It has been exactly one week and one day since I completed the Chicago Marathon. If you read my crazy long recap, you know that I felt great after the race, but also very sore. Even though the soreness sucks, it’s kind of exciting to feel the results of your hard work. I occasionally do workouts that make me sore but nothing can compare to post-marathon soreness. It’s the sort of soreness that makes you want to do literally nothing but lay on the couch.
Much like after my 2013 NYC Marathon, going down stairs was the absolutely worst. Going upstairs is bad too but down, woah, that was unbearable. There are only five stairs down into the entrance of my apartment and to get there for the first couple of days I had to support myself on the railing, half sliding and half falling down the five steps. Not pretty. Walking in general hurt and at times my knees felt like they might buckle. A new pain this time around was my ankles. They felt bruised. I’d been told that people feel the most sore after Chicago because of the relatively flat course. In NYC with the many hills, you’re using different muscles based on the incline, but in Chicago the constant pounding is consistent for almost all 26.2 miles (expect that hill at the end because of course there would be a hill right at the end).
I flew home the same day as the marathon and didn’t get to my apartment until midnight. As much as I was ready to fall right asleep, MM filled our fridge with my favorite ice cream (pumpkin pie flavor from 16 Handles and grasshopper pie from Emack & Bolios) so I had to indulge just a bit before bedtime. For the next few days I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted, totally guilt free (candy, pizza, ice cream, yep, yep & yep).
I also forced myself to take a break from working out. Recovery takes time. I tend to take 1-2 days off of working out a week max, and often I’m a 7 days a week kind of girl. This week was different. I subbed out two of my classes and stayed away from the gym. I walked to and from work as usual (20 mins each way) and kept my legs moving to help ease the soreness. By skipping my morning workouts I got more sleep than normal, nearing that 9 hour mark. Wish that happened on a regular basis!
I taught one class but did a lot of walking around the room and then participated in the Well+Good Biathlon. For that (more on that later), I took a boxing class at Shadowbox and a yoga class at Yogamaya. I had NO energy. It was bizarre. Normally I’d be so into it but could barely get myself to go through the motions. It felt weird to not want to do it, but I have to keep reminding myself that marathon recovery takes time. The yoga was nice though and Sunday we went for a hike outside of the city which was just the type of workout I was looking for.
[best food from the week: pancakes, cheesey egg bagel, ice cream, a pizza sandwich thing, a blonde and loads of french fries…did I overdo it?]
The one thing I really regret was going to work the Monday after the marathon. I 100% should have taken the day off. I made it to work and it was fine, but understandably, my body and mind were beyond tired and not quite functioning right. Because I forced myself to work, I felt run down all week. I think had I taken the day to relax I would have felt more like myself sooner.
But now here we are, I’ve had a week and I’m ready to be a functioning human again! After eating whatever I wanted all week and skipping the gym, I am feeling very ready to get back to Paleo and back to my sweat sessions!
*photo 1 via
