Looking ahead

Well, the big race is over. I ran the best I could and I learned a bunch about running and about myself. Here are some of those things:

• Running 26.2 miles is not double the effort of 13.1. In fact, its way more!


• I respect the marathon distance


• I underestimated nutrition and hydration during the race. The weather during the race dictated more water, etc. I just followed my plan..... I should have adjusted.


• I have never been more tired and physically drained as I was after that race.


• Injuries suck

In my mind, I keep coming back to the question about whether or not I was well prepared for this race, or if this race tells me I'm not suited for long distance running. I think from a training perspective I was prepared. I put in the miles and I kept most injuries to a minimum. I think I am in great cardiovascular shape. Where I went wrong was that I did not fully understand that long distance running is more than just running miles. Its about combining the miles with proper nutrition and hydration, its about listening to your body and adjusting when needed. But most of all, and the most important, is that every day and every condition is different. One race, one day does not dictate the level of fitness or the preparedness (is that a word?). Running is a journey that is not defined by one day. I could have done better, but I could have done a lot worse.

So, whats next.....

After the race, I took a couple of days off. The first day after the race, I was still feeling fatigued, so I took the day off from work. I had difficulty walking the kids to school because my left IT band was very sore. The day after I felt better. My legs hardly hurt. I stopped icing, but continued to use the foam roller and stretching each day. By Thursday, I was itching to run, but a late train messed up my evening, so I had to put it off until Friday (today).

I was planning on doing a couple of easy miles at lunch to check out the knee. I started out fine and felt good, but after 0.5 miles, I noticed the knee was a starting to ache. But 0.75 miles I had to walk. I walked back to the office feeling pretty discouraged.

This IT band thing is a real problem that I have to address. My next Drs appointment is not until May 24th. So until then, I will be icing, stretching, strengthening and trying to heal. I want to keep my fitness level up, so I think biking is in my future. I'd like to swim, but finding a time where the lap swim schedule and my schedule match is going to be tough. I'll run when I can, but I'm not going to push through the pain and make it worse.

I'm going to continue the journey....