Three Weeks Post Marathon
I waited for October for months in excitement of the marathon and now there are only two days left. I am sad to see my favorite month come and go, but it was a successful month. Three weeks post marathon and my runs are getting easier and longer again. I have returned to a schedule of sorts in that I find myself running on the same days as my Hansons plan, but the distance depends on how I feel that day.
Here is what my week looked like:
Monday: Jasyoga - Recovery boost for runners
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: Jasyoga - Comprehensive hip/hamstring reset
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: Runners World Iron Strength workout
Saturday: 5 miles (trail)
Sunday: 6 miles (road/trail mix)
My hamstrings started to feel really tight after running last weekend so I focused on these areas during cross training. On Friday I planned to run, but found myself feeling like I wanted to change things up a bit, so I dug out my Runners World Iron strength workout and completed that. I was doing this every week up until about 3 weeks prior to the marathon but I struggled through some of it having taken time off. My hips and hamstrings were feeling sore afterwards so I took it easy on Saturday's trail run. Today I headed back out to try another route of the single track trail I found last week and had fun exploring. Due to the rain last night the trail was pretty slippery and I had to walk a good portion. The last thing I want is to slip and pull something, so I'm glad I was running for fun and not for time.
Fatigue Level:
I am still sleeping a lot. My unemployment has afforded me the luxury of sleeping in and I have found that I still have some fatigue from the marathon and my vacation. My body feels back to pre-marathon normalcy, but I can tell I still need lots of sleep to continue with recovery.
Mental & Emotional Strength:
Mentally I feel great post-marathon. During a job interview this week, the interviewer spoke about how I might struggle in a new job after working at one place for so long. While I completely agree with this advice, I turned it into something positive and spoke about my enjoyment of challenge and how I am not turned off by things that are hard or different. Running marathons has taught me to embrace whatever comes my way. When something is hard or uncertain, I face it with all that I have and I don't shy away. While emotionally I have my bad days when I feel sad that I don't have a job to go to every day, I make the most of my time and take advantage of an "elite" lifestyle. I can sleep in, cross train, run, nap, etc. like the pros do. I am certain this has helped in my recovery, and I am enjoying it while I can. My dog Autumn sure likes all the extra walks she gets on a daily basis.
Nutrition:
Nutrition is always hard after running a marathon. Your body wants to keep eating everything in sight, but you are no longer burning the calories that you were during training. Some days it is hard to keep things in check, but I have been focusing on satisfying frequent meals each day that are within a caloric range for my activity level. I am also someone who loses weight when I don't train, not because I eat more when I run more, but because I have less swelling and fluid in my legs. Therefore my weight has gone down a little and my legs look less like sausages. I am continuing to focus on foods and drinking tea to help inflammation and little niggles of aches and pains. I am also taking advantage of extra time in the kitchen that I can devote to trying new recipes.
Next week I plan to continue with recovery and will have a new plan to share for base building that will help me use my marathon training to prepare for a new race!
Here is what my week looked like:
Monday: Jasyoga - Recovery boost for runners
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: Jasyoga - Comprehensive hip/hamstring reset
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: Runners World Iron Strength workout
Saturday: 5 miles (trail)
Sunday: 6 miles (road/trail mix)
My hamstrings started to feel really tight after running last weekend so I focused on these areas during cross training. On Friday I planned to run, but found myself feeling like I wanted to change things up a bit, so I dug out my Runners World Iron strength workout and completed that. I was doing this every week up until about 3 weeks prior to the marathon but I struggled through some of it having taken time off. My hips and hamstrings were feeling sore afterwards so I took it easy on Saturday's trail run. Today I headed back out to try another route of the single track trail I found last week and had fun exploring. Due to the rain last night the trail was pretty slippery and I had to walk a good portion. The last thing I want is to slip and pull something, so I'm glad I was running for fun and not for time.
Fatigue Level:
I am still sleeping a lot. My unemployment has afforded me the luxury of sleeping in and I have found that I still have some fatigue from the marathon and my vacation. My body feels back to pre-marathon normalcy, but I can tell I still need lots of sleep to continue with recovery.
Mental & Emotional Strength:
Mentally I feel great post-marathon. During a job interview this week, the interviewer spoke about how I might struggle in a new job after working at one place for so long. While I completely agree with this advice, I turned it into something positive and spoke about my enjoyment of challenge and how I am not turned off by things that are hard or different. Running marathons has taught me to embrace whatever comes my way. When something is hard or uncertain, I face it with all that I have and I don't shy away. While emotionally I have my bad days when I feel sad that I don't have a job to go to every day, I make the most of my time and take advantage of an "elite" lifestyle. I can sleep in, cross train, run, nap, etc. like the pros do. I am certain this has helped in my recovery, and I am enjoying it while I can. My dog Autumn sure likes all the extra walks she gets on a daily basis.
 |
| Autumn is not amused |
Nutrition is always hard after running a marathon. Your body wants to keep eating everything in sight, but you are no longer burning the calories that you were during training. Some days it is hard to keep things in check, but I have been focusing on satisfying frequent meals each day that are within a caloric range for my activity level. I am also someone who loses weight when I don't train, not because I eat more when I run more, but because I have less swelling and fluid in my legs. Therefore my weight has gone down a little and my legs look less like sausages. I am continuing to focus on foods and drinking tea to help inflammation and little niggles of aches and pains. I am also taking advantage of extra time in the kitchen that I can devote to trying new recipes.
Next week I plan to continue with recovery and will have a new plan to share for base building that will help me use my marathon training to prepare for a new race!
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