Recon is the stage where we attempt to collect as much information as we can from the host before even trying to exploit anything.
I will easily spend 1-2 hours of enumeration on a medium box.
Take your time with this step, never rush this. Go very slow, read everything, save anything and everything in your notes that might be relevant later.
sudo nmap -v -sS -A -Pn -T5 -p- -oA $TARGET-tcp.txt $TARGET
sudo nmap -v -sU -T5 -oA $TARGET-udp.txt $TARGET