This is the second week of my recovery following the Chicago Marathon, and it started off great.
I’m always a little hesitant about the weeks after a race. I still remember my first marathon, when I had trouble walking down steps. Standing up from a chair was a struggle.
I saw a post on reddit from a first time finisher who was questioning if his experience was normal. It is, and it motivated me to write a post yesterday about how you typically feel after finishing a marathon.
That first year, it took me four to five weeks to really feel like my normal running self again. But recently, I’ve recovered much more quickly. And this year is no different.
Sticking with my usual recovery approach, I started with 30-45 minutes last week. This week, I upped the distance to 4-6 miles each day. I also started the week with an eight mile “long run.” Just enough to push the limits a little and see how things feel.
The good news is, it all felt pretty good.
The Plan for the Week
Again, the general plan for this week was a longer run on Sunday, followed by 4-6 miles per day for the rest of the week. I typically prefer trails for these recovery weeks, but I was out of town at a conference for a few days. So I ran on the boardwalk those days, instead.
- Sunday: 8 miles trail
- Monday: 4 miles easy, trail
- Tuesday: 6 miles easy
- Wednesday: 6 miles easy, strides
- Thursday: 6 miles easy
- Friday: 4 miles easy, trail
- Saturday: 6 miles easy, trail, strides
And here’s how things went.
Sunday’s Not So Long Run
Sundays are usually for long runs. But I always wait a couple of weeks post-race before I go truly long again.
So today, I just stretched out the distance a little bit. I’ve done 3-4 miles a day since Chicago. Today is time for a longer 8 mile run.
The nice thing about a shorter long run is that it won’t take all day. So I had a relaxing morning, and I hit the trails a little after 9:00. Took the first mile a little slow, and then I eased into things.
By the turnaround point, I was feeling really good. I didn’t feel any pain, discomfort, or abnormal fatigue. Good sign.
On the way back to the start, I felt like I was flying. My stride was opening up, and everything felt fluid. I finished up the eight miles feeling pretty good. Looked down at my watch and saw 1:17:33. Nice.
Not overly fast. But this is actually faster than some of the recovery runs I did in the last couple of weeks leading up to Chicago. Once I got warmed up, the last few miles were all around 9:20/mi.
Definitely a sign that my recovery is on the right track.
A Quick Monday On the Trails
Not wanting to overdo things, I followed up the longer run on Sunday with a short four miles on the trails Monday morning.
It’s really starting to feel like fall now. The leaves have changed, and they’re starting to cover the forest floor. It’s not completely blanketed, but it looks different from a week or two ago.
The four miles went by in a blink of an eye. Everything felt good. Finished up in 39:38. Notably, the warm up mile took less than 11:00, so I’m getting up to speed a little quicker.
After my run, I did some work from home. And then I hit the road for Atlantic City. I’ll be down there through Thursday for the New Jersey School Boards Association Workshop. And time in AC means running on the boardwalk.
Tuesday’s Early Morning Boardwalk Run
I’m staying at Bally’s for the conference, which is great because it’s right on the boardwalk. I often have to stay up at Harrah’s for conferences, and that means it takes me about two miles to make my way through the city just to get to the boardwalk.
I woke up around 6AM, had my coffee, and walked through the casino floor to get to the boardwalk. There’s always something a little weird about walking through a casino at 6 or 7 in the morning. It’s almost empty – but there’s always someone, somewhere, gambling.
Outside, the weather was brisk but nice. The sun was just coming up. I took a right and headed off in the direction of Ventnor. I saw a “Race In Progress” sign on the side of the boardwalk. It’s probably left over from the weekend. It just occurred to me that the Atlantic City Marathon was just this past Sunday.
I Passed Caesar’s, then the Trop. I’m down here three or four times a year for various conferences, so these are familiar landmarks on my runs. Just after I passed the Ventnor Fishing Pier, I hit the three mile mark and I turned around. The boardwalk is fairly quiet, but it’s not completely dead.
I resisted the urge to look at my watch, other than to glance at the distance every now and again. When I hit the six mile mark, I stopped the activity and looked down. 53:42.
Not bad. Frankly, I thought I would have gone a little faster. But when I looked at the data in Garmin Connect, it looks like I took a while to warm up. The first mile was extra slow (9:43). From there, things picked up. The last two miles were 8:34 and 8:25, which are pretty typical of an easy run.
Wednesday – Time To Add In Some Speed
The plan for Wednesday was pretty much the same. Six miles on the boardwalk, out to the Ventnor Fishing Pier and back. The only difference was that I planned on adding a few strides towards the end.
Things started off well enough. The sun had just come up, and it was peaking through a blanket of clouds. The sun was behind me for the first half of the run, but then I turned around. The reddish tinge of the sunrise and the rays of sunshine piercing the clouds was a beautiful sight. Wish I brought my camera.
In the last mile, I opened things up a little bit and ended with some strides. Nothing crazy fast – just a chance to pick up my legs a little bit. I didn’t look at my watch, but I’m sure I wasn’t going all that fast.
My legs still felt a little stiff, and I could tell I wasn’t quite back to normal. My easy pace felt fine – but pushing the effort was tough. So I finished up the third length of strides and jogged in the rest of the run.
52:35. Faster than yesterday. More progress.
Thursday’s Hungover Run
I managed to get to sleep early most of the conference, but we partied a bit on Wednesday. Thankfully, I got to bed by 10:30. But I’d had plenty to drink, so I woke up a little after 5:00 … and I was a little hung over. Not terribly, but I definitely felt a little off.
Drank some water and some coffee, and then I stumbled out for my run. There’s nothing quite like a run to work through a hangover. Sweat it out, right?
Since I’d gotten up a little earlier, I made it outside before the sun was up. It was right on the verge of dawn when I got started, and things got progressively brighter as I went. It was cloudy, and it spritzed a little bit. But it didn’t really rain.
On the way back, a local looked at me quizzically and asked if I was cold. I actually thought it was kind of warm. But I guess he thought my shorts and tank top were not appropriate running gear for this time of year.
I finished up in 53:58. Unsurprisingly, the first couple of miles were slow. But once I was fully awake, I hit ~8:30 for the last couple miles.
Sadly, it’s goodbye to the boardwalk for now. But I’ll be back in a couple of weeks for another conference.
Friday: Back On Home Turf
I was exhausted when I got home Thursday, and despite a good nap I was still pretty tired that night. I had no pressing meetings Friday morning, so I didn’t set my alarm. I slept in a little, and then I hit the trails for a quick, easy four miles.
In just a few days, the forest had changed. My entrance to the trails was completely covered in leaves, and the footing was a little unsure. I carefully climbed the little hill onto the trail, and I slowly launched into my run.
Fall is definitely in full swing, now. I could see leaves falling from the trees pretty constantly as I ran. Pretty quickly, I hit the two mile point and I turned around. I was back at the house before I knew it.
39:08. Nice, quick work for a short trail run. I survived the conference, and I feel good.
Saturday: Wrapping Up Another Recovery Week
Saturday morning, I hit the trails again for a final six mile run to wrap up the week.
It’s a beautiful fall morning. The temperature is a little chilly. But I went out late, so the sun is up – and the warmth of the sun actually feels good.
I just got done writing an article about how hot the summer was – and it sure is strange to think about how the warmth of the sun is a good thing now and a terrible thing in the summer.
The trails were fairly well traveled today. Passed by a decent number of runners, walkers, and dogs. The way out was uneventful.
In the final mile, I added a few strides in. They felt much better than Wednesday. They still probably weren’t too fast. I always take them a little slow on the trails, and I was doubly careful today because there were so many leaves.
But I could feel my legs loosen up. My stride was a little clipped on the first set, but the next few felt great.
Wrapped up in 57:25. The last three miles were 9:19, 9:18, and 9:04. Made great time and felt very comfortable.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
I’m two weeks removed from the Chicago Marathon, and I’m feeling pretty good.
Sunday’s eight miler went well. I had a few good days on the boardwalk. And I wrapped up with a swift six miler on Saturday that left me feeling fresh and full of energy.
I wouldn’t say that I’m 100% recovered. I can still tell there’s a little bit to go, and I’m not ready for a hard workout or a race.
But I’m at least 90% of the way there. The easy miles are coming easier, and I’m ready to start building up my mileage again. This week was a low point (40 miles). I’ll hit 50 next week, and then I’ll be back to 60+ the week after that.
I’ll take one more week easy without any workouts next week. I’ll throw in a few strides. Maybe I’ll work in some longer segments, kind of like a fartlek. But I’ll wait till the following week before I do any kind of structured workout.
Once I see how next week goes, I’ll plot out what my training will look like over the next six weeks or so. I’ve got a few races lined up, and I’m particularly looking forward to the Ashenfelter 8k on Thanksgiving and the Rutgers Big Chill 5k in December.