Recovery from Boston can best be summed up in one word: humbling.
I have the whole recovery thing down to a system: no running 1 week post-marathon, ease back into running during week 2, increase mileage and maybe add some easy speed work during week 3, etc. Essentially…reverse my taper. This works for me.
Earlier this week, I set out to do a rather ambitious 8-miler. Keep in mind this was my first run post-Boston. Not sure why I wanted to do 8 miles but I guess I missed running?
8 miles turned into 6 miles with a walk break. My quads were screaming. Kinda like I went to barre class for 4 days in-a-row.
I know trashed quads are typical of the Boston course. But I never, ever thought my quads would be this beat up though. Why?
1. I trained adequately. After “experiencing” the course, I wouldn’t change a thing about my hill prep.
2. Umm, I certainly didn’t go out too fast in the beginning on the downhills. Hello, 89 degrees.
3. I was fine after running Steamtown, which was far worse in terms of downhills than Boston.
So what is it?! Time on feet. I haven’t ran a marathon in 4 hours 33 minutes since 2006. I certainly didn’t train to be on my feet that long. In fact, my 21-miler was my longest run and it lasted 3:04. That, coupled with the extreme conditions, is probably why I’m still feeling the effects of the marathon.
Humbling.
I’m happy to report that my quads felt much better this morning and I hope that trend will continue – very quickly – as we move towards the weekend.
I have Broad Street in a little over a week! I haven’t decided if I’m going to race it or run it as a tempo/progression run. I will all depend on how my quads feel next week.
Have a great weekend!