You’ve just finished the marathon and you feel a great sense of accomplishment.

But the job’s not done. There are choices to make that could determine how your body recovers from the trauma of running and/or walking 26.2 miles.

Some decisions are easy. That includes hydration. Continuing to drink a lot of water after a marathon (as runners are also advised to do leading up to and during long runs) is one of the basic keys to recovery that is universally agreed upon.

In addition to putting water into your body, putting your body into water is considered a good idea by many doctors and running experts.

Dr. Jerold Chun is one of two people to have finished all 45 Honolulu Marathons. His advice for runners immediately post-race is “keep moving, you don’t want to just stop and park yourself.”

And after a few minutes of that? Chun says take advantage of the finish line being a few feet from Waikiki Beach.

“Jump in the ocean,” he said.

It’s one of the best ways to begin soothing the body.

“Getting in the water (after a marathon) is good because it keeps your legs moving without being weight-bearing,” said Dr. Rachel Coel, medical director of sports medicine at The Queen’s Medical Center.

What about food?

“After a marathon you’ll see a lot of the elite runners eating things like hamburgers, ice cream, just living it up,” said David Monti, publisher of Race Results Weekly. “They’re taking a break after denying themselves for months.”

Why not? It’s time to celebrate.

Also, meals high in protein after a marathon will quicken recovery, according to experts, including University of Houston coach Steve Magness.

Though nutritionists normally advise no eating up to four hours before bedtime, marathon recovery is not a normal situation. Magness and others advocate eating protein right before going to sleep the night after a marathon, because during sleep is when the body repairs muscles the most.

As for working out or completely resting the next day, the consensus among experts is to do some light exercise for up to 20 minutes — unless, of course, you are injured.

“Lying around all day is not a good idea,” Monti said.

Chun agrees that it’s important for recovery to keep moving, but also to exercise restraint.

“Be patient while getting back into running,” he said. “Young guys feel like they can bounce back quickly.”

Stephanie Bruce, who finished third in the 2012 Honolulu Marathon, is here on vacation. It’s a well-earned one, considering last week she ran a personal-best 2:29:21 at the California International Marathon. What makes that even more impressive is Bruce ran 2:30:59 at the New York Marathon — just 28 days prior.

“If you want to enhance recovery, take a long walk, a 20-minute run or a bike ride (the day after a marathon),” Bruce said. “Loosen up the muscles the day after, and pretty much the first three days or so.”

Even in her situation, Bruce took a few days off from serious training before prepping for her second marathon in less than a month — which is not something she’d necessarily advocate for amateurs.

“With running being my job, I have the luxury of getting treatment all the time,” said Bruce, who has weekly massage and chiropractic sessions. “Those are really important as you’re getting closer to the race and after.”

Massages can help quicken recovery for recreational runners, too, because, as Bruce said, they can help “flush out the junk from the race.”

But, especially right after a marathon, if a massage is too intense it can hurt damaged muscle tissue more than help it.

“Massage helps because it moves lactic acid out of the muscles,” Coel said. “You probably don’t want deep massages, especially in areas that may be injured.”

Athletes at all levels are trending toward using heat more often than ice in recovery.

“My therapist is moving away from cold and using more heat,” Bruce said. “If you have tendinitis or muscle pain a heating pad is good. Ice now is more once-in-awhile. Like you’ll see kids in college who run a 1,500 (meter race) and then one or two days later have another intense race. They can jump in the ice and get a quick fix. But for the long-term heat is more friendly.”