Recovery or Tapering?

What is the recommended workouts for the week after a marathon? What is the recommended workouts for the week that starts 2 weeks before a marathon? What if that is the same week?

My muscles now do not feel the marathon from last weekend anymore. They did on the 2 easy 5 mile runs I did this week but that was on Wednesday and Friday. Actually, my run on Friday didn't feel bad but I still felt the race just a bit. So usually the weekend before a marathon, I will put in about 8 miles. This weekend I put in a big goose egg. Zip. Zero. Nil. Nothing. I ran really good in Grand Rapids but I still feel like I have another good marathon in these legs. They were tight before Grand Rapids so I would really like it if they were loose and ready to go. I have a little less than 6 days though. The next marathon is on Saturday morning.

I do have some thoughts on a strategy but I am not finalizing it until Saturday morning and seeing what the legs feel like. Greg will be coming with me and he is running the half marathon. We will get there in the later afternoon on Friday (no day of packet pickup, stupid if you ask me), and we will drive the course where we can to get a feel for the hills. If they are small and the weather cooperates (cool, little wind, no rain), then I may try to go for a 3:45 time again. If not, I will take it out slower and try to pick it up in the second half. We will see.

The race is called the Haunted Hustle Marathon and is in Middleton, WI, just west of Madison. What ticks me off already about this marathon is the packet pick up rule. It is only about an hour and a half drive from where I live to Middleton and I really would have preferred to drive up the morning instead of on Friday and getting a hotel for the night. At least Greg will be along so it won't be too boring.

So I recovered and tapered last week only getting in 10 miles. Now I will do little this week in hopes the legs will be ready for 26.2 miles Saturday. At least after this one, I get 3 weeks to recover before the next marathon, The Monkey!

Recovery Run, not Quite

I did a recovery run today after work that didn't feel anything like a recovery run. It sort of felt like the last few miles of a marathon. Mike joined me for 5 miles and my quads were tight and sore. Should I have run? Maybe not, but it was a nice afternoon and it was good to at least get out there. It certainly wasn't fast. We averaged about 8:55 per mile. The best part was that we finally got on the bike trail for the first time this spring. I like the trail because it is crushed limestone so it is softer on the legs.

There are a few more races that I am eyeing up in the spring and in the fall. Some are local and some are a bit of a drive away. Some may be training runs and some might be for a fast time. Some might be 5K's and some as long a marathons. Am I being a bit vague here? Sure, but here is a hint, it might involve the states of Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, and Tennessee. Stay tuned and I will tell you all about it.

Whistle Stop Pictures

It has been over a week since the Whistle Stop Marathon and after a slow start, I feel like I am back to normal and mostly recovered. My left quad is a little tight still but that didn't stop me from having a really good run today.

I wanted to go do a somewhat easy 5 miler. I started late as I needed to get some new tires for the van. So at about 6:10PM, I started out and I felt great from the start. I kept slowly increasing the pace and by the 5th mile, I decided to slow up some since I wasn't planning on a tempo run. I ended up running a little over 5 miles at 8:13 pace and feeling like it was relatively easy. I didn't want to go too fast as I am still planning on running an 8K race on Sunday. That will be my tempo run for the time between marathons. I am still planning on running the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on November 7 (?) but not 100% sure yet. It is a nice flat course so I think I could run well there.

I thought I would share a couple pictures from the Whistle Stop Marathon. As you can see in t he first picture, it is cold out since I am wearing ear muffs and socks on my hands? Socks on my hands???? Yes, I do that instead of gloves for a few reasons. Keeping my fingers together keeps them warmer and early in the race, I was carrying AccelGel and that way i didn't have to worry about dropping them. OK, you can call me a cheap guy, but it works for me and why spend $$ on gloves when you don't have to?


This second picture is me coming down to the finish line. My last 2 miles were fairly good compared to 21, 22, & 23. A strong finish feels good.

3:55:47

Back To The Good

What a difference a few days make.

I took off Wednesday and Thursday to let the body recover a bit more. So after work today, I decided on another 4 miler. It was about 45F out and misting as I set out onto a trail near where I work for 2 loops. The first mile went very smooth and so did the second. I went onto the second loop and actually picked it up some as i felt really good. I did not wear the garmin so I do not know exactly how far I went but I am guessing a little over 4 miles and I am guessing at about 8:20 to 8:30 pace. On the second loop, the mist turned into light rain but I like running in the rain so it was all good.

Afterwards, my left quad was a bit tight but that is gone now. I am not as concerned about it as I was a few days ago. And now I am thinking more about running in Indianapolis in 3 weeks. Right now Paul is planning on going (let's hope he doesn't cancel this time, lol) and I am hoping to get Chaz to come as well. I would give it a 50/50 chance on him going.

Indianapolis is another Saturday marathon. I think I like these. Take the day off on Friday to travel, get up early on Saturday, run a marathon, and then drive home and be home by bed time. Then have all day Sunday to rest and relax. It is about a 5 hour drive to Indianapolis so it is actually 1 hour less than he drive to Whistle Stop.

A Recovery Run, A Wet Recovery Run

I went on a 5 mile recovery run today after work. I went at a pace that was whet ever my legs felt like going. Ends up they felt like going 8:41 pace. The nice thing about today's run is that 1 mile into it, it started to drizzle. By 2 miles it was raining and by the time I turned around, it was close to a hard rain. By mile 4, it was over but I was already soaked. The temperature of the rain wasn't cold and it wasn't hot. I was soaking wet yet I did not feel cold. I really like to run in the rain and I often wonder what people must think when they see me running while in their cars (more so when it is snowing though).

I am feeling pretty good so far. I took 2 days off after the 26 mile training run and now will take it somewhat easy this week. I think I will do a 13 or so miler this weekend and maybe a tempo run later this week.

My biggest concern right now is something that I think a lot of you are either dealing with or fear having. I am coming down with something. Right now it feels like a cold. Sore throat and phlegm, some coughing but not too bad. No sniffles yet but they may come. Ever since I have had children, my illnesses have gone from all the time and intense to not often at all and not intense at all. The immunity is getting stronger and stronger. That is what I am hoping for, a nice short cold that will be gone soon with little side effect. We shall see. I remember 2 weeks before my first marathon coming down with a big cold. I am pretty sure it affected me during the race but you play the cards you are dealt.

Being healthy or not so healthy on race day is very much like the weather on race day. They is not much you can do about it and you will have to deal with whatever comes along. Hopefully you all are feeling good and I hope it stays that way all the way to race day.

A Light Week Ahead . . . Until Saturday

I finally got in to see the Chiropractor yesterday. He did some quick adjustments on my back and then started in on my ankle issue. He was poking and prodding trying to figure out what to do. He did a little adjusting while we talked about my long run over the weekend. He is a great Dr. for athletes as he does what he can to "keep you in the game". He suggested I take Monday off of running so I did. I had Volleyball anyways so that was my exercise for the day.

Volleyball went good for most of the match. It had rained some that day and the night before so the sand was harder than usual. This did not help as 2/3's of the way through the final game, after I went up for a spike, I landed hard and flat footed on my right foot with the ankle issue. It hurt some landing and it hurt some the rest of the game. I hope I didn't pop it right out of place again. We will see as I have another appointment on Wednesday.

Today I ran 5 miles with Mike after work. We ran sort of easy as my legs were still tired from the 23 miler and he was a bit tired as he ran 65 miles last week, a big jump for him. I felt better as the run kept going which was good. My legs do feel like I just ran a marathon this past weekend and in some sorts, they almost did put forth that much amount of effort. I have decided that this week will be an easy week until Saturday when I meet up with Chris for a long run.

Saturday's long run should be fun and tough. We will be meeting in Lake Geneva, WI at 6:00 AM to run completely around the lake. Chris has measured it at 20 miles and will will be running at 8:45's to 9:00 pace. There will be hills again and the final 2 miles is on Snake Rd. I ran a 10K on this road once and it is "hillacious". Once again, a true test of running on tired legs. I hope this is helping me for this fall's marathons.

On a different note, congratulations to Melanie for her PR in a 5K this weekend. Great Job, Melanie!!! She writes about how she doesn't like 5K's all that much but feels she needs to do them at times. I like 5K's myself and wish I could do more of them. I have told you all before that the shorter the race, the better I do compared to others. But that is just me.

Recovery 3

After work today, i went on an easy 3 mile recovery run. My legs were still sore from the marathon 2 days ago but it felt good to run anyways. I also ran outside which was the first since my fall. I took a different route as I don't want to go past that place for awhile. I have no idea how long it took me as I didn't even start my watch but is was an easy pace. I didn't fall this time, WOO HOO!

Only 3 weeks and 5 days until the "Heart of Texas Challenge"