Feb 3

I'm baaaack!

A recap my recovery process since the marathon:
Sunday: Ran the marathon.  I had to walk/shuffle slowly.  I really wanted salt.  Tons and tons of salt.  Impossible to have too much.
Monday: Once I got walking at work, I loosened up.  My walking form mimicked running form, maybe b/c of muscle memory.  I still really wanted salt.
Tuesday: Like the previous 2 days, only about 6 hrs of sleep per night.  Not enough, but work's busy.  I can walk in a way that looks normal now, even though I'm sill sore.
Wednesday:  When I woke up, I was suddenly not sore.  Not a bit!  It was amazing.  Must've been DOMS before.  I did feel a bit used, but not sore.

Which brings me to Thursday...

FIT:
I wanted to run, but by the time I was done w/ dinner, there wasn't much time, and I was somewhat tired, so I decided to try the Nike Training Center app for the iTouch.  It had been 2.5 weeks since my last strength session, so I needed to get back into it.  I did the Get Strong - Advanced - Endurance Master workout.  It was 45 minutes, including the cardio warmup (I backpedalled around my 1 bedroom apartment, which is quite a challenge, dodging furniture and everything) and some stretching at the end.  During the "recovery" periods, though, I did my usual PT exercises and also paused the timer so that I could do more, so the workout was probably an hour total.  It was tougher than my usual strength session.  I think that's due to muscle confusion.  Since I was used to doing the same set of exercises weekly, I had already figured out ways to do them most efficiently, and those particular muscle groups were conditioned muscularly and neuromuscularly.  With new exercises, new muscle groups had to work with different firing patterns.  I had to work harder to accomplish this.

So... the exercises.  It was squat-heavy, which is just what I need.  Hip strength prevents injuries.  And my quad:leg ratio is smaller than that of the elites.  So maybe I'd be faster, too, if I was stronger.  Split jumps make my left knee crackle, so I subbed that in with the Nordic skiing move.  It's similar, but without going down to a lunge.

At first, I thought that maybe the NTC would be something I could every day, in the morning.  Haha. Then, the next day, my lower back was sore.  My back's like never sore.  It's fine again.  I think I may just do it once/wk. 

More about the NTC itself.  It has different categories of workouts, although most are strengthy, involving weights or medicine balls and body weight.  It sets your iTouch music to the workout and also has videos to demo the move you're supposed to be doing.  It's very nice, and free, too!  I recommend it.