I've read in numerous places that it takes one day of recovery for each mile you ran in a race. So for say a half marathon, 13 days of recovery should be about right.
But what is "recovery" exactly? Does that mean 13 straight days of no running at all?? I couldn't possibly (and obviously haven't) take 13 days off in a row. I did take Sunday and Monday completely off after the race, Tuesday I went for a short 2.44 mile walk with my mom to get the old legs moving again. Wednesday, I started running again and basically haven't had a good solid run since. I know I'm technically still in recovery, but my legs get tired so much sooner and I think to myself I just ran a half marathon and now I can't even handle a lousy 3 miles? What gives?
I know I need to cut myself some slack but I can't help feeling a little discouraged. Today's lousy 3 miles was full of wind and heat and, therefore, walk breaks. I HATE taking walk breaks. They break up my rhythm and I never get quite back on track after I stop. I know my body is adjusting to the drastic change in temperature - I haven't run without tights and gloves in about 6 months - and I'm still recovering but DANG IT! I want to run long!! I want to get through 5 miles without feeling like I'm going to keel over. I want to wear my race t-shirt proud out there on the trails, not make a mockery of it (or it of me).
Grr!!
2 comments:
It's normal after a race effort like that for your legs to feel heavy and for you to feel sluggish. Continue to do short recovery runs and if needed, take a day or two of rest between. In the 2nd or 3rd week of recovery, throw in some strides after an easy run, to get the fast twitch muscles fired up. That might help alleviate that "heavy" feeling in your legs. Stretch, rest, sleep, eat well. You ran a great race!
Thanks for the great advice. I never really thought about what recovery would be like, but rather focused on everything leading up to the race.
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