by

…but I wanted to eat pizza!

Yesterday I decided would be an off day… but I wanted to eat pizza last night.

So it wasn’t an off day.

My weight is creeping up on me again.  For some reason even running 4 miles a day it is moving in the wrong direction.  I don’t know why.

Yesterday was pizza night at my house.  Normally the Friday that I get paid we get pizza  for dinner and relax and enjoy.

I got home from work and decided to go run.  It probably wasn’t smart as my body is sore from running all week and yesterday makes 8 days in a row.  But even with not taking a day off this week, I’ll only be at 30 miles, so that isn’t too bad.

I’m off in a few to meet @BigBigGeek for some miles at the state park.  That is always fun.  We are going to run 6 miles which will be my long run for the week.

Question… Does anyone know or have experience on how long it takes to recover from a marathon?  I mean fully recover.  I feel like even almost 4 weeks later I am still a bit stiff in my running.  It could be the heat that has popped back up or the fact I took a few weeks off.

Yesterdays run averaged about 10:00 pace with walking.  At the end I pushed the last quarter mile down to a 6:40 pace just to get myself used to pushing through at the end (something TJ taught me).

Have an awesome weekend!!!

27 thoughts on “…but I wanted to eat pizza!”

  1. I know you are supposed to take a full week off everything after a marathon to help recovery. Personally, it takes me a good month to six weeks before I feel “normal” again. Give yourself a break, even though that’s probably hard to do!

    Like

    Reply

    • I thought I had taken enough time, but I think I may have pushed it too hard. 30 miles doesn’t seem like much in a week, but I may take a couple days off just to make sure. Thanks for the help!!!

      Like

      Reply

  3. It usually takes me well over a month, but if you can do 8 days in a row at any distance this soon after the marathon, I think you’re doing awesome! You could also check out Hal Higdon’s website – he has a pretty specific post-marathon training schedule on there that you might be able to use as a guide.

    Like

    Reply

  5. Also, I was just on RunBlogger, checking out a review on the Newton Energy as a possible new shoe for my LSD runs and I saw your post pop up is his Blogroll. Nice one!

    Like

    Reply

    • It is cool. I get about 8 to 10 referrals from RunBlogger a day. Pete really wants to help bloggers.
      By the way, let me know if you like the Newtons. I used them a couple years ago, but haven’t since. I think some of my aches and pains are shoe related, so I want to try a different shoe like the Newtons. Thanks!

      Like

      Reply

    • That is good to know, especially about the weight. I have been worried. 5 – 6 weeks is a lot longer than I thought I needed and is good to know that I’m still recovering!!! Thanks!

      Like

      Reply

  7. I agree as well with the previous comments. After all of my marathons, I did not run at all for 2 weeks. Then I would honesty say that it took me 6-8 weeks to feel energized again, with no longer runs over 8 miles. The marathon definitely takes a toll on your body.

    Like

    Reply

  8. My one marathon experience (15 years ago) left me pretty wiped out for a while. Suddenly my easy 5 miler was a chore, when just a few weeks before I was running 15 comfortably. So… more time than you would think, and if you want to make long distance running a long-term thing, all I can say is listen to your body. Maybe replace 2 runs each week with a bike ride for a few weeks. That will keep your fitness (and calorie burn) up while giving your running legs a rest. You don’t want to end up burned out or injured!
    Sorry to be so wordy… I just learned that lesson the hard way a while ago. Good luck!

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks. Lots of good information. I was just telling @BigBigGeek today our run that I need to get the tires in my late sister’s bike filled so I can start riding. I think deep down inside that I am afraid I’ll like riding a bike more than running. 🙂
      I’ll be careful. Thank you for the info. Good to hear from you!!!

      Like

      Reply

  9. So I shouldn’t run a half next weekend??

    Have you tried cross training? I have found that doing something different helps my body work out the stiffness and lagging fatigue faster. But to answer your question as to how long-I think a month to 6 weeks to feel normal IS normal. Just keep gradually building in distance and speed and you will push thru the recovery wall.

    Here’s hoping I take my own advice….😉

    Like

    Reply

  10. I’ve only done 3 marathon (and 2 of them were 8 weeks apart – I don’t recommend that!!) – but I’ve found 4-8 weeks of low key running is needed – physically and mentally. When recovering, I like to run every other day or 2 days in a row then a day off. Last Fall, about 6 weeks after my marathon, I was itching to ramp back up after about 6 weeks – but it was a long, slow ramp up!
    (I really enjoy your blog by the way!)

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to 278toBoston Cancel reply