I hopped onto the coach to Mallow immediately after the race where I met Niamh and the kids, and we spent the afternoon at the donkey sanctuary, walking around the fields and adopting a donkey. I felt really good, Niamh mentioned that I really didn't look like someone who had just run a marathon, and the only thing I had to decline was to play catch with Shea. My left foot was too sore for that.
That left foot (PF or not) was the only part of my body that gave me any trouble in the immediate aftermath. I had no sunburn despite not using sun block (I was worried it would interfere with sweating), no chafing and no real soreness in the muscles. The foot was quite sore though, and in the evening I was hobbling around in pain. I didn't even get a good night's sleep because I had to write the race report as well as watch the season's finale of "Lost" (Niamh refused to wait for a day, and I just knew she would have spoilt it for me), and didn't get to bed until well after midnight. It still did the trick, the next morning my foot was much better, but both of my calves as well as my right IT band were a bit sore. I still insisted on cycling to work, but took it rather easy on the bike, understandably.
I slept for almost 10 hours the following night, which pretty much made up for it. I felt almost human again afterwards.
Three days after the marathon the foot seems to be ok, there is only a little residue of fatigue left in the calves, and when I went running this morning my ITB was slightly sore at the beginning but even that disappeared before the second mile. I was also mightily pleased with the low heart rate of today's run; my first run after Loch Ness had been slower but with a HR of 10 bpm higher. I think the 2 more-than-marathon-distance runs I had done (The Connemara ultra and the training run 3 weeks prior to that) are mostly responsible for that amazing rate of recovery. Once the body learns how to deal with 39 miles, 26 miles are easier to handle.
Looking back at the race I was wondering where I could have improved. The average HR had only been 162, in contrast to 170 in Loch Ness. Having said that, while the cardiovascular system seems to have had plenty in reserve, the legs had felt pretty much at the edge for most of the run. Then again, the way I was able to speed up for the final 4 miles indicates that I probably would have been able to edge out a bit more over the first 22. One or two people commented on the almost even splits, but it wasn't quite as straightforward. I had slowed down a bit between miles 12 and 22, and it was just the last very fast 4 miles that made up for all of that again (and a bit extra). But it was an extremely satisfying way to finish a marathon, feeling strong and reeling in runner after runner, being totally confident of achieving the time goal over the last 2 miles and still managing to push on as much as I could.
I still haven't seen any photos, but if they are as ugly as I expect them to be that's not necessarily a bad thing. I might have to censor them once they come out.
- 5 Jun
- 4.4 miles, 38:24, 8:44 pace, HR 135
feeling amazingly comfortable
Okay, so you skimmed over the whole donkey thing. I guess adopting one, means you're helping support it, but doesn't mean you brought it home to frolic with the children - right? If you did bring it home, you could put it on a lead and teach it to run with you, then if you get tired or injured, you could ride it home. You could see if your races allow donkeys,then you could use it to cover those last agonizing miles. When Maia gets bigger, instead of pushing her in the jog stroller, the donkey can tow her. What will we name this donkey? I can't wait to see pictures of all this!
ReplyDeleteThomas,
ReplyDeleteI love donkey. I'm thinking about having it for lunch today. Ha Ha Ha!
Coincidentally last weekend a horsemans club was doing trail work in the area that I was running. They were using horses and mules to haul gravel to a muddy section on the trail. The trailhead at the half-way point for our 34 mile run was where they were loading the gravel into the pouches and buckets to haul up the trail. Steve and I were sitting on a log about 30 feet from the operation having some food and water when two of the mules spooked and bolted. They started to head toward us then veered across the trail into the puckerbrush. All this excitement got a pack horse excited and it bolted and headed back up the trail on it's own. The riders were able to pull it all together and found the horse up the trail a ways. Steve was filling his Camelbak bladder at the time and ended up spilling water all over himself as he looked for an escape route when the mules spooked.
Good on you for adopting the donkey. That's great modeling for your children and good for your community.
HI THOMAS, Its interesting that the YASSO 800 workout correctly predicted your finishing time, I'll have to give that session a go before my next marathon.
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