How long should I take off from running after running a half marathon?

Question

I just ran a 5K this last Saturday and a half marathon the day after. I set PR's for both. Now, I'm exhausted! I just want to sleep all day and my body aches....how long should I wait until I start running again? How long do you take off after a half marathon?

Answer 1

I can't imagine racing a 5k on Saturday and then racing a half marathon the next.  

How long it takes to recover depends on how hard you ran.  If you just completed the half marathon or ran the half marathon, you may be recovered after 1 day off.  If you raced the half marathon (which appears to be the case) then it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to recovery.

Now recovery doesn't mean that you don't run.  You may take 2 days off completely then do an easy 20 to 30 minute jog followed by a day off and another 20 to 30 minute easy run.  Continue like this until your body feels normal. Alternately, you can also do some cross training in place of the running or you may just want to do some walking.   In general, it's better to run too little at the point then too much.  Due to the stress of the race, you are at high risk of getting injured so keep it easy.