Tag Archives: recovery

Had a Bad Day

16 Sep

“I haven’t been feeling well.” “I didn’t drink enough water.” “My dinner last night could’ve been healthier.” “I just couldn’t catch my breath!” “I should’ve went to bed earlier.”

Sometimes, you just have a bad run.

For me, that bad run was yesterday. It HAD to be on the final 20-miler of my marathon training. All of the excuses above ran through my head, along with “I shouldn’t have had that beer”, “I thought I was on better shape”, and “I REALLY hope I don’t feel like this at the marathon.”

I started out the run feeling OK, but not great. I’ve been battling some sort of sinus virus, along with terrible allergies, so I wasn’t expecting the run of my life. However, I was feeling much better that morning and pumped up to tackle the culmination of my training plan! 10 miles into the run, I started to drag behind my pace group and have a hard time breathing. We broke off into a smaller group at one of the turns, and I had to lead the way for 3 fellow runners who couldn’t remember the course. Around mile 13 it starts to get pretty hilly, and I had to stop to catch my breath after every hill. My group stopped with me and encouraged me; finally, around mile 14, they knew where they were going so I headed straight for the finish.

I spent the last 3 miles walking, running, and thinking. What happened to me? How do I mentally overcome this blow? Am I really ready for the Chicago Marathon? Should I push through and do the full 20, or just go in?

Then, my thoughts started to shift:

“My legs are feeling better on this run than the last 20-miler.” “Running 17 miles should never be considered a failure.” “I already got one 20-miler in.” “I am a marathoner!”

That’s when I finally realized: I had a bad day. It happens, and I was smart enough to realize I needed to take it easy. I’m not going to let one run define how I’ll do at the marathon. Sometimes, you just have a bad run.

How do you overcome your ‘bad’ runs?

Tags: ,

My First Marathon: Wisconsin Marathon 2012

14 May 318268_648819334207_51601164_32895865_1576860562_n

That’s right: I DID IT! I completed my first marathon! I finished in 4:17:13, which is faster than my ‘non-goal’ – to finish (in 4:30).

We did it! 26.2, done!

Amanda gave a good rundown of what the race was like; the marathon followed the same out and back loop as the half marathon, then added on another out-and-back loop. I’ll have to agree with Amanda – even though it was a small race with sparse crowd support, it was so nice to be able to pass racing friends. I knew quite a few volunteers, as well. They did a really great job cheering us on!

Thank goodness Sarah Stanley was with me for the race; she wasn’t kidding when she said I’d really need her at the end. I felt great for the first 16 or so; we had a great time chatting, laughing, and high fiving people. The nice thing about having Sarah there was that I just didn’t worry about my time – I let her look at her watch and make sure we weren’t going too fast. My Nike+ tracking was off (clocked in 28 miles rather than 26.2), so I’m not 100% sure on timing, but I probably did the first half in 2 hours or so.

We did a lot of smiling, waving, and high fiving during the first half

Giving my husband, Mike (running photographer extraordinaire) the thumbs up!

Between miles 16-20 was when I started to mentally break down. I just wanted to be done, and knew I still had 8-10 miles left. I started to get some strange shooting pains, and my body started aching. My mile 19 chip time was 2:59:18. I stopped to walk a little at 21 or 22, and then started back up again. I was fine to run through the pain. Mile 23 was when you took the turn to the ‘home stretch’, heading back towards the finish line. Trust me, “only a 5k left” wasn’t much consolation at that point;)

I stopped in that last stretch once – was losing my breath as we headed directly into the wind coming off of Lake Michigan. Yuck! I’m assuming in those last 8 miles I probably ran over 10 minute miles, especially with the walking.

The finish was great – felt a lot of emotions – only felt like crying for a brief moment. I was so happy to be done! You know I gave it my all since I couldn’t even bring myself to have a post-race beer. ;) I could barely walk once I stopped, but after a warm shower and a long nap, I felt pretty decent on that night.

It was harder than I expected, and I’m glad I’m already registered for the Chicago Marathon. No way out; no excuses!

My ‘recovery’ has been quick. The morning after the race, we left for Napa, CA vacation. We did a lot of walking during the trip (and I did a lot of stretching), so that may have helped my recovery, but I was really only sore for 2-3 days after the race, which surprised me. I haven’t run (or worked out for that matter) all week; I am meeting a friend for a light run this week and I’m going to start doing some cross training, but I’m trying to keep the running to the minimum this week as well, then try to start up on some shorter runs next week. I really want to give my body some time to recover and give myself a mental break from training!

Any other post-marathon recovery tips out there?

Tags: , , , , ,

What Do You Do After the Marathon?

23 Apr

I’m back! Sorry for being so non-existent on Run Sisters Run. The truth of the matter is… this sisters wasn’t running.

After my first marathon in March, it took me a while to get the running bug back. And then when I did, all those marathon pains came back like a bad nightmare on my very first (and very painful) 30 minute run.

Coming back from a marathon is different for everyone. My one runner friend is doing two back-to-back half marathons in the next two weeks after running the LA Marathon the same weekend I ran my marathon. Another friend just ran a 3:13 marathon and the following week was lacing up for a handful of 4 and 5 mile runs. Me? I took a solid 2 weeks completely off and have gradually been getting back into running.

My time off and the subsequent struggle to start running again has taught me a few things, though. Here are my tips for how to come back from your first marathon (or any tough race!):

      1. Ease back into it.
        You just ran a marathon. Relish in that for a few days. If you’re like me and took a couple weeks off, don’t just jump into 10 mile runs. Remember that you tapered for a few weeks prior to the marathon so you weren’t putting in as many miles as you were before. Start slow and ease back into it so you don’t get injured or irritate any lingering injuries.
      2. Don’t forget your injuries.
        Those miles put a toll on your body, pure and simple. I had nagging IT issues before the marathon and, although they haven’t bothered me since then, I’m still treating them religiously. I started doing yoga and do hip stretches and foam roll after every run because I remember how bad it hurt at mile 20 and don’t want to experience that again.
      3. Do something with your extra time.
        Wait, what? I don’t have to devote my entire Saturday night/Sunday morning to my long run? Take advantage of the extra time (because, let’s be honest, you’ll probably be training for something else soon anyway) by taking up a new hobby or doing something you’ve missed out on for the past weeks or months. Instead of wallowing in the fact that I wasn’t running, I used my extra weeknight and weekend time to catch up with friends I hadn’t had time (or energy) to see because of my training.
      4. Mix it up.
        Now that you don’t have to focus on hitting your weekly mileage, why not try something new? Take a bootcamp class, start cycling or focus on something that’s taken the back burner during your training. I gave up spinning while I was training, but now I’m back to going twice a week.
      5. Reflect.
        Whether you PR’d or DNF, take the time to reflect on your marathon to assess what went right and what you can improve. I was stumped looking back at my injuries; even when I was running 70 mile weeks in college, I never was injured. What changed? Two things stood out: I stopped running on trails and I stopped doing daily ab workouts. Guess what two things are going to be incorporated into my new training schedule?

 

These are just what I came up with based on my experience. Do you have any to add?

Tags: , , ,

Injured.

28 Jan

With just that one word, I think you can all empathize.

If you’ve ever had to deal with an injury, you know how frustrating it can be. When previously I would have balked at the idea of going for a run during a windy Wisconsin snowstorm, now it seems there is nothing I would rather do more than lace up my shoes and go face that beast…simply because I can’t. How to deal? Here’s how I did, and still am.

Several weeks ago, I was perusing the running forum at runnersworld.com, when I came across someone’s post lamenting a strained hip flexor. Offering my advice on how I personally had to overcome that injury during the summer of 2010 (no running for several weeks, cross-training, strengthening the muscles), I thought about how lucky I have been to not have any lingering issues from that injury.

I’m not superstitious, but I guess I should have knocked on every single wood board in the floor of my house. The next morning, about 2 miles into a 6-mile run, I suddenly noticed my hip flexor starting to feel tight. By the end of the run, it was very tight and hurt slightly. By the end of the day, I was hobbling around from the pain in my hip and scaring my poor boyfriend with tears and wails about how I could not be injured, because didn’t my body know that I was supposed to run a half-marathon with my sisters in less than 2 months?!

Listening to my own advice that I had just given some other poor sap, I only went to my gym for strength-training classes, biking, and elliptical-ing. After three weeks, I went on a slow, easy 2-3 mile run once or twice a week; my hip still felt tight, but at least it didn’t hurt anymore. Finally, last weekend, I decided that my hip seemed better enough to try a long run of 9 miles.

I will spare you the details, but I would say that run was one of the THE worst runs I have ever gone on. Turns out running in a Wisconsin snowstorm is just as fun as you’d think it’d be. By the end of the run, my hip might have still been a little tight, but I had NO pain. This was a win to me, despite it all.

Over the last week, I’ve continued with my strengthening and stretching, but I’m starting to add more running back in: The first run, my hip felt tight but okay. The next run, my hip flexor finally felt normal, but the outside of the hip hurt. I texted my younger sister, Lara: WTF? I think I’m falling apart.

But yesterday, on a blustery 5-mile run, I am happy to say I had no pain ANYwhere. Just goes to prove that sometimes (probably always) rest and taking it slow & easy is the best way to recover.

What do you think? Have you ever had to overcome a nagging injury? What was your recipe for success?

Fingers crossed I’m feeling this good for my next run! Now off to knock on all the wood in my home…

~ Amanda

Tags: , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 31 other followers

%d bloggers like this: