Hi, guys!
Since the marathon, I have received all sorts of questions about my training, recovery, future plans, and much more. I figured some of you might want to hear my answers too, so I decided to create a little post-marathon Q & A on CNC. I hope you find my replies helpful!
What was your post-marathon meal?
Oh, man, it was such a bummer. I originally had big plans for a post-marathon celebration, but I was so exhausted, I ended up going home and laying on the couch. I had zero appetite, but I knew I needed to eat, so I practically force-fed myself some food from the Whole Foods hot bar. It wasn’t the post-marathon marathon that I envisioned, but I made up for it the next day with a batch of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies and a bottle of wine!
How is your recovery going?
Right after the marathon, I was in rough shape. I felt terrible. Everything on my body felt terrible. I actually woke up in the middle of the night because I was in so much pain. (I took Tylenol and went back to bed.) The next day, I was pretty sore, but I actually felt better than the previous evening. I took a couple of walks with Quinn and Murphy on Tuesday and Wednesday to get the blood flowing in my legs, and, on Thursday, I got a massage. By Friday, I was feeling a whole lot better– no soreness, no aches or pains, and I actually wanted to work out. Prior to that, I had no interest in exercise, but I figured if I wanted to move, I should ease back into it. So, on Friday afternoon, I had my first workout back at KFIT and it was awesome!
Can you tell me more about your pre-training?
Sure thing! I was really worried about getting injured during marathon training since the training for my previous two were a total disaster with injury after injury. For my pre-training for the Boston Marathon, I increased my long run time by 5 minutes for two weeks in a row and then planned a “step back” week when I gave my body a little break. So, for example, I would run for 70 minutes one week, 75 minutes the next week, and then drop down to 60 minutes the following week. I did this for a couple of months with the goal of being able to run for 90 minutes. In addition to a long run, I would do a couple of shorter runs (2-4 miles) during the week.
What was your fueling and hydration strategy for marathon?
I ate a packet of GU every 45 minutes and drank water or Gatorade every other water stop.
Do you think the weather affected your marathon performance?
I honestly don’t know. The weather definitely wasn’t great, but I was so excited about race day, I didn’t even notice it after awhile. I spent a lot of time fiddling around with my Spibelt, gloves, GU, iPhone, and headphones because my hands were frozen and just wouldn’t work, so I suppose that slowed me down a little bit?
Will you run another marathon?
Good question! After Boston, I really wanted to register for another marathon, but I will probably hold off for awhile. Marathon training was really time-consuming and kind of tough on our family at times, so I’m going to focus on shorter distances in the future. Oh, yea, important to note, even though I don’t want to admit it, all of the running was really hard on my body, especially with my UC stuff. I had (mostly) minor symptoms the whole second half of my training. Boo.
What’s your next race?
Technically, it was the Run for Charlotte 5K yesterday, but my next “big” race is the Seattle Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon in June.
Do you think your training plan helped you get to marathon day injury-free?
Absolutely!! Running 3 times per week was just the right amount of running for my body. The workouts were challenging, but they didn’t push me over the edge either. I highly recommend Megan’s training plan if you’re thinking about running a marathon in the future!
Will you share your marathon training plan?
I’d love to, but Megan runs a coaching business, so reach out to her if you’d like to work with her. She also has training plans for other distances too!
Did you gain weight this time?
I didn’t. I actually lost weight. I’m thinking about writing a blog post about this in the future because I did a lot of things differently with my diet this time around. Keep a lookout for it!
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