Recovery Running

Recovery running - before I started running marathons this term seemed like something to the tune of an oxymoron to me. When I would run a half marathon I would simply wait the week and a half to feel completely better, then go out for a normal run to resume training for my next half marathon. Looking back, it's strange to me now not to do some sort of recovery run/walk/crawl, or whatever would get my legs moving again, but until I really began to do research on how to properly recover from a race I had no idea. Recovery runs are good for you because it allows you to run at a slower speed than normal, allowing your body and legs to continue to move while you're still recovering from a taxing race/run.

Breakfast on the run today. Not the best but we decided to go last minute.

I decided to rest up for 5 days after Big Sur, then do two short recovery runs this weekend. It was gorgeous out, so I put on my new shoes and got outside. These are the first "real" recovery miles I've done so far, so I wasn't sure what to expect. On Saturday, May 4th I met a friend up in downtown Houston and we kept things fun by mapping out our initials and attempting for the first time to spell them out. We had a new building in the way, a parade, and many stop lights, and in the end our map came out looking like an angry 5 year old drew it, but it was fun (and we DID get two out of the four initials, so I consider that a pretty good start😎)!

If you turn your head you can sort of make out the "R" and the "E". A little bit. 😂

Cinco (Quatro) de Mayo parade downtown. 

Rockin' Robyn! Haha. 

I did notice that my legs got super tired a lot earlier than normal, even at much slower speeds, so I will definitely need a few days, if not a week more of recovery. I'm also working on getting back in shape (marathon weight gain is real, ya'll), so hopefully that'll help as well.

Sunday's trail view from the street down.

On Sunday, (happy Cinco de Mayo!!) I decided to go to my absolute favorite park for an easy 4 miler. While it was slow and my legs were still tired, easy it was not. The famous Houston heat and humidity that had been attempting to beat down the door all winter finally hit us all with that "Spring is here!" reality check. Regardless of stopping to walk more times than I'd wanted to, it was absolutely beautiful out and I'm so happy the bitter cold has gone away for the rest of the year. I am definitely going to put stretching and foam rolling back on the table, two things (along with ice and compression) I believe is absolutely necessary for recovery. I also worked out my arms and core, two areas that had been suffering dramatically since I began piling on the higher mileage, and it must have started working, because today I feel it. It's an AWESOME feeling. ✌

I'm SO glad I accomplished the feat of not ONE but TWO marathons this year, and I'll also be glad to lower my mileage a bit so I have room for more on my plate. My official feeling towards marathons and marathon training? I LOVE them! They are totally doable. And fun. Will I do another one? Most definitely! 😀 I'm officially on board the marathon loving train, so they say. Or maybe they don't say that, whoever "they" are. (Insert Ozzy's Crazy Train lyrics here, ha!) 😺