The last 10 days certainly have been a whirlwind! All races involve some degree of preparation and deviation from your normal schedule. However, the amount of time and prep energy that goes into running a 100-miler takes things to a whole new level. I felt like I spent all of last week packing, and have spent all of these week unpacking. I’m not sure I would call running 102 miles much of a vacation, though. The conditions were horrible, and I can’t wait to share the whole story with you!
Chasing42 Log: 20161004- 20161014
Run: The past week and a half has been all about the lead-up to the Grindstone 100, suffering through the race itself, and recovery! I kept my tapering pretty light and consistent last week before leaving for the race on Friday morning. The race itself began at 6pm on Friday evening, and I finished quite a few hours later, but did finish. You’ll have to wait for the race report to read all the gory details. Keeping the streak alive on Monday was definitely a challenge but I punched out a painful mile nonetheless. My run on Tuesday was less uncomfortable, and my legs felt surprisingly good. Most of the soreness had already disappeared and I was only left with the reality of mangled feet and slowly healing blisters. By Wednesday, I was able to get in a comfortable 7 miles, and it felt good to stretch my legs again. I was surprised by how quickly I was recovering, but made sure not to push it. I made it to the group run last night and ran another 7 miles at a bit of a faster pace but could definitely feel a bit of fatigue towards the end. I suppose I should give myself a bit of a break considering I just tackled 102 miles, right? A quick run today will pave the way for a relaxing and easy-does-it weekend. I’ll pick up my regularly scheduled training soon enough, but I’m doing my best not to get antsy and let my body fully heal itself. I just wish it wasn’t quite so hard!
Thought: There is a part of me that wishes recovery was all-or-nothing. How nice would it be if you were completely unable to run all the way up until the point where everything was fine and you could resume your regularly scheduled program? Alas, the human body is a tad more nuanced than that, and thus we do our best to pay attention to all the signs and not over-analyze things along the way. Does anyone else get really antsy in the recovery period after a long race? I’d go so far as to say it’s as bad as the taper leading up to a race!