One marathon. And a heckuva lot of pool-running.
I actually wasn't that beaten up after Boston. As a friend noted, it's probably because I basically took a 3 hour ice bath that day. Even so, I kept myself in the pool for a week. Because, as another friend noted, I hadn't spent enough time in cold water.
The first few days of pool-running were with the belt - just gently waving my legs in the water. Then I shifted back to normal (but easy) pool-running. I also did a lot of very gentle yoga - sitting out the challenging poses but just getting things mobile again.
(Why did I pool-run instead of just laying on the couch? Because it was better for physical recovery. And also better mentally, since it gave me a chance to chat with many of my running friends - I had company for every single pool-run this week.)
I've got a lot of thoughts about what to do next, but I'm not acting on them yet. I have a rule of waiting 10 days post-goal race before making major decisions about what to do next. Many times, something will seem like a great idea 2-3 days post marathon. And then common sense kicks in a week later when the emotions subside.
I've also had a chance to reflect on lessons learned from this cycle. (And also lessons learned from Boston 2018 specifically, but that's a different upcoming post).
- This cycle I eliminated my evening pool-running double. I experimented with this because I felt like I was losing more than I gained from the stress of having to fit the evening double into my schedule. Instead, I resolved to use the time gained to go to bed earlier. In retrospect this worked very well. I don't feel like I lost anything in terms of strength from cutting out the evening pool-run - the fact that I was able to hang on as well as I did in the last few miles despite bonking indicates my strength. And the extra sleep was wonderful.
- I experimented with longer sustained workouts of 2x5 miles at marathon pace, as compared to shorter segments with more recovery. I hit a new fitness level during this cycle, and I'm convinced this change was a lot of it.
As a general rule, I respond much better to sustained effort versus breaking it into intervals with recovery (think tempo versus cruise intervals), and it seems marathon pace work is no exception. I don't think this change would work for all. In fact, my suspicion is that most are better off with shorter segments. But for me, this modification was a game changer. - I also pushed things slightly too hard during taper, resulting in legs that could have been a bit fresher on race day. To explain more, I'm someone that does need to maintain and even slightly increase intensity during taper, while cutting volume. In the past, I've over-tapered and showed up at the race start rested, but incredibly dull and stale.
But this time, I pushed the intensity slightly too much in light of how I was feeling. Much of this can be attributed to pollen, believe it or not. The pollen in my area exploded during taper, and made me feel awful the last two weeks before the race. But rather than back off on the intensity slightly to accommodate how I was feeling, and to keep the effort right, I kept pushing in the name of peaking. In retrospect, this was a mistake, and I won't make it again. I don't think it affected my race that much - certainly not as much as the weather did. But it is something I can improve for next time.
Dailies:
Monday: 26.2 miles in 3:12:34.
Tuesday: Fly home. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: yoga and 5.5 "miles" pool-running with belt. Massage in afternoon.
Thursday: yoga and 7.5 "miles" pool-running with belt. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 1250 yards swimming and 7 "miles" pool-running with belt. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 7 "miles" pool-running and yoga. Foam rolling at night.
Sunday: 15 "miles" pool-running (way longer than I planned, but I was being social) and 750 yards swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
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