What happens to a runner after a marathon? Muscle pain is not the only consequence

When running long distances – for example, a 42 km 195 m marathon – the body is put to a serious test. Some systems, such as the cardiovascular system, work at maximum capacity, while others stop working almost completely to save energy.

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The effects of a marathon on a runner’s body need to be understood in context – so let’s go in order.

How the body changes during a marathon

After the start, the level of stress hormones normalizes. At the same time, the cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine systems are overloaded. Thus, the heart pumps about three to four times more blood than at rest. And the blood itself is distributed throughout the body differently – it flows to the muscles and lungs, less of it reaches the stomach, intestines, spleen, liver and even the brain. Although the latter still gets enough to continue to control the workout.

Energy reserves are depleted

Victor: Because the digestive system doesn’t get enough blood and the substances it needs to function properly, many athletes don’t feel hungry during a run and feel serious discomfort when they do eat something at the nutrition station. But doing so is critical. The body expends a huge amount of calories (up to 800 per hour) to work muscles and maintain normal body temperature. At the same time in the human body available for rapid mobilization of the resource is estimated at about 2 thousand calories – so much is stored in the form of glycogen (glucose polymer) in the liver. This is enough to run 25-30 km. Everything else must be obtained from the outside – body fat reserves are too long and costly to convert into energy.

Water and salt balance is disturbed

Due to high physical exertion, the body releases a huge amount of heat. In order to cool down, a person begins to actively sweat. When running long distances, moisture loss can reach up to 6 liters – especially if the day of the race is hot. It is therefore very important to drink constantly. Even mild dehydration significantly reduces the efficiency of running and increases the strain on the heart: the blood thickens and becomes harder to pump.

Salts, especially sodium, potassium and magnesium, are removed from the body with sweat. These salts are responsible for maintaining water-salt balance and are involved in the regulation of muscle contractions – their deficiency leads to cramps and loss of control over movement. That’s why runners drink water enriched with minerals during the distance.

Victor: High loads on the respiratory tract make the nasal mucosa work harder. This causes a condition similar to rhinitis or seasonal allergy to blossoms. During running a person makes several thousand steps (it is easy to count – in general, when running for one step is 1-1.5 meters of distance). This puts a serious shock load on the muscles, joints and ligaments, spine. Partially negative effects can be compensated by properly selected shoes, insoles and other ammunition. But still due to fluid loss and constant compression of the joints begin to hurt, and the growth of the runner by the end of the marathon is reduced by one or two centimeters.

Consequences of the race

Muscle aches

Muscle pain during and after a race is perhaps the most understandable and expected companion of a marathon. It usually peaks on the second day after physical exertion. There are several reasons for the pain.

1. Direct damage to muscle fibers, up to and including micro-tears. This, by the way, eventually leads to the fact that the muscles become more dense and grow in size – the body completes the damaged areas.
2. Lack of salts necessary for normal function.
3. Lactic acid deposits. At first, during vigorous exercise, muscles get energy from oxygen. But over time, oxygen becomes scarce, and then the muscles release energy by splitting a glucose molecule in half. In this case, lactic acid is formed – its breakdown products cause burning.

Weight loss

Due to the huge loss of moisture and glycogen consumption, weight decreases by the end of the race – a runner can easily lose several kilograms. It is important not to try to recover the entire deficit at once – a dramatic increase in body water content will upset the water-salt balance. This can be life-threatening. Eating immediately after running is also a bad idea, it’s better to wait a couple hours and let your body come out of the stress. But, most likely, it will still be unpleasant to look at food for the first time after running because of reduced appetite.

Victor: Running causes blood to drain from the kidneys, and the organ is stressed due to the loss of moisture and its constant replenishment. All of this combined can lead to a disruption of the urinary system – up to a week. This is another reason why you should not abruptly replenish the body’s water deficit.

Deteriorates mood

An overabundance of stress hormones, endorphins and dopamine, can lead to sleep disturbances – usually everything comes back to normal after a couple of days. Also, due to decreased levels of “happy hormones” after a marathon, an athlete can sometimes experience a decline in mood.

Heart function is disturbed

Victor: Since the heart is also a muscle, the organ needs full recovery after such a high load. This process takes a week or more. In this case, there may be deviations from the normal pulse rate, even at rest. Finally, due to the high rate of work of the body after a marathon for a long period of time, the immune system is weakened.

How to recover properly

It is necessary to start recovery immediately after crossing the finish line. At this point, in no case should not stop – it is better to first slow down, and after a couple of minutes to take a step.

Then, within a few hours, the runner needs to restore the water content in the body. Optimally – 500 ml of liquid per hour; if you drink more actively, the water-salt balance will be disturbed. The most correct way is not to drink water, but isotonic (water solution with calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium salts).

If there is hunger, you can try to eat some special mix for recovery – they are sold in sports stores. In any case, a couple hours after the finish, it is important to eat at least a protein bar and some light carbohydrate food.

The next day, the diet should include a maximum of protein food, as well as vitamins and iron. If before the marathon the athlete followed a diet, it is possible to leave it for a couple of days – it is important to let the body fill the deficit of useful substances.

In addition, a couple of days after the race will be pain in the muscles. To get rid of it faster, you can walk, get a massage or swim. No exertion – only light physical activity.

Full-fledged training can begin 5-7 days after the marathon. Still, it is better to exercise in a gentle mode for the first time – the heart may not yet be ready for serious tests.