Wednesday, June 6, 2012

On National Running day, I rest

I am still recovering.  And I hate it.

Even though it is very tempting to run today especially since it is National Running Day.


The soreness has long since disappeared from my quads and I can walk fine.  I wake up refreshed and energized but when I run, my legs are not happy.

Monday morning was my first run since the marathon.  And I actually felt pretty good.  I woke up at 5am and hit the roads for some easy miles.  Tuesday night I went to my running club but just did easy miles and my legs were achy by the end of the run.

Today I must rest.  I am not enjoying this part of the marathon.  I enjoyed the training very much, I got through the race pretty well, and I just hate the recovery.  I do not like the down time and not bouncing back from a race like I have in the past after a half marathon or 15k.

First week of Recovery:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Easy Spin class
Thursday: Off
Friday: Easy Spin class
Saturday: Spin class + Pilates
Sunday: Off

I thought that taking a full week off from running after the marathon would actually make me feel better. Mentally I feel ready to go but my legs are not exactly following. 

Second week of Recovery:
Monday: Easy Run + yoga
Tuesday: Easy Run
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Easy Run 
Friday: Easy Spin class
Saturday: Easy Run + Pilates
Sunday: Off

I am really hoping that after this week of recovery, I actually start to feel better on my runs.  But of course I really have no idea what to expect since this is my first recovery from a marathon. I feel slightly frustrated because I miss running especially since today is National Running Day.  But I really hope that my body will thank me later if I take today off from running and rest.


So everyone that can, go out and run today and enjoy every step!

7 comments:

Marlene said...

It's tough to be patient, but youtr body will thank you for it. Hang in there and enjoy the down time. Before you know it, your schedule will be jam packed with training again!

Lisa said...

Resting can stink, but is often so, so necessary! I didn't run today either. I feel like a bad runner for it, but I had to rest too. Although for a different reason.

Take it easy, try to enjoy doing some other types of workouts, and you'll be running again soon!

Anonymous said...

Resting is so important though, hang in there! They say it takes as many miles as the race was to recover 100%.

RunToTheFinish said...

Agreed! I started doing less marathons because the recovery made me nutty

Elizabeth said...

This is a great approach to recovery. I find that it takes me nearly 3 weeks to feel back to normal again. A lot of people jump back in 3-4 days post marathon and end up getting injured. Better safe than sorry. Glad you celebrate National Running Day by ensuring you can run injury free! :-)

Jamie said...

I hope your body appreciated the rest! Nothing wrong with not running on National Running Day, you're still an amazing runner!

RunningJunkie said...

I wish that I had all these people to tell me to rest after my first marathon! lol. I felt so great that I went out and ran within the first week. Don't get me wrong, it was an AMAZING run, and I did it a couple more times....but it was followed with a couple weeks of running with lead legs.