recovery – Masher Runs

The past two weeks of workouts haven’t been as scheduled as I had hoped, but I was still able to get out there and work on my base. I’m trying to be conservative when it comes to my running because the last thing I want is another injury. But with each run, I’m becoming more confident and know I’ll get back to where I was pre stress fractures.

Week of 4/25

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 0

Wednesday: 4 Miles

Thursday: 0

Friday: 0

Saturday: 3 Miles + Abs, Arms & Hips

Sunday: 0

Total: 7 Miles

I met up with Mallory on Wednesday at Mugrage Park to run a few loops. We did a few loops of the paved path, one loop of the trail and went out into the development nearby. We kept an easy pace, especially after the trail loop, which was partially covered in mud. It was my first run after the race last week, and I felt really good.

Saturday I kept my run short. I would have preferred my second run of the week to be during the week, but I ended up with something going on every night after work. I stuck to the treadmill and tried to work on my form a bit. Another easy run with no pain.

A relatively easy week, but another week of no pain and more mileages to add to my belt. I ended up closing out April with a total of 24.85 miles. It’s not a whole lot, but after a few months of no running, I’m happy with any amount of miles I’m able to run!

Week of 5/2

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 4 Miles + Arms

Wednesday: 0

Thursday: 0

Friday: 0

Saturday: 3.1 Miles

Sunday: 5 Miles

Total: 12.1 Miles

Tuesday I met up with Mallory and we ran on the indoor track. We kept it at an easy pace and lifted once we were complete. I felt a little off the next day, but that usually happens any time I end up running on the indoor track, too much of one direction and turn isn’t the best.

Saturday was my first solo run outside. I didn’t want to focus on pace, I let my legs lead the way and I would check on pace just once in awhile. I felt like I was working, but not too much that I wouldn’t be able to continue past the first mile. I stayed close to home and ran the surrounding developments. I ended up with a 9:37 average pace, and ended up negative splitting the entire run. It’s humbling to see what used to be my easy recovery pace, is now my current pace. Even though this is still about a minute slower than where I was, it’s nice to see that I’m getting faster than when I started recovery.

Fastest run since January! Progress!!

Sunday I met up with Mallory again and we ran with her dog Walter through Buckeye Woods. We kept it at an easy pace and ran through the marsh, the woods and a little of the paved path. There were a few times in the woods that the run felt like hard work, but there were also a few hills in there as well.

Perfect day at Buckeye Woods.

These past two weeks I’ve been able to continue working on my base and hopefully each week I’ll be able to add a few more miles. I’ve still got a long way to go, but as long as I keep working and I don’t push myself too much, then I should get to where I used to be by mid summer.

It’s been a week and a half since I ran the Columbus Marathon. It feels like it has been so much longer, yet it’s still hard to believe that I actually did it. The race took a lot out of me, a lot more than I had expected and it kept me in a funk through Wednesday night. After a half, I’m usually out of it for a few hours, but three days was something I wasn’t ready for. Hydration and hunger weren’t normal and I was really moody. Sorry to everyone who had to put up with me. Physically I was feeling rough for most of the week. Monday and Tuesday were the worst days, but luckily I’ve been able to bounce back for the most part.

Now that I’ve run one marathon, I get asked, will I do another? Yes! It may have been hard, but it was all worth the feeling of joy crossing that finish line. There really are no words to describe that moment and how amazing it is. I certainly have no plans of doing another one in the spring, but give it a year, and I may be running another 26.2 miles in the fall. I don’t plan on doing a lot, but I wouldn’t mind getting a few under my belt over the next couple of years. It takes a lot of time, hard work, dedication and heart to run a marathon. Timing has to be right, and next time I want to get the full 16 weeks of training under my belt.

So what have I been doing since the marathon? I’ve been enjoying time off from running. I knew I wanted to take a complete week off after the marathon, but it beat me up a little more than expected so I pushed it to two weeks of doing nothing but resting. No running, no biking, and a little bit of stretching. My body needed this, I needed it. After running non stop since last Christmas, I was on the verge of a big burnout. Taking these two weeks to recover has helped. I’m really focused on being a better running and improving my training schedules. We’ll be joining the rec center soon and with out a doubt this will help me with the winter training blues!

Perks of recovery? Taking a trip to see this little guy!