Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Recovery, check!

Barbara, my recovery from this past Sunday's 13 was pretty quick, especially compared to the 4 or 5 day period after the half. Actually, after a good breakfast, a warm epsom salts whirlpool bath, and a 30 minute nap, I was good to go. I was still feeling it but I wasn't limping around looking for a place to slowly sit down. In fact, I got out and mowed the grass which is more activity than I've ever been able to tolerate post-long-run.

Don't remember where I heard this but "marathon training is a marathon." I'm finding this to be true. The training itself is a race and the finish line is the starting line of the Chevron Houston Marathon. Right now, I feel like I'm at about mile 15. But when I look at the next 7 weeks, it looks more like mile 5. Over the next 7 weeks, Hal and company have me going from 25 to 41 miles per week and from 13 to 21 miles for my long runs. So, as they say, now is when the rubber meets the road, the moment of truth. Now is where I need to get out there and walk that tight rope between optimal conditioning and injury. Now is not the time to be skipping workouts. Now is not the time to doubt. Now is not the time to slack off. BUT, now is also not the time to be proving anything. Now is not the time to get stupid. It's tempting as my running improves to want to do my easy runs faster, to run extra miles, to add a running day, to skip my cutback (recovery) weeks, to skip my warmup and cooldown because I'm feeling frisky. DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID, VIC!!! I really feel like I'm right there. I finally feel like I may possibly be able to do this thing that I started. 6 hours? I don't really know. Frankly, I don't really care anymore. Well, it's not that I don't care. It's just that I'm not thinking about that right now. All I can think about right now is tomorrow's 7-miler. That's my next step. That's the next mile in this marathon. When I get through that mile, I'll think about the next one. I'm psyched!!!

This morning's 3 mile run was good. I felt quick(er), feisty even. The plan for this run is the same as it always is the first run of the week for me. Get some blood flowing. Take it easy. Stay conversational. Finish strong. I did not eat before the run which may have been a small mistake but it ended up not being a big factor, IMO. I did have a couple of glasses of water so I was well hydrated. After some stretching (getting more cobwebs out) I set out, feeling good. Early in the run I ran into Bessie. What a great smile to see so early in the morning. I missed seeing my bud, Amalia. Guess she was resting this morning. I really wasn't trying to do a tempo run or 10K effort or anything like that but I also didn't feel like shuffling (jogging) either. The temps had me feeling good so I picked it up just a little. I'd call it my "easy" effort, a notch above my "recovery jog" effort. I finished strong, mission accomplished. Here are some stats:

Total distance - 3.0 miles
Total time - 38:33
Mile 1 - 13:02
Mile 2 - 12:48
Mile 3 - 12:42
Average pace - 12:51
Temperature - 58 degrees
Humidity - 91% (it WAS muggy)

After the run, I stopped and introduced myself to a fellow big runner, Carl, who had just finished 4 miles. Ex-football player in college, got married, had kids, got sedentary, gained a bunch of weight, started running, lost a bunch of weight... Sound familiar? Anyway, good to meet a new friend. I'm really glad I stopped to talk to him.

God bless all!!! Seeya out there!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, let's see...

August - Run The Woodlands 5k, 14:28 pace

September - Fired Up 5k, 13:10 pace

November - 3 mile recovery run, 12:51 pace

Nothing further, your honor...

Steeeve

Unknown said...

Hmmm, let's see...

August - Run The Woodlands 5k, 14:28 pace (95 degrees)

September - Fired Up 5k, 13:10 pace (85 degrees)

November - 3 mile recovery run, 12:51 pace (50 degrees)

prosecution says...just wanted to put the evidence in context for the jury, your honor.

Anonymous said...

Objection. Please state your weight in August, September and November :)

The lighter you get the faster you get which leads yet to a lighter Vic and then a faster Vic and so forth....

Dude, your going to do what most people can't. Feels good doesn't it!

Anonymous said...

You are correct when you say the training is a marathon. It takes quite a commitment to do what you are doing and race day is the celebration for all the work put in. It doesn’t mean it will go 100% as planned as there are so many factors involved.....but you are setting yourself up for a good run at your goal and I enjoy reading about the journey.

Anonymous said...

We, the jury of Vic's peers, find Vic guilty of becoming faster, fitter, leaner, and meaner than ever before. We sentence Vic to a lifetime of good health and many future running successes...

Anonymous said...

I'll 2nd what David said!

TX Runner Mom said...

Dang it Steve B said what I was going to say. I guess I'll 3rd what David said!!! You're doing great vic.

Anonymous said...

Vic, for what it's worth, I ran quite a bit when I was younger, then spent several years strictly cycling. When I switched back to running after our youngest was born, my legs were sore after I think every single run. Speed work, tempo runs, definitely the long runs.

You're doing better than me if you keep your naps to 30 minutes!

L*I*S*A said...

Just trust in the training, do what Hal has you doing, and you'll be fine. I was concerned with logging the miles, rather than working on speed for my first marathon. I'll tweak it now for the Pig. :)

You're doing GREAT!!