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

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!

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.

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

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.

Another great video and break down thanks Sarah

Super informative and great video thanks Sarah!

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.

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

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 😂

I guess it’ll drop a LOT!! Thanks for such an informative and interesting video once again😄

Thanks for clarifying HRV. Great vid!

Definitely going to check hrv now. Thanks for all the info, Sarah!

I have been tracking my HRV ever TRC educated me about it and it has made quite a positive impact. Nice video! :)

Thanks for another great informative video, I'll definitely be checking out my HRV from now on! I guessed that it would drop a bit post marathon but not that much!

Really interesting and helpful as a relatively new runner, thank you!

Kinda amazing the subtle variation that's being picked up on here and translated into useful information.

Super interesting! I would of guessed it would drop more down into the 60's! cool to see how long it took to recover, always been curios about the data your watch gives you. Great vid!

Great video 😊, very informative!

I am just starting to look at HRV so this was awesome information! Thank you!

Guessing it drops big time! Great vid, learning a lot!