I often wonder if everyone has a rough recovery after running a half or full marathon or if it’s only the folks who are “non-athletic” like myself.
I ran the NYC Half Marathon on March 16. Back in February, I had the brilliant idea of running two Half Marathons back to back – run NYC on March 16 and then eight weeks later on May 17 run the Brooklyn Half Marathon. What I didn’t figure was the recovery in between.
After I finished the NYC Half and drove back to my home on Long Island, I could barely walk. I practically crawled up the stairs of my house. I couldn’t lift my legs. I was in so much pain!
It took three days before I felt back to normal and on the fourth day, I went to visit my dad in Florida and decided to do a short run outside to stretch out my legs. I had the wildest experience. I put on my gear, my cap and my favorite New Balance running shoes and went out the door. I stretched a little and started out at a slow jog. I found that my legs wouldn’t go. I couldn’t propel myself forward. I had no momentum. So I walked.
Feeling disappointed and upset, I kept my head down and I went back into my dad’s apartment.
“That was fast,” he said.
“Yeah, I don’t know what happened but I could not run,” I told him.
I immediately went on the computer and logged into my virtual trainer. I posted the situation in the forum. Coach Kim wrote me back and told me that it may be too soon to run. “Take a week off,” she said.
I gave myself the time. It’s now a week later and I woke up at 4:30 am this morning and you know what? I couldn’t get back into it. When I came home from work, I thought I would run and I felt so sick I couldn’t run.
With less than seven weeks out, I’m wondering if I made a bad decision to run the Brooklyn Half…
