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A recap of my workouts in the two weeks since the Boston Marathon! It’s like a reverse taper. 🙂
Hey guys! It’s hard to believe the Boston Marathon was two weeks ago! I’m still working on a race day recap – so many thoughts – but I wanted to share what the two weeks of workouts after the marathon have looked like for me. I really love that my marathon training plan includes 5 weeks of recovery, so I’ve been following that. I’m slowly building up mileage, taking more days off and all my runs are recovery runs with an easy pace. Having a post-race plan helps me resist the urge to jump back into training too hard. But too be honest, I’ve really enjoyed the low-key workouts after a long build up to Boston!
Post Marathon Training Plan
So why is it so important to have a game-plan after your race? A few reasons:
Your body needs to recover and if you jump back into training too hard too quickly, you’ll delay recovery and potentially get injured more easily.
Mentally, it’s good to take a break from super structured workouts to help avoid burnout.
While I don’t like being too structured post-race, I do like having a plan in writing to follow. This keeps me accountable and say no when I need to. (A friend invited me to do a track workout after one week after Boston, and I had an easier time telling her no because my recovery training plan was still in easy running mode.)
Having a post-race plan established before the race is key; you’ll likely struggle with “what on earth do I do with myself?” after a marathon and a plan helps keep you sane. And, again, it keeps you honest with recovery!
I like to bake in things that I neglect when I’m devoting more time to longer runs like my PT exercises (so much hip work!), foam rolling and using the R8 roll recovery. Yeah, I know I should do all that just as much during training, but let’s be honest, when I’m already spending so much time running, I don’t take a lot of extra time for those things.
My workouts the week of the marathon
M – 26.4 miles, 7:51 pace – BOSTON MARATHON!!! (Apparently I didn’t run the tangents well – my Garmin picked up an extra .2 miles 🙂 ) More details about the race coming soon! In the meantime, you can read my post about the expo here and the day before the race here.
T – lots of walking around Boston!
W – lots of walking around Boston!
Th – REST
F – 3.9 miles, 8:59 pace – First run post-Boston!
It was so fun to run with Christian after the race since she did so many training runs with me! It felt like putting a little bow on the race!
Sa – Easy upper body strength + core
Warmed up with 15 min on the elliptical
3×12 of each:
Bicep curls
Triceps kickbacks
Overhead press
Upright rows
Lat pullbacks
Chest press
45 sec each:
Bicycle crunches
Toe taps
Toe reaches
Bent knee oblique reach
Glute bridge
Russian twists
I could definitely tell I still have some post race fatigue so took lots of rest between sets.
Su – 4.6 miles; 8:26 pace, Sunday funday miles with Christian & Chip
Christian surprised me with my favorite cookies ever as a Boston congrats gift – so sweet! They disappeared in about 48 hours. 🙂 She ordered them online from App Cookie Company.
Total Miles (not counting the marathon): 8.8
How I’m Feeling: I honestly wasn’t that sore the week of the marathon! I think walking so much in the two days after the race really helped flush my legs. And I really think running in the cold rain acted as a sort of ice bath – ha!
Everything felt weird on this run, like my knees were out of place and my ankles were wobbly. I kind of think the massage broke up some tightness that made me feel weird. That’s a reasonable assumption, right?
W – Driving range funtime + played 3 holes
I’m so happy that I can spend some evenings on the golf course with Tommy now that the weather is warmer. We have so much fun together out there.
Th – 5 miles, 8:49 pace
It was SUCH a gorgeous morning – all the trees are blooming and everything is SO green since we got back from Boston. Thankfully, my body felt much more normal on this run.
F – hot yoga at Yoga Dogz
I took it verrrrry easy and my hips are verrrrry tight. My yoga teacher was laughing at me in the fire log pose cuz it just wasn’t happening at ALL.
Sa – 5.7 miles, 8:16 pace
I ran with a new friend I met via Instagram (basically how I meet all my friends)! Emily also ran Boston, and she is so incredibly sweet. I loved getting to know her! She’s such a strong runner and she pushed me on this run, but it felt good to move a little more quickly and open up my stride!
Su – REST
I did take Maizey on a leisurely walk. She was clearly very grateful.
Total Miles: 15.6
How I’m Feeling:
The second week of workouts felt a little weird and I’m still really, really tired. My body is probably still recovering even if I don’t feel sore. I’m trying to focus on high quality food – lots of protein and good carbs – and drinking lots of water. Oh, and I’m finally enjoying some wine now that intense training is behind me! 🙂
Post-Marathon Reward: I treated myself to some cute kicks as a marathon rewards. I was torn on what color to keep (lots of people suggested keeping both – ha!), but I ended up keeping the purple. I still want some white sneaks but I think I’ll look for a slightly different style. Maybe these? Or these?
Don’t the purple sneaks look cute with this Fabletics outfit?? They sent this outfit to me, and I really like it! The leggings fit amazingly well and the open back of the tank is super cute. (Not sponsored but wanted to share since I was impressed! Their stuff is hit and miss, but this was adorable.)
It was so fun to run with Christian after the race since she did so many training runs with me! It felt like putting a little bow on the race!
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