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quads

Recovery

April 26, 2012 by Kristy 11 Comments

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!

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