Marine Corps Marathon Recovery

Yesterday I ran a marathon and I can’t even believe it. I’m definitely experiencing the feeling that you get when there’s a huge build up to something and then it’s just over.

After posting my marathon recap we went out for dinner. Unfortunately, there were only chain restaurants around our hotel and we headed out so late that we couldn’t take the Metro to a more happening area. We ended up splurging a bit and going to Ruth’s Chris. It was located on the 11th floor of an office building and had beautiful views of the Potomac and the Capitol.

My marathon recovery dinner included red wine, a delicious salad with lots of goat cheese, crab cakes, creamed spinach and an extremely chocolatey dessert. After dinner, all the adrenaline from my big day finally ran out and I crashed hard. I had that post race sleep where you wake up when you roll over because random things on your body hurt. I still managed a blissful nine hours!

Now, let’s get into a section of this blog post that I would like to call “Yesterday v. Today.”

YESTERDAY, I crossed the finish line and immediately told Brandon and my parents that I was never running another marathon. EVER.
TODAY, the agony of miles 20-24 is already becoming a distant memory and I’m rethinking my declaration. Although I have no idea if I really will run another marathon any time soon because they are so time consuming and hard on my body. I will say though that I am excited to take a couple of weeks off of running and then get back in the saddle and use my marathon running fitness to attempt a new half-marathon PR at Thunder Road in December.

YESTERDAY, I was on cloud nine and so happy to be done with the marathon and feeling good.
TODAY, I’m experiencing the post-marathon blues and yesterday seems like such a blur. I was definitely not present or in the moment for a lot of the race. I was SO focused on the task at hand that I didn’t take in my surroundings. This really hit home when I realized that I didn’t even see the Iwo Jima Memorial at the finish line.

YESTERDAY, I felt like I gave it my all.
TODAY, I keep questioning myself and wondering if I could have pushed harder and finished stronger. I’ve had this conversation with a few people today but it’s crazy how disillusioned we can become about marathons. I ran 26.2 (well, really 26.64) miles yesterday and set a 25 minute PR. THAT IS AWESOME. Why am I giving myself such a hard time?

YESTERDAY, I couldn’t believe how great I felt post-marathon compared to my first marathon.
TODAY, I still feel pretty great overall with minimal soreness in my calves and left knee. I am SO pleased with my recovery!

We met Emily and Casey for lunch today before leaving DC. They live in Old Town Alexandria and it was so cute. I was totally impressed by the neighborhood and can see why they love living there.

Lunch was full of catching up and falafel!

I had a vegetarian combo platter with falafel, stuffed grape leaves and baba ganoush. Also, lots of pita bread.

We got on the road around 1:30 and let me just state for the record that a seven hour road trip is NOT FUN after running a marathon.

This helped.

Reeses Cup Blizzard. YES.

We arrived in Charlotte around 8 p.m and had nothing on hand for dinner. I couldn’t face going out again so we made a quick stop at the grocery and had a late, simple dinner.

Organic barbecue chicken breasts (protein = muscle recovery), Annie’s Organic Shells and Cheese and roasted broccoli.

We built our first fire tonight since moving into this house and it’s been so relaxing to just chill in front of the fire. I’m trying to get my game face on to tackle this short week – it’s going to be  tough one.

And just a side note, it was so wonderful to see Sullie tonight. I missed the furry one so much and she was SO excited to see us. Warm fuzzies walking through the door and having her greet us! 😀