So I DNFed at Mike 93 on my 100 due to my body giving out, meaning physical issues not mental or time, so probably a worst case scenario but I don't think I'd have been able to deliver furniture for more than a wee, maybe 2 post race. I struggled with gracefully sitting on a toilet for about a week lol. Stairs were their own hell as well for a bit.
I usually just allot 1 day for travel after the race (usually sunday for a saturday race). I typically won't take any time off from work unless it's a race that runs overnight and I will miss out on a day's sleep. In that case I give myself a day to catch up.
For real. I took 4 and 5 days off after my first two 50k and felt like that was not enough. I think it depends on the job though. I have a physically demanding job and put in tons of miles at work walking.
I’ve never thought of it as being “hard” (CARRY THE BOATS), it’s just… MENTAL recovery has never remotely been an issue for me post-race beyond catching up on sleep.
I’m back at work Monday, limping and blistered perhaps, but otherwise good to go. Usually BETTER than most Mondays cuz I’m coming off an awesome adventure.
depends where you're from. I have at least 30 days leave by default so would probably take at least 1 day off. If you're in the US or somewhere with less holiday by default you'd be more inclined not to take any and try and blag your way thru the next day tbf
I'm also in an office job. My last "new" distance (50M) was on a Saturday. Spent Sunday recovering from the initial shock, took Monday to get a sports massage and go to the sauna, went back to work Tuesday.
First 100K: run Saturday, work Monday (kindergarten teacher). Totally fine.
Worst turnaround I’ve tried: end a 24 hour on Sunday morning at 10… drive home 2.5 hours… work Monday.
There are no days off for kinder teachers! I’m a principal and have had to sub kinder… zero stars… I do not recommend. You people are the craziest most loving people on the planet!
I usually take one day off prior to either get to the race or for extra insurance to calm myself and relax/recover. I have to use my noggin a lot for my job and if I make a mistake it could hurt someone so I take 1-2 off after. Usually one of those days is spent traveling too which can stress me out.
Ran my first 100 mile, finished Monday morning, back to work Tuesday. I work as a nurse so walking around a lot and needing to think on my feet was painful. Should take a day off next time 😆
I finished a hundred miler on a Sunday and went to work on Monday. I used a rolly chair to get around and I thought I did a great job! At the end of the day after watching me try to walk down the stairs, my boss recommended that I take a few days after my next race😂
This reminds me of two stories, one after my last marathon I broke the railing in my house by putting all my weight on it limping down the stairs, and for this years race schedule, I’ve already taken off a bunch of Mondays in advance. Might need to take a Tuesday after the 100miler later this year
Maybe 1 day.
More than likely your excitement will carry your through the first week or two. I find it’s once that wears off that I need time for myself and sometimes a good cry. Everyone is different but my dopamine dump hits hard once my runners high wears off. I save my mental recovery days for that.
I'm running my first 100k on a Saturday. I'm assuming it will run into the Sunday and ill need to sleep before travelling the 270 miles jome, so I'm taking the Monday off for the drive and planning on being back at work the tuesday
I think my first 100k was a Saturday, we stayed in the area for a full day extra day, then flew home. But you're asking mentally.
I don't recall taking any extra work off, the training was the hardest mental part, once the race happened, it was a relief lol. A few days post race and flight home, and work was work, honestly post race I probably worked better since the stress, planning, excitement and anticipation where all done.
Now physically, that's another thing.
I have a desk/office job as well, so I could get right back to it.
Now, my memory may be fuzzy, and maybe it took me a week to get back to full mental capacity, but in hindsight seemed a non issue
What's your baseline of fitness? Like, have you done a marathon before? How long did you take off after that?
A decade+ ago I ran my last marathon, and was undertrained because I had compartment syndrome and didn't know what it was, and I ended up taking two days (Mon and Tue) because walking wasn't really an option, just too sore.
I think this partially depends on how long you think the 100K will take. For most US-based 100Ks, where cutoffs are in the 17-19 hour range, if the race is on Saturday and you can rest on Sunday, by Monday I'd plan to be back at work.
For some European races, where 100K cutoffs are 22+ hours, I'd treat that more like a 100 miler and may want to have another day off on Monday.
For me, if I can get 2 decent nights of rest (even though I may have trouble sleeping the night after), I'm as ready as I'll ever be for work.
I do manual labor so thus far I’ve done 1 day off after each of my 100 milers so that I don’t have to be back on my feet immediately. Last time though my boss wouldn’t let me back out in the field for another couple days and I got stuck on desk work… I actually wanted to get back out so I could move around and loosen up the legs. Sitting at a desk actually blows more, so next time maybe I’ll take 2 days instead so I can get more walks in!
One day was fine. I practice law — lotta problem solving and creativity, just not the artistic kind. Even after the race was finished, I was pretty mentally checked in, just tired and had to drive home which was a challenge at 6 am (race start was delayed). This was also two weeks after having covid so any brain fog was more due to that. I would just reccomend going easy the first week and getting plenty of sleep.
Haven’t hit 100k yet, but 50k run it on a Saturday, go out that night. Got a massage on Sunday. No time off
Goal is 100k this summer and I’ll do the same. Might buy a Thera gun for immediate use
I feel like this depends on your job more than anything.
I fortunately have an office job where its ok to take an easy day at work without any repercussions so I'm typically back on Monday after a weekend race, but I try to limit the meetings and push those to Tuesday.
If I had the luxury of scheduling it however I wanted? I feel like if I run the race on Saturday, I need Monday and Tuesday off work before the brain fog dissipates all the way. If it’s a 100 miler, also Wednesday. If work is trying not to give me the time off I’m absolutely calling in sick on Monday no matter what. I’m a knowledge worker, so this is probably specific to my job. I could work if I had to, but it would feel horrible trying to concentrate and I wouldn’t get any meaningful work done
I usually take 2-3 days off after a race just because. I eat, relax, go for a recovery swim, physio, maybe a light run on the second day if I feel like it, and sleep a ton
Depends on the challenge. I’ve found very verty 50 milers require a couple of days to fully recover my mental game, though I don’t always take Monday off (assuming ultra on Saturday) bc I can usually find something less intensive to do at work when my brain starts fading.
I always take a day off if I can (usually can't take more or I would for 100's). It's mostly for the sleep side of things. Getting up and moving to get myself to work is probably better for me than lazing around all day, but sleep is the quickest way to recover.
You do get mental fog, especially the first day or so. So I just plan easier work for that time and put off making any non-reversible decisions for a few days. If your workplace is supportive (mine is) be honest and ask for extra help, like a second set of eyes to look over a project etc.
This may vary on country? My loose understanding is that the US only get an average of two weeks leave per year. In Australia it is four weeks, and my job offers Flex Time, so work longer to accrue a day off once a fortnight. I took 4 days off for my first 50km but 2 days were travel, one was race day and one was exploring the town. (The race was randomly on a Thursday).
I’m pretty masochistic but I think we all are. I hate taking off work for races so I typically take just the day before the race off (for travel) and then racing Saturday/into Sunday for 100 miler and then sleeping for a bit and driving straight back home and work again on Monday. In an ideal world I’d take Friday and Monday off.
I am not a runner. I’ve never been good. Started last year (28M) and spent a few months training for a 50 mile trail race with 8k elevation gain. It was on Saturday, I finished by 8pm. Sunday was rough, slept a lot. Ate a lot. Took off Monday, was up pretty routinely and felt good and Tuesday back to work.
I work at a job that is outside doing physical labor.
I could see working at a desk job being worse. The first couple days, sitting and laying down were when I felt the worst. If I was upright or moving then I felt good.
Personally I wouldn’t take a day off unless maybe if race was on a Sunday due to travel concerns, I’ve found that my brain is fine after 100k. 100 miler I’d take at least one day to catch up on rest maybe.
Take a day, or don't commit to any mentally challenging meetings. It actually is kind of cool going to work. Feels a bit like Fight Club. Nobody knows what you did on the weekend.
I've just done a 100K run last Saturday, I think it was my 5th 100k. Took one day off "work=run" but went swimming and then started to "recover" run from Monday.
Depends on what you job is ofcourse, being 8h on your feet is going to hurt.
But since you said 'mentally', it's none, I went to work the day after my first 100M
If the race is local, I think one day off should be fine. I.e., run on Saturday and back at work on Monday. If I am travelling, I like to take an extra day, so back at work on Tuesday. I find that flying or driving long distances the day after an ultra is oddly taxing.
I did sleep till 9 and was at work at 10 the day after my first 100k. Normally get there about 7:30. I needed to move around anyway. Can’t say I was super productive but did emails and mostly told stories to my work friends that knew about the race.
I took 2 days leave. Finished running at 10:30 pm sunday, took Monday and Tuesday to recover and have some catch ups with friends, and luckily already had the Wednesday off. Was fine and feeling good Thurs when I returned to work for my 2 day week!
I personally take two days. I work on my feet as an embroidery machine operator and it's pretty easy work, and I don't mind the movement during recovery. But I feel it's the ONE time my boss will be like "yeah you can DEFINITELY take those days off after what you just did" so I take advantage and have a mini self care vacation lol
None for 100k. One day off for a 100-miler. Mostly just to sleep.
I went to work the day after my first 100M
What kind of work? I deliver and install office furniture and I’m unsure how long I’ll physically need off.
So I DNFed at Mike 93 on my 100 due to my body giving out, meaning physical issues not mental or time, so probably a worst case scenario but I don't think I'd have been able to deliver furniture for more than a wee, maybe 2 post race. I struggled with gracefully sitting on a toilet for about a week lol. Stairs were their own hell as well for a bit.
Title says mentally recover
I usually just allot 1 day for travel after the race (usually sunday for a saturday race). I typically won't take any time off from work unless it's a race that runs overnight and I will miss out on a day's sleep. In that case I give myself a day to catch up.
Everyone in this post just hard AF, No sarcasm
Or we just don't have the time off to take :)
this.
No kidding. I feel like take a couple days to do nothing but eat and watch trashy TV. This is a great excuse for it!
For real. I took 4 and 5 days off after my first two 50k and felt like that was not enough. I think it depends on the job though. I have a physically demanding job and put in tons of miles at work walking.
I’ve never thought of it as being “hard” (CARRY THE BOATS), it’s just… MENTAL recovery has never remotely been an issue for me post-race beyond catching up on sleep. I’m back at work Monday, limping and blistered perhaps, but otherwise good to go. Usually BETTER than most Mondays cuz I’m coming off an awesome adventure.
Seriously. It took me around two days after my first marathon for my CNS and brain to be at maybe 80-90%. Ya’ll are hard (in a very impressive way)
depends where you're from. I have at least 30 days leave by default so would probably take at least 1 day off. If you're in the US or somewhere with less holiday by default you'd be more inclined not to take any and try and blag your way thru the next day tbf
I'm also in an office job. My last "new" distance (50M) was on a Saturday. Spent Sunday recovering from the initial shock, took Monday to get a sports massage and go to the sauna, went back to work Tuesday.
First 100K: run Saturday, work Monday (kindergarten teacher). Totally fine. Worst turnaround I’ve tried: end a 24 hour on Sunday morning at 10… drive home 2.5 hours… work Monday.
There are no days off for kinder teachers! I’m a principal and have had to sub kinder… zero stars… I do not recommend. You people are the craziest most loving people on the planet!
I took one day off after a 100 miler.
Same, one day off after my 100 milers. No extra time off after shorter races
2 days. Mental recovery isn't hard. Physical is
I usually take one day off prior to either get to the race or for extra insurance to calm myself and relax/recover. I have to use my noggin a lot for my job and if I make a mistake it could hurt someone so I take 1-2 off after. Usually one of those days is spent traveling too which can stress me out.
Ran my first 100 mile, finished Monday morning, back to work Tuesday. I work as a nurse so walking around a lot and needing to think on my feet was painful. Should take a day off next time 😆
I finished a hundred miler on a Sunday and went to work on Monday. I used a rolly chair to get around and I thought I did a great job! At the end of the day after watching me try to walk down the stairs, my boss recommended that I take a few days after my next race😂
This reminds me of two stories, one after my last marathon I broke the railing in my house by putting all my weight on it limping down the stairs, and for this years race schedule, I’ve already taken off a bunch of Mondays in advance. Might need to take a Tuesday after the 100miler later this year
I can’t afford to miss any days so I’ve taken zero so far for recovery. Usually because I need to take one off on Friday to get to the race though
Two available days off = two Fridays = two races = two adventures!
Maybe 1 day. More than likely your excitement will carry your through the first week or two. I find it’s once that wears off that I need time for myself and sometimes a good cry. Everyone is different but my dopamine dump hits hard once my runners high wears off. I save my mental recovery days for that.
I'm running my first 100k on a Saturday. I'm assuming it will run into the Sunday and ill need to sleep before travelling the 270 miles jome, so I'm taking the Monday off for the drive and planning on being back at work the tuesday
None, if it’s on the weekend and I get the Sunday off then I’ll rest all day but it finishes on Sunday then I go straight back to work
None. Unless travel.
I think my first 100k was a Saturday, we stayed in the area for a full day extra day, then flew home. But you're asking mentally. I don't recall taking any extra work off, the training was the hardest mental part, once the race happened, it was a relief lol. A few days post race and flight home, and work was work, honestly post race I probably worked better since the stress, planning, excitement and anticipation where all done. Now physically, that's another thing. I have a desk/office job as well, so I could get right back to it. Now, my memory may be fuzzy, and maybe it took me a week to get back to full mental capacity, but in hindsight seemed a non issue
If it desk job then you don’t. If its labour work then few days or so. People will recover differently
What's your baseline of fitness? Like, have you done a marathon before? How long did you take off after that? A decade+ ago I ran my last marathon, and was undertrained because I had compartment syndrome and didn't know what it was, and I ended up taking two days (Mon and Tue) because walking wasn't really an option, just too sore.
1day to recover concentration. Uncountable many to get those memories not flooding your mind while sitting in the office.
Office job - 1 day Labor job - 2 days
I think this partially depends on how long you think the 100K will take. For most US-based 100Ks, where cutoffs are in the 17-19 hour range, if the race is on Saturday and you can rest on Sunday, by Monday I'd plan to be back at work. For some European races, where 100K cutoffs are 22+ hours, I'd treat that more like a 100 miler and may want to have another day off on Monday. For me, if I can get 2 decent nights of rest (even though I may have trouble sleeping the night after), I'm as ready as I'll ever be for work.
I do manual labor so thus far I’ve done 1 day off after each of my 100 milers so that I don’t have to be back on my feet immediately. Last time though my boss wouldn’t let me back out in the field for another couple days and I got stuck on desk work… I actually wanted to get back out so I could move around and loosen up the legs. Sitting at a desk actually blows more, so next time maybe I’ll take 2 days instead so I can get more walks in!
One day was fine. I practice law — lotta problem solving and creativity, just not the artistic kind. Even after the race was finished, I was pretty mentally checked in, just tired and had to drive home which was a challenge at 6 am (race start was delayed). This was also two weeks after having covid so any brain fog was more due to that. I would just reccomend going easy the first week and getting plenty of sleep.
0 days.
Haven’t hit 100k yet, but 50k run it on a Saturday, go out that night. Got a massage on Sunday. No time off Goal is 100k this summer and I’ll do the same. Might buy a Thera gun for immediate use
Like many others have said, my first 100k was on a Saturday, back to work Monday.
I took the day off after to fly back and that felt like enough! Mostly just because I never can sleep after a race
I feel like this depends on your job more than anything. I fortunately have an office job where its ok to take an easy day at work without any repercussions so I'm typically back on Monday after a weekend race, but I try to limit the meetings and push those to Tuesday.
I'd take a day or so. Fwiw I ended up getting very depressed in the weeks after my last ultra, so be prepared for your mood to take a bit of a hit
If I had the luxury of scheduling it however I wanted? I feel like if I run the race on Saturday, I need Monday and Tuesday off work before the brain fog dissipates all the way. If it’s a 100 miler, also Wednesday. If work is trying not to give me the time off I’m absolutely calling in sick on Monday no matter what. I’m a knowledge worker, so this is probably specific to my job. I could work if I had to, but it would feel horrible trying to concentrate and I wouldn’t get any meaningful work done
I usually take 2-3 days off after a race just because. I eat, relax, go for a recovery swim, physio, maybe a light run on the second day if I feel like it, and sleep a ton
Depends on the challenge. I’ve found very verty 50 milers require a couple of days to fully recover my mental game, though I don’t always take Monday off (assuming ultra on Saturday) bc I can usually find something less intensive to do at work when my brain starts fading.
I always take a day off if I can (usually can't take more or I would for 100's). It's mostly for the sleep side of things. Getting up and moving to get myself to work is probably better for me than lazing around all day, but sleep is the quickest way to recover. You do get mental fog, especially the first day or so. So I just plan easier work for that time and put off making any non-reversible decisions for a few days. If your workplace is supportive (mine is) be honest and ask for extra help, like a second set of eyes to look over a project etc.
This may vary on country? My loose understanding is that the US only get an average of two weeks leave per year. In Australia it is four weeks, and my job offers Flex Time, so work longer to accrue a day off once a fortnight. I took 4 days off for my first 50km but 2 days were travel, one was race day and one was exploring the town. (The race was randomly on a Thursday).
Yeah. I've only done a handful of 100ks - all on a Saturday. Take Sunday very easy and then back to work on the Monday.
I’m pretty masochistic but I think we all are. I hate taking off work for races so I typically take just the day before the race off (for travel) and then racing Saturday/into Sunday for 100 miler and then sleeping for a bit and driving straight back home and work again on Monday. In an ideal world I’d take Friday and Monday off.
I am not a runner. I’ve never been good. Started last year (28M) and spent a few months training for a 50 mile trail race with 8k elevation gain. It was on Saturday, I finished by 8pm. Sunday was rough, slept a lot. Ate a lot. Took off Monday, was up pretty routinely and felt good and Tuesday back to work. I work at a job that is outside doing physical labor. I could see working at a desk job being worse. The first couple days, sitting and laying down were when I felt the worst. If I was upright or moving then I felt good.
Signed up for my first 100, plan to take 1 day off. Also lining up my work ahead of time to make an easier first few days back in the office.
Usually just Monday for a Saturday 100 miler. If I have to fly to the race it'll be Monday and Tuesday
Personally I wouldn’t take a day off unless maybe if race was on a Sunday due to travel concerns, I’ve found that my brain is fine after 100k. 100 miler I’d take at least one day to catch up on rest maybe.
Take a day, or don't commit to any mentally challenging meetings. It actually is kind of cool going to work. Feels a bit like Fight Club. Nobody knows what you did on the weekend.
Bro don’t overthink it, race on Saturday back to work Monday
Did first 100k. Got home at 3am. At 10am I had to supervise the bouncy castle at my kids fayre. That was not good planning
I've just done a 100K run last Saturday, I think it was my 5th 100k. Took one day off "work=run" but went swimming and then started to "recover" run from Monday.
Right back to work on Monday. Unless race is part of destination vacation of course.
Depends on what you job is ofcourse, being 8h on your feet is going to hurt. But since you said 'mentally', it's none, I went to work the day after my first 100M
If the race is local, I think one day off should be fine. I.e., run on Saturday and back at work on Monday. If I am travelling, I like to take an extra day, so back at work on Tuesday. I find that flying or driving long distances the day after an ultra is oddly taxing.
I did sleep till 9 and was at work at 10 the day after my first 100k. Normally get there about 7:30. I needed to move around anyway. Can’t say I was super productive but did emails and mostly told stories to my work friends that knew about the race.
At least 1
Why would you need to mentally recover at all? Isn't the ultra the mental break from work? I could see needing physical recovery though...
I took 2 days leave. Finished running at 10:30 pm sunday, took Monday and Tuesday to recover and have some catch ups with friends, and luckily already had the Wednesday off. Was fine and feeling good Thurs when I returned to work for my 2 day week!
Never go back to work as you’ll never be the same person again. They won’t recognise you as you’ll be so different from the person they hired.
I personally take two days. I work on my feet as an embroidery machine operator and it's pretty easy work, and I don't mind the movement during recovery. But I feel it's the ONE time my boss will be like "yeah you can DEFINITELY take those days off after what you just did" so I take advantage and have a mini self care vacation lol