Recovery

It has been thirty days since my last marathon now, and I have to confess that recovery has been slower than expected.  I fared pretty well at first, but last week, in anticipation of a rained-out Saturday, I foolishly ran three days in a row.  And as if that wasn't enough, I went to the gym on the third day and did two or three sets of plyometric jump squats after my run.  What was I thinking? 

I guess I was thinking that I was in my 50s instead of my 60s.  Because I have often recovered so well from running a marathon back in my early 50s that I followed it up with a 5-K only a month or two later.  There is no way I could have done that this time, or if I tried I would have been reduced to 12-minutes miles.

But there is always hope, and progress, if a runner perseveres, and today I had a very nice 3-mile run, averaging 10-minute miles.  These days, that is progress.

Paul Weiss one said, "The distance race is a struggle that results in self-discovery.  It is an adventure involving the limits of self."  So I ask myself, in these weeks before Christmas as I stave off the familiar post-marathon blues, what did I discover during those long miles, crossing that big bridge to Manteo?  I suppose one thing I discovered is that I am an older runner, and so I must be a wiser runner. I also discovered that the deadline for early sign-up for the Flying Pirate Half Marathon in April was fast approaching!  So I signed up - we both signed up.  Because I have discovered that I must continue to have goals.  Or as our friends at the OBX say, "Run for a reason!"