Mar 6-12 - Ten days Following the Marathon

The marathon was on Saturday. 

On Saturday and Sunday, I wasn't particularly tired.  I ate pretty normally, too.  The only real pain spot was a toenail on my left foot.  Toenails should be like a piece of paper on your toe.  That one is like a cube on my toe because it has become so thick, with many layers built up over the years.  That cube got pushed against my toe many times, so it was bleeding under the skin.  It only hurt for a day.  Now, the skin around the toenail is just black.

I took Monday off because the arches of my feet still needed to get their strength back.  My legs were still a bit sore, but they enjoyed moving and getting bloodflow.  My heart (physical) and my body wanted to run already.  I read running blogs to compensate.

Tuesday (Mar 6) - Usual 50 min body weight strength session.  450 crunches/side, 110/110 adductor/aductor side leg lifts, 2x45 quad dips (fewer reps than the usual 2x75, left leg weaker than right), resistance bands for arms, 110 seated lower leg raises, elastic bands in 4 directions for hips, 50 superman.  I had been craving milk, since I hadn't had it in like 4 days.

Wednesday - bike session.  Low impact, get my heart pumping.  50 min, 13 mi on a recumbent bike.

Thursday and Friday off because of Friday night plans.

Saturday - First run back!!!  Felt good.  For the first block of the run, I had even totally forgotten that this was my first run back.  I had been feeling "blah" all day before the run... not in the mood, which was odd, since I had been craving it all week.  But once I stepped outside the door and breathed in the fresh air, I was pumped up to run.  I figured that I'd do somewhere between 5.5 and 11 mi.   My legs felt like there were maybe small crystals between the muscles... I've felt something similar before, but it's been a while.  It was less noticeable this time than it was last time.  Not a big deal.  I ended up doing 8.7 mi.  I thougt about doing more, but it was probably better to play it safe a week after the marathon.  Also, I did a fast mile.  A girl came  up and passed me during my run, which doesn't happen often.  I decided to speed up a bit to keep up.  Then, I realized how fast she was going.  It was a challenge keeping up!  It kind of felt like how it is on TV shows where two people are at a traffic light, and they eye each other and essentially challenge each other to race.  We didn't eye each other, and we weren't racing, but it was fun to really push it for a little over a mile.  My Garmin gave the mile split a 6:55.  That thing can be unreliable sometimes, so I don't know if it's real, but we were going fast, and I was breathing really hard.  She wasn't.  I wonder how far she had run before that.  Anyway, I stopped once I had a mile split, and she kept going a bit further and finished her run not long after.  It was kind of fun to push it.  I don't have training buddies, but many people do, and there are many benefits to having people to push you, motivate you, and keep you company.  I finished the run with a slower last 1.5 mi. 

Splits> 8:43, 7:58, 8:20, 838, 8:07, 7:28 started running with the girl, 6:55 keeping up all the way, 7:25, 6:02 for 0.7.  8.7 in 1:09:40, 8:00 ave... a good run on any day.  It was god to get in a bit of speed before the 5K.

(Post-run Recovery Mix : Whey Powder + Cocoa + Instant Decaf)

Sunday - Another strength session, doing the following week's one early, so that I'd have plenty of time to recover before the 5K.

Monday - Some speedwork to get turnover back before the 5K.  Nothing overly intense, but it was a good chunk of effort.  1 mi warmup in 8:14, 3 x [0.5 @ 9mph (3:20ish), 0.25 @ 7.5mph (2:00)], 0.25 mi cooldown in 1:56.  3.5 in 26:11, 7:29 ave.