variability? Do you want to start using it to improve your overall well being? Let us know your experience in the comments ↓↓

What’s in this video?
00:00:00 - The Importance of HRV for Recovery and Training
00:00:54 - Heart Rate Variability and the Autonomic Nervous System
00:01:49 - HRV and Marathon Preparation
00:02:48 - Tracking HRV and Stress
00:03:48 - Effects of the Marathon on HRV
00:04:44 - HRV Score after a Marathon
00:05:49 - Listening to Your Body and Avoiding Overtraining
00:06:53 - Recovery Tips after a Marathon
00:07:48 - The Usefulness of HRV in Everyday Life

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[aaronmatthies]

Just a minor correction, but every time you mentioned your HRV score you were talking about the 7 day average, not the overnight average. If you redo your analysis focusing on the overnight readings, everything makes much more sense. For example, your HRV the night after your marathon was 72ms (not 88ms) - big drop from your average of 93ms. Day 2 after your marathon your HRV was 99 ms (not 89ms), so it was a huge improvement compared to the 1ms change from the 7 day average score. Day 3 was 100ms (not 91ms). So don't read too much into the 'unbalanced' or 'balanced' reading because it always lags behind (it's why it took a week to jump back up to balanced). The overnight averages are far more useful for day-to-day changes.
You had a great recovery when looking at HRV that way, so well done!

[Ross]

Stephen scullion, men’s Olympic marathoner has a HRV of around 55ms for those of you feeling bad about have a low HRV

One of the most useful features on my watch: consistently indicates a developing illness, lack of sleep, etc. I use it to make sure that my body is ready for a harder workout.

[jjjjjj]

If your HRV looks off, don't panic but do check it out. I'm in my early 40s and my HRV, at least according to my watch has been at 30 ms for over 2 years, mid 20s when stressed. Googling would suggest I'm deeply troubled. My doctor said not to worry about it. For reference resting heart rate is mid 50s, run just under 3:30 marathon, tend to run at least 20 mpw year round, 50+ in peak training.

[matttan]

So many training programs recommend training for 7 days, but this HRV shows that its more important to listen to your body rather than stick to a plan you're not ready for.

[UTubeSL]

How you can tell you're recovered: you're no longer spending each day eating 6 times the amount of calories you burned doing the marathon 😂

[SummerLangereis]

I’ve been checking my HRV for years! So fascinating that it’s not just effected by physical stress but also by mental stress… My HRV takes a bigger hit from stressful days at a desk job then it does from a hard workout

[dbracer]

Note that the "Balanced" status depends on an internal trend analysis (the grey band on the chart) and that trend adapts based on the recent run of HRV values. If, for some reason, your nightly average HRV has been low for a while, it may show as balanced because the trend has moved to match the lower state.

[spou]

I've used HRV for about 4 years now. 3 years using the Whoop strap. Powerful metric and definitely allows you to understand what works and what doesn't from a training and lifestyle perspective. Main take aways, don't drink alcohol, sleep hygiene is key, avoid exercising at night, avoid eating late, balance training (hard day followed by an easy day), take lots of holidays (HRV shoots up when you don't have to deal with the day to day of parenting, work, commute etc. 😂). HRV is individualised, but hopefully this helps.

[ewantuohy]

I beg you all to check your HRV after a night on the sauce. My usual resting avg HR is around 45, and HRV 100. I've had resting HR of 80 and HRV of 11 after very late (and alcohol induced) nights. That's an extreme but even after just a couple of drinks and good sleep HR & HRV do dip noticeably. Amazing how sensitive the body can be in detecting imbalances.

[PeterForbes]

The numbers you are looking at, are your 7 days average, not the HRV off your last night. You had a high HRV the whole week, but because of your lower HRV before and the day after the marathon. It can be helpfull to focus more on the daily HRV, for instance at 3:46, your HRV was 84, but your 7d Avg was still 93.

[jacksonm.]

I'm not gonna lie. The HRV feature is something I never bother with on my Garmin Forerunner. When I first got my watch, it was just another new feature that I did not know the point of. Your video did a great job explaining it.

[Miss]

I don’t think my watch supports the HRV but I love looking at all data. Sounds like a great way to track how the body is really doing. Congrats again on your marathon! ❤

[PhilHoggart]

I'm obsessed with HRV. It's been great for letting me know if I'm ok to train and has even detected that I'm falling ill a few hours before I've felt it

[MrJordan]

Did not realize HRV could be this useful, thanks for the video!

[TheAChristineS]

I guessed an even larger drop than down to 88, so I'm actually impressed at your recovery rate, Sarah! Great training to be able to come back to a balanced place in just a few days after that kind of intensity.

[jessstanleyartist]

Very interesting I didn’t know there was a HRV on my Garmin watch until today. So I guess I better start getting used to sleeping with my watch on. Thank you!

[brent_f]

Your post recovery trend correlates with my friend’s HRV after her marathon. She also stresses that recovery after a marathon, is different than recovery after a training run and her corresponding routine and HRV reflects that.

Thanks for the post marathon update info.

[williammewis]

Guessing it goes down! Really interesting just signed up for my first marathon next year!

[cormacmccann]

Thanks Sarah, I always look at my HRV but never quite understood it. It's interesting to see that mine went from a c. 51 avg down to a 48 but still balanced after an impromptu 10k and then getting sick after it for a few days. Back up now to 53 so despite a stuffy nose I'll have to get back out running again tomorrow.