Recovery Mode

It's been 5 days since the LA Marathon and I'm finally able to walk without hobbling. This past week I've been in recovery mode, meaning no running for me - not that I would've been able to even if I wanted to! I still went to track practice Tuesday and walked several laps around the track barefoot. I figured it would help me loosen up and give my feet some more time to start adjusting to shoeless feet. I even jogged a tiny bit to see how it felt, but I was a little too sore to keep it up.

Thursday my roommate and I headed to the pool for an easy swim. Several people recommended swimming as a great recovery activity, and honestly it did feel great to be in the water. I didn't want to overdo it, so I just focused on swimming 500m with as few stops as possible. I wasn't perfect, but I did better than usual (though my lungs felt like they were about to burst!).

Tomorrow morning is our TNT long run, with 1 hour 45 minutes on the schedule. I'm planning on running the whole time, but ultimately it will depend on how my body feels. I know there's more to recovery than just being free of sore muscles, and the last thing I want to do is overdo it, especially since I now have marathon no. 4 in a couple months.

The one thing that probably hasn't helped my recovery is that I've had to work all week. I definitely feel it in my legs after being on my feet for 5-7 hours straight. My one big toe is a nasty shade of purple and is quite tender, too. But I suppose this is all a small price to pay for the awesome feeling of finishing a marathon? Yeah, totally worth it : )