**Please excuse the blog right now. I’m having to re-do a few things so in the mean time I apologize for how messy and unorganized it looks. Changes coming in the near future!

 

Happy Sunday!

It’s the last day to enter my Tiux Compression Instagram giveaway! Don’t miss out – you will love these compression socks!

I’m officially one week post marathon and so far feeling pretty good. It sure hasn’t been as easy as I thought to make myself not run until Saturday.

The day or two following my marathon I was ready for rest; however, as my legs began to come back to me and I started feeling like myself again I was itching to go out and enjoy this beautiful fall weather. October is my favorite month by far to run in!

 

However, even with the pesky voice in the back of my head telling me to go run I somehow managed to do a whole lot of nothing until Saturday.

The silver lining was that I got to sleep in until 6:00 AM every morning this past week! I forgot just how wonderful that feels!

 

The week after a marathon is really important for your body. Everyone’s body handles things differently, but for me I’ve been really focused on making sure my body gets the recovery and rest it needs.

Get Your Sleep

Sleep is so vital for recovery after a marathon. This isn’t the time to try to burn the midnight oil. Let your body recover and aim to get a full 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Your body will thank you!

 

Let Yourself Relax

If you are anything like me, the week leading up to the marathon is stressful. I pay strict attention to my diet (which consists of primarily bland and boring foods), I’m hyper aware of every ache and pain in my body, and I’m focused on all things marathon.

The week after I like to give myself a break and relax. I relax my diet, spend time with friends, family, and do pretty much whatever I want.

 

If you run, run EASY

We all come back to running at different times. My husband hasn’t taken a single day off, but his runs have been much shorter and all easy. My body doesn’t respond well to that, but when I do run again on Saturday I plan to make it easy and on soft ground.

 

Enjoy It

There is a time for hard training and a time for a break. I like to take this time to relax and not put any pressure on myself for running. Just run whatever my body feels like! It’s a nice break from the constant pounding and pace goals.

 

The first couple weeks post marathon need to be focused on going easy and letting your body recover. You may feel like you are recovered, but sometimes your body isn’t quite ready. Don’t jump right back into workouts. Take the time to relax and enjoy the beauty of just running.

 

Here is a breakdown of my “workouts” this week:

Monday-Friday: Off

No running, no cross training, no weight training, nothing at all.

I could have gone and done some cross training, but I know myself pretty well and I was afraid that would lead to me over exerting myself too early. I took this rare time to just relax after many weeks of hard work.

 

Saturday – 60 minutes

I was ready to go by Saturday. The weather has been absolutely amazing, and Saturday was no exception.

I even had to get out my hat and and long sleeves for the run. October has got to be one of the best times for running. I ended up heading down to the local trail where a half marathon was taking place. It made me miss racing already, but by the feeling in my legs I was happy for an hour easy.

My legs didn’t feel awful but as time went on my hamstrings and hip flexors tightened up quite a bit.

Needless to say I finished off the run with lots of stretching and some strength work. I also did about 15 minutes of form drills which is something I am trying to work into my routine almost every day, especially during the off season.

I’ve definitely reached the point where if I want to continue to improve I have to fix the small things.

Sunday – 30-60 minutes 

I’m not quite sure what I’m doing Sunday yet, but it will be somewhere between 30-60 minutes.

 

My goal is to get back on a more normal schedule next week, but I haven’t yet determined how what that is going to look like.

Wes’ schedule picks back up for the next 4 weeks, so we’ve been really milking every moment of this weekend.

 

How long do you take off after a marathon?