Tag: recovery week

Recovering

I’d forgotten what it was like to race distance. I spent last year chasing speed and racing a lot, I was often sore, but it would fade pretty quickly. So far during this training cycle, my recovery has been quick. Not this week.

Normally I’m tired and sore by the end of my long runs on Saturdays, but I’m good to go on Sundays with very little residual soreness. Well I definitely raced on Saturday, because I felt it on Sunday morning. Still, I ran.

Monday morning–oof! Between racing Saturday’s marathon, running on Sunday, and 5+ hours of travel after Sunday’s event…I was way more sore than I expected to be. Walking was a challenge. I took the elevator at work because 4 flights of stairs was just not an option. Anytime I had to get up from my desk–ouch! It was the most satisfying thing–I knew that I had not just run, but actually pushed myself and raced.

I felt a lot better on Tuesday, but I skipped my kettlebell class for yoga at home because I was still a little sore, and had a lot I needed to catch up on from the weekend. Tried to run a few easy miles on Wednesday and that was extremely slow going. I didn’t force it, though. My body needs to move, but this week is a cutback and meant for recovery. Did the stairs at the Cathedral with a friend last night, and back on schedule for class tonight, and runs this weekend. We’ll see how they go.

It’s really interesting to me how training for ultra distances has impacted me. I struggled with cutback weeks last year. They literally made me crazy. But the high volume has eased that. I love it, and I feel good, but my body is happy for the break when I get it. I don’t feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin. It’s become easier for me to ease up on my training, or substitute something more gentle (or at least different). I’m listening to my body more instead of constantly trying to push, and I feel like it’s paying off.

Happy weekend, friends. More soon.

Training Recap–Week 11

Must have kicked whatever was ailing me the previous weekend, I felt great all week.

Monday–rest day. I want to start doing the Yoga for Distance Runners that I have saved on the DVR on Mondays, but today was not the day. I went to a fueling for runners seminar after work, which was interesting, but didn’t tell me much that I didn’t know (bear in mind I’ve been at all of this for awhile and am studying for my nutrition certification for this round of CEUs). The dietitian who spoke is also against keto, which is working really well for me (more about that later this week). I wouldn’t push it for everyone (especially not all athletes) but it’s working for ME, so I’m staying the course.

Tuesday–kettlebell and warmup mile. Got to run my mile outside–yay! Felt good (and different!) to push my pace some outside for the warmup. Chased it with some foam rolling and then a really great class. Moderately heavy weights, and I got to work on single bell squat form with a heavy non-racked position. Need to do more of that to get my confidence up for double bell squats.

Wednesday–easy miles. Had 4 on the schedule, but a few friends needed 5 so we did the Team RWB run and then tacked on some extra. It was a beautiful night to run around the city and I felt really good.

Thursday–easy miles. Again, 4 on the schedule, but my friend needed 5 so what’s one more? Went up to North Park in the evening wearing a tank top and capris! So excited for that weather. I miss running in some heat. Loving having company for these Thursday night runs, makes them go much better.

Friday–kettlebell and warmup miles. Hit the treadmill because of the wind, but it was still a solid warmup mile. Foam rolled a little. Awesome class. 10 round ascending ladder (adding an exercise each round). I don’t always finish these, but today I did! I got through all 10 rounds! I’m really proud of my effort and how strong I’m getting.

Saturday–10 miles easy. Instead, I ran the Shamrock Shuffle half marathon in Harmony, PA. I like awful things, I really do. Ask my friends, I have a special place in my heart for the hilliest most awful races. Ogden is one of my favorites. Mill Creek is another favorite–I’ve had friends swear off both and ask what I see in them. But this race makes even me question my judgement. I remembered part way through why it’s been 5 years since I last did it–you need awhile to forget about it before you can go back. At any rate, I ran it with a couple of friends which made it much more bearable, enjoyed my jello shots, survived the freak snowstorm (hitting just as we were about to come down the most massive hill), and ended up with a 23 minute course PR! It wasn’t easy, to be sure, but I was definitely not racing. I wasn’t forcing pace (well…maybe a little at the end). I am so freaking proud of that race–I’m so much stronger than I used to be. I can’t get over it. I’m really proud of how far I’ve come and all the work I’ve put in to get here.

Sunday–8 recovery miles. Mentally I was not interested in running today. But we all know that wouldn’t stop me from doing it. Met up with my friends and got it done. Quads were trashed from the hills on Saturday but I still felt remarkably good while I was out there. Pace was solid, which made me really happy after the previous day’s workout. Just another sign of how much stronger I’m getting.

Word for this week–STRONG. I felt really good and really strong, and I can see my progress. Great feeling coming out of a cutback week, bring on the next 2 weeks of training!