Category Archives: recovery

Rest and Recovery

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Thank you all for your congratulations on my big marathon PR! It was exciting to cross another marathon finish line, and I know I will do it again someday in the future.

The past week has been filled with rest and recovery. We spent the week in the Outer Banks after the race. I wanted to share a little and show you some photos of the beauty of the ocean and the shore.

Monday, we checked out some of the sights like the largest sand dune at Jockey Ridge State Park while hobbling around on sore legs. We also played some mini golf, and made bets to run into the ocean. In the end we almost all went in — even those who won the bets!

The middle of the week was quiet lounging around the house due to some cold and windy weather. But the end of the week and over the weekend, we went on some long walks, went fishing, lounged on the beach, played some card games, and ate a lot.

It was so nice to have vacation time after race day!

4 weeks to go!

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I am down to less than 4 weeks before the OBX marathon, and I am getting pretty excited! This week I unfortunately didn’t get in as much running as I wanted, but I did fit in some cross training instead. Early in the week my ankle was sore following the Rock n Roll San Jose half marathon. Then later in the week I had a few busy days at work so a run didn’t work out.

Here’s how the week went down:

Monday: rest.
I needed a day off following last Sunday’s race.

Tuesday: 35 minute sweat-soaking spin
We bought a spin bike to allow us some more time in the saddle over the winter time without having to go to the gym — plus it will be good for run cross training. So since my ankle was feeling sore, I did some time on the spin bike instead. It felt great and I watched some Chopped on the Food Network as I went along.

Wednesday: walk + stretch
Instead of our usual leg routine, Ryan and I decided to go for a walk. It is nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful evening weather on a sunny fall day sometimes.

Thursday: AM spin
I had a busy day at work, and I knew I wasn’t going to be home until almost 9pm — nixing my usual afternoon run plans. So instead of a rest day, I opted to utilize the new spin bike again for a quick 30 minute hard spin. I closed myself up in our office and really worked up a sweat while listening to some podcasts.

Friday: rest
On Friday I found out that I had qualified (from my August Olympic distance triathlon) for the 2014 USA Age Group National Championships. I don’t think that I will go this year , but I hope that I can qualify and attend again in the future.

Saturday: 20 mile run!!
I was sooooo nervous before this run. I really wasn’t sure how my ankle would feel since my last 20 mile attempt I cut short at 16 miles. I decided to just take it slow and steady. My most recent long runs had been at a little faster pace (by about 10-15 seconds per mile), but I decided it would feel much more confident about the marathon if I could finish this run at a little slower pace than not complete it.

In the end, it worked out great. My legs were definitely tired after, and I’ve been working on recovery / foam rolling / stretching a little extra.

Later in the day, I went to early packet pickup in Sacramento for the Nike Women’s half marathon next weekend! Even though there was still an hour long line, it seemed to move along pretty quickly, and was a gorgeous day! I’m excited to run next weekend, and see a few girls from HTC (Kara + Leslie!)

Sunday: walk + rest
After a busy Saturday, we took the day easy. We went to the movies and did our usual Sunday grocery trip. We went for a brisk walk in the afternoon and fit in a little bit of stretching.

Do you go to the grocery store once a week? Or more often? We try to get everything on our Sunday trips, but sometimes we have to go buy some veggies on Friday if we are eating at home since they are usually all gone by then.
Anyone else running NWM next weekend in SF?

Recovery run

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I did it. I did convince myself to go out on a run last night — the motivation yesterday helped. So did the fact that Ryan and Matt were going out too. Even though I didn’t run with them, just knowing they were going out running helped me get out the door. I made it just over 4 miles, but it was a struggle. My legs were still feeling pretty tight and tired from Sunday’s race.

After running yesterday I tried to do a little extra stretching to help the recovery process.  This week I’m letting myself get a little extra rest too, by trying to get to bed a little earlier if possible. I also took off from working out on Monday and Tuesday.

This weekend I’m going to get back into my long-run schedule with an 18-19 miler on Saturday. Hopefully my legs are feeling more recovered by then. Tonight’s yoga session should help though too. Next week I will try for about 21 miles. I think I should be able to get in three more longer runs in before the marathon — only seven weeks away!

Next week I’m headed to a conference in Dallas, TX. I’m hoping I can get in a few runs on the hotel treadmill or around downtown during the week. I’m returning late Friday night, so hopefully I can drag myself out of bed

from visitdallas.com

Anyone been to Dallas before? Have any good restaurant suggestions? I’ve never been there, so I’m looking forward to exploring a new area.

How long does it take you to recover after a hard race? Usually I feel pretty good after a couple days, but I think the San Francisco hills made my legs a bit more tired than usual.

Running races back to back weekends

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This Sunday I’ll be running my second half marathon in seven days (Urban Cow Half last weekend, and NWM Half this weekend). Racing on back-to-back weekends can be difficult on the body with the increased speed and intensity of the race environment.

In a previous post (here), I mentioned that I wanted to take the NWM Half easier and just enjoy the experience. Sometimes if you are planning to run two races back to back, it can help to plan to race harder at one over the other.

This article also sites a few other ideas of ways to be well rested and ready for a second race, including:
-massage (to flush out lactic acid, and aid recovery)
-keeping mid-week runs easy, shorter and more aerobi
-engage in other cross training (bicycling, walking, eliptical)
-listen to the body in the week between races to be sure you are adequately prepared for the second race (be flexible with your plans)
-continue to eat well (with familiar foods) and get lots of rest
-be sure to be adequately trained to run two consecutive race weekends (be mentally prepared)

Since I ran so well last weekend, I am considering really racing the Nike Women’s race as well, but my key will still be to have FUN! I think my legs feel pretty fully recovered, but I will see how things go during my last easy run tomorrow morning. I’m working on staying hydrated, stretching, and keeping my runs easy. Hopefully I’ll be ready to go Sunday morning!