Post-Race Recovery

OPI makes (made?) Muppet-themed colors, including this one, “Warm and Fozzie.” That delights me more than it should.

This week, after running 13.1 miles through hilly San Francisco, I went out and ran at least three miles every day.

Ha! As if! I spent the week parked squarely on my ass. Mostly.

Truthfully, I felt pretty good this week. I scheduled a calf massage for Monday morning; you might call it a pedicure, but I can assure you that the toenails were just a secondary consideration. On Monday night I had a late massage at my local Massage Envy, and proceeded to drag my relaxed body home and directly into bed. This, I can tell you, is the best way to spend your first day post-race.

On Tuesday, I ventured out of the house and walked the kiddo to school, about 1.5 miles roundtrip. I had plans of extending that walk, but honestly, that was plenty. I came home and got friendly with my foam roller and stretched, stretched, stretched. I have to say, there’s nothing more satisfying than a good stretch when your muscles are a little bit sore.

On Wednesday, I went to Pilates. Not only did I get my usual stretch going, but I also got that annoying knot worked out from behind my left shoulder blade.

Do you sense a pattern here? Everything I did this week came complete with a relaxed, “ahhhhhh,” at the end.

According to my wonderful coach, the first week post-race should include absolutely no running. Starting today, I can once again hit the streets (or better yet, a cushy trail) at roughly 25% to 50% of my usual weekly mileage, and only at “easy” pace. Next week I can ramp up a bit more. But it’s not until the fourth week, the week of November 5, that I should even be considering starting a structured training plan again.

Three weeks with no training. Hmmm. I’m trying to figure out whether that will give me a nice, restful break, or if it will just give me plenty of time to lose my groove and stop running entirely for the winter. Most likely the latter, but only time will tell.

How was your week?

Tags: 13.1, foam roller, half marathon, massage, nike women's marathon, nwm, pilates, post-race, recovery, rest, running, san francisco, training

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