Houston – We’ve Got A Problem

A few weeks ago in Boston I was preparing for my “last” marathon.  I spent the previous 24 weeks working harder than I ever have before training for the dastardly 26.2 mile test.  I was fit, focused and ready to lay down something special on April 16^th.  Hoping to break through the 3 hour mark, but more than that, hoping to run one last marathon and run a “best ever” race.

As the forecast for race day started to soar from the 50 degree temperatures that are “normal” for that time of year in New England to a ridiculous 87 degrees for race day, my hopes for Boston were dashed.

I put on a positive face.  Enjoyed the day with fellow runners and friends who had made the trip to Boston and made sure that Dawn, Landry and I had some fun over marathon weekend.  Tuesday after the race I took a walk through Boston over to the North End by myself.

I had a great Italian lunch, chatted with some locals, stopped by Maria’s Pastry shop for some pistachio green leaf Italian cookies and took in a beautiful Boston day.  I went to see the Red Sox play at Fenway that night.  I caught a foul ball at the game.

One Wednesday morning I flew back to Austin and put the116th Boston Marathon behind me.  It was time to turn the page and move on to a season of Triathlons and our first attempt at Iron Man 70.3 this fall.

In the weeks since Boston as I have started training again, running in the morning, cycling in the afternoon or doubling up with an early run and a late swim my body feels like it is hardening even more.

My legs are strong, my shoulders and back are broadening.  I can literally feel myself growing stronger.

All the while as I am running alone at 5:00 a.m. there is a little voice inside of me saying the same thing over and over and over.

“Marathon”.

“Marathon”.

“Marathon”.

The race just won’t let me go.

I’m not sure if it is the fact that I like thousands of other runners were robbed of their “race day” in Boston this year.  Or if I truly believe that I am running out of time to make a legitimate attempt at running a sub 3 hour marathon.  Perhaps it is a little bit of both.

But I just can’t seem to set the marathon completely aside and focus my training and racing on other goals.  Not yet at least.

For me the marathon is no longer about finishing the race.

If I can finish two marathons in 13 days for Dom and subsequently finish a marathon in 87 degree weather – I know I can cover the distance.

Now the marathon has become more than just an endurance test – it is a matter of will.

The will that the distance exerts on the runner – punishing them mile after mile until the body can no longer function as it had hours and miles earlier.

The will that the mind exerts on the body, asking for more, more, more until that final mile marker is reached and there is just 1.2 miles left to go to the finish.  It is at that point that the race reveals its true beauty.

How much do you really have left?

How much are you willing to endure?

How badly do you really want this?

The answer for me is that I want one more chance.  I want to train, prepare and show up to one more starting line – the only thing I hope for is that I get a neutral day.  Cool temperatures, a fair course and a chance to finally do my thing.  Race to the limits of my abilities and training.  Be the best that I have ever been.

There are no guarantees in life.  Even fewer in road racing.  Weather, injury, illness can and will happen far more frequently than any of us would like.  I have started and finished 8 marathons in the last 5 years and have had good weather in two of them.

Statistically speaking, that is not a very good batting average.  But that little voice is still calling out:

“Marathon”.

“Marathon”.

“Marathon”.

So with Dawn’s blessing, we are going to give this one more shot.

January 13, 2013 – Houston Texas.

1-13-13

Not the luckiest of numbers if you believe in that kind of thing – but nonetheless we are going to play the odds that on a January Day in the great state of TX we are going to get cool weather.  Race time is 7:00 a.m., again right in our wheelhouse.  The course is laid out in a figure 8, so that any wind on the course should help in one direction as much as it hurts in another.

The terrain is flat.  The course is said to be fast – although it has a lot of concrete, we’ll have to train for that variable and toughen up those legs coming off our IM 70.3 training.

We will have 11 weeks to prepare for Houston after our Half-Ironman. 

254 days away.  We’re going back one more time.

It’s Race Week – “The Rookie” Triathlon

It’s a funny thing  this journey to Ironman 70.3 in October.  Just 15 days ago I stood on Main Street in Hopkinton, MA as the 5,280th fastest qualifier in the Boston Marathon.

Sunday I will wade into the water at Decker Lake with 50 or 60 other men, age 40 and above as “Rookie” Triathletes here in Austin Texas.

The true irony is that I will be far more nervous on Sunday before the horn sounds than I was standing among more than 20,000 athletes at the start of one of the most famous road races in the world.

That’s what an open water swim will do to you – no matter how short.

“The Rookie” is a great event here in Austin.  A super-sprint triathlon featuring a 300 Meter Swim, 11 Mile hilly bike leg and a 2 mile run.

The event which is geared to the first-time triathlete also has an open division for experienced, top performers as well as a traditional age group division for those triathletes who have completed more than two previous events.

To qualify as a “Rookie” this must be your first or second triathlon.

I thought about racing as an age-grouper this Sunday, but decided that the rules are the rules.  My only previous triathlon on July 31 last Summer is now 9 months in my rear view mirror.  The vast majority of my training since then has been with an eye toward the New York City and Boston Marathons.

My run is strong right now, of that there is no doubt.

My bike is solid, but still not where it will be at the end of this summer as cycling mileage climbs to 100-125 miles per week.

My swim is improved from last year – but that is in the pool.  Just Monday afternoon we were able to hit the Quarry lake for our first open water swim of the year.  1,500 meters, smooth as silk.  Not overly fast, but it was nice to get back out there and get the feel of swimming in the lake without the benefit of a black stripe on the bottom of the pool to sight or a wall to push-off of to grab a breath.

Quarry Lake - Open Water Swim Monday

Open water in a crowd with elbows flying is a completely different animal.  We will see just where our swim is at 8:24 a.m. on Sunday.

So this week we will line up with the rest of the 40+ year olds who are new to the sport of triathlon.  After Sunday I will no longer be such a neophyte.  It will be time to start going toe to toe with the age-groupers who have years of experience on me as I learn more and more about racing in the swim and the bike.

The good news is that very few will have “raced” more on foot than I have.  When we rack our bikes, slip on our race flats, throw on our number belt and visor we become the hunter.  It is an enviable position to be in knowing that the final leg of the event is by far your strongest.

Last year at Jack’s in New Braunfels I left the water with the 376th fastest swim time.  I came off the bike with the 36th fastest leg.  I then posted the 6th fastest run time of any athlete.  Fastest in my age group/division by more than :45 seconds.

If someone is going to keep us off of the podium on Sunday, they are going to have to work hard on that swim and bike to build enough of a cushion to keep us off of their back over those closing 2 miles on the run.

That is not a lot of distance for us to cover to make up ground – but one thing is for certain, we are going to be letting it all hang out over that final mile.  I plan on running that last mile as close to my 5K pace as possible.  Strap yourself in people.

Time to do a little racin’.

 

A “RESTWISE” Look Back at Boston Preparation and Recovery

If you have been following the blog over the last couple of months you are aware that back in February I started using the RESTWISE Recovery, Science and Technology program.

The tagline that RESTWISE uses is simple.

Superior performance through intelligent recovery.

They have developed a program that takes the science of recovery out of the lab and puts it in the athlete’s hands.  Each day you answer a brief series of research-based questions, enter data from a pulse oximeter (which measures your resting heart rate and blood oxygen saturation) and the resulting Recovery Score will quantify your body’s state of recovery.

If you missed it the first time – click HERE for the product review and the details on how the RESTWISE system functions.

In a nutshell, the athlete enters their data into either a web interface or an app on their smart phone/iPad and the feedback is teturned immediately in the form of a score out of 100%.  The tool also provides a date range snapshot graphically for you to see any trends that are developing.

Below is a look at my RESTWISE Recovery scores for the two-week period of April 14 through April 27.  Essentially my final two days before the Boston Marathon through my post-race recovery period.

The chart is very powerful as you can clearly see I was operating at the 90%-100% level leading up to Boston, poised for a breakout performance on race day.  I had completed a tough training schedule, set PR’s at both the 10K and half-marathon distances and was hitting all of my intervals leading up to April 16th.

The weather of course on race day reaching 87 degrees made racing impossible, so it looks as if we will never really know what we would have done at Boston in 2012 had we had neutral conditions.

The day after Boston, even racing at reduced intensity decreased my recovery score down by 40%.  As each day progressed as I was resting, getting my sleep and recharging the batteries, my score returned to 80% three days after Boston and I went for a short 2-mile run.  Another rest day and I was back to 90% and resumed my training.

As I worked through my recovery training schedule, gradually adding miles on the run, swimming and cycling I am now back operating at 100% and ready for this weekend’s workouts.

Open Water Swim Friday.

8 Mile Run Saturday.

10 Mile Run Sunday.

The new week kicks off with 15-Miles on the Tri-Bike Trainer on Monday morning with another Open Water Swim in the afternoon.

As we continue to move the needle forward this week and our Triathlon Race Season begins on Sunday we will be trying to balancing swim, bike, run and strength training workouts each week.   Over the next several months we will be racing 5 triathlons and four running events depositing us to the starting line of our first Half-Ironman in October.

Having a well-balanced training plan is important, but so is making sure that I say flexible in my approach.  I will have never pushed my workouts to these limits from a total mileage standpoint on the bike and the swim.  The run mileage while very much within my previous margins, will feel much tougher with the additional cross training.

Longhorn 70.3 Training Plan

RESTWISE is going to play a key role in my preparation for Texas Ironman 70.3.  When my recovery score dips down to the 60-70% range I am going to listen to my body, my mind and the science and back things off.  Move workouts around when needed and reduce the intensity of those sessions so that my body will not only experience the increased workload – but to truly benefit from it.  I need to allow the proper rest so that my body can in fact adapt to that increased intensity and grow stronger from it.

That is the key to leveraging RESTWISE effectively.  Knowing when your body is in need of a reduction in intensity to rebound, recover and grow stronger.  It also gives you a strong indicator that even though you had a tough workout yesterday or the day before – you are still operating in a recovered state (80-90%) that will allow you to continue training hard, to keep pushing.

Afterall, that is what we do.

We work hard, break ourselves down, give the body time to repair and reload, ADAPT - then grow stronger.

By the time we reach the edge of Decker Lake on October 28th and prepare for our first 1.2 mile swim in race conditions – I expect us to be absolutely in the best shape of our life.  Physically and mentally ready to go out and absolutely hammer the swim, bike and run to make an honest attempt at breaking 5 hours in our first Half Ironman event.

I have to do the work, of that there is no question.

But it is a great feeling however knowing that RESTWISE has my back.  Thanks guys.

The Arrival of TRI Season

Next weekend our first full-triathlon season will kick off at “The Rookie” on May 6th.

Despite having to miss two of Austin’s major triathlons over the Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day holidays – we are still going to have a full plate of TRI’s this summer: 

May 6 – The Rookie Super Sprint TRI 300M swim – 11 Mile Bike – 2 Mile Run

June 17 – Lake Pflugerville Sprint TRI 500M swim – 14 Mile Bike – 3 Mile Run

July 15 – Couples Sprint TRI 800M Swim – 11.2 Mile Bike – 3.2 Mile Run

August 5 – Jack’s Generic Sprint TRI 500 M Swim – 13.8 Mile Bike – 3 Mile Run

September 30 - Kerrville Olympic TRI 1,000M Swim – 29 Mile Bike – 6.4 Mile Run

October 21 – Austin Half Ironman 70.3 1.2 Mile Swim – 56 Mile Bike – 13.1 Mile Run

6 Events which will take us from the shortest of triathlon events all the way to the Half Ironman distance of 70.3 cumulative miles between the swim, bike and run.

There are a couple of running races on the schedule as well where I hope to run well and look to Age Group.  In June we are going for our 4th consecutive AG win at the Holland Texas 5K.  Being my last year running in the 40-44 year old category, I’d like to make it 4 for 4 which would be pretty special.

In September perhaps the “A” race of all “A” races in2012, The Prefontaine Memorial 10K in Coos Bay, Oregon. 

An event I’ve had on my bucket list since I started racing more than 5 years ago – it looks like this may be the year where I can make that trip happen, visit the famous track at Hayward Field in Eugene, OR and turn a few laps before heading to Pre’s hometown of Coos Bay.  With luck we’ll be primed for a big day running along one of his favorite training routes, past his Mother’s house along the route and at the end of the race, turn a final lap on the High School Track that bears his name.  Pretty cool.

One thing that I have learned about “race days” over the years is that you should expect the unexpected.  Poor weather, winds, storms, high heat, cold temperatures, having an illness prior to an event, not feeling well on race day and even simply showing up properly prepared mentally and physically only to discover over the opening miles that your head and heart were “in it”, but somehow your legs were not.

I’ve had it all happen to me over the years and as Boston proved just last Monday – you really can’t count on anything to go exactly the way you hope.

All you can do is show up and give it your best.

When it comes to the triathlon, this is even a dicier situation.  Not only do you need to have the weather cooperate – you need to be “on” in three different disciplines.

Your swim needs to be solid.

Your bike needs to be there for you.

Finally you must race smart to this point, conserving enough energy to let it all hang out on the run.

Of course there are also the matter of the two transitions to deal with.

Jack's Generic TRI 2011

You have to come out of the water focused and calm, get moving to T1 (Transition One), remove your goggles and cap, put on your socks, shoes, helmet and glasses, run to the mount line and hammer away on the bike.

T1

As you power to the dismount line on tired legs you need to run into T2 (Transition Two), rack your bike, take off your glasses, helmet and bike shoes.  Slip on your visor or running glasses, race flats and your number belt – grab a quick drink and you are off again.

We haven’t even started talking about any equipment trouble or heaven forbid a flat tire on the bike, which I had the joy of dealing with on Wednesday this week on a training ride.

It all has to come together for you with no hiccups or missteps.

Looking up at my race schedule for all that to go perfectly not once, not twice but SIX times is highly, highly unlikely.

That is exactly what has me so excited about this Summer and Fall.  Sometimes the excitement is about the “not knowing”.  At least it should be.

With any luck and some hard work hopefully we will find our way onto a podium or two – but if not – the real goal is to earn that Half-Ironman Finisher’s Medal with Dawn and Landry looking on in October.

We’ve been fortunate enough to earn a few of those medals over the past 5 years of racing, but that last one on the list above to a “runner turned triathlete” who quite honestly could not swim the length of a 50 Meter pool one year ago today will be something special.

I know exactly who’s little neck I can’t wait to put that one around.

Here’s to a summer of swimming, biking and running. 

Fast.

Marathon Recovery – The Mental Side

For many marathoners, especially first-timers, “race day” becomes something almost mythical.  From the time that your fingers nervously click on the “REGISTER” button on the race web-site, your mind starts wrapping itself around the idea that in a few months you will be standing on a city street somewhere about to run 26 miles, 385 yards.

For first-timers, the marathon will be the first time they have run further than 20 or 21 miles.  For seasoned veterans, the last time they will have covered that distance would be on a previous race day.  The memories and emotions tied to that last effort can be summoned from deep within with only a date, a city name or perhaps a time.

November 12, 2006 – First Marathon

May 2, 2009 – First BQ

Austin – Feb. 20, 2010 – ugh, the heat and humidity

3:17:43 – Pittsburgh 2009

New York – Marathon PR

Boston – we will never forget our two Boston’s

Pittsburgh II – Dom.

All of those races bring back strong memories.  Some of triumph, some perseverance, some painful, some joyous.  But even the oldest of memories, now more than 5 years ago remain quite vivid.

In each case I started a journey to that starting line like most would be marathoners do.  With a training plan that stretched out 18-24 weeks in advance, 5 months essentially, mapping out every single one of those 126 -168 days for me.

When I would run, how far I would go, when I would rest and now as my training plans have become more sophisticated and more aggressive – I even know how “hard” I will run each workout, sometimes even twice in one day.

You train, you battle injuries, bad weather, travel, holidays, vacations, oftentimes sacrificing precious sleep to make it all work.

You taper prior to race day and for the first time in weeks your body and your legs start to feel good.   Race day arrives, you dress, pin on your bib, make your way to the starting line and at the blast of the horn you find yourself crossing over the timing mat.

You run easy at first, wave to the crowd and settle into the race.

You run well for close to an hour, feeling fresh, like you just started.

Another mile or so passes and you notice you are starting to wipe sweat from our brow.  Your shirt is starting to stick to you a bit.  You hit the water stop, get a drink and dig in.  It’s starting now.

A few more miles and you notice a small pain somewhere.  For me it is usually on the outside of my hips at first.  You see the sign for mile 17 approaching.  Just 9 miles to go.  We’re still good you think.

Three miles later you reach mile 20.  You see some people walking through the water stop for the first time and you think, that might feel pretty good right now … but you don’t stop – still 10 Kilometers to go.

The marathon has just started.

You tick the miles off one after the other.

Your hips are pretty sore now and your calves and feet are feeling the miles.

Mile 24, Mile 25 and then you realize you are less than a mile to go.  You start to do math in your head …. If I run a final mile of 7:30 I can break 3:09:00, if I drop to sub 7:00 I have a shot at 3:08 or wait, do I?  3:03:42 + 6:XX … oh, no way I can run a 6:18 now, just keep pushing it.

You finally see the chute, you search for the extra gear, the one you have been saving for over 3 hours.  You see the clock, you hit the mat, and then …

Over.

The race that you have been building up in your mind as the be all and end all for the last 5 months comes to a screeching halt.

Whether you achieved your time goal or failed to reach it there is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.  You are a marathoner either for the first-time or “again”, but no matter how many finish lines you cross – every one of them is damn special.

You enjoy the accomplishment with friends and family.  You have a nice dinner and head off to bed.  The next morning you wake up, the muscles that felt, “pretty sore” the day before are now screaming at you.  Muscles you didn’t even know that you had.

Even your eye-lids seem sore.

And this is where it starts to get worse.

Many marathoners do not have an “after” plan.

They were married to a training plan stuck to their refrigerator for more than 5 months.  Now, they don’t have anywhere to go from that finish line.

They’re not sure when they will run again.  How far they should go or how fast.

Those endorphins that they have been using to kick-start their day for months are now gone.  They start to fall into a rut.  Go through the motions.  Mail it in.

They’ve lost their “mojo”.  They are basically depressed.

This is not a phenomenon unique to that individual runner – this is very common – in fact too common.  It happens to just about everyone if they do not have that post-marathon “plan” established.

So how do you do it?

Post Race Plan:

Before every training cycle starts, when I put together my training plan, I also schedule what I am going to do each day for the four weeks immediately following the marathon.

I refer to this as my “reverse taper” period.  It is the time when I am going to rest, recover and gradually work myself back to training and then racing.

I do this BEFORE the training cycle so I do not allow the results from my race determine what I am going to do from a recovery standpoint.

It is very easy to allow that race performance to make you think that you are ready for something that you are not.  Boston this year was a great example, where after a kick-ass training cycle I was more or less “robbed” of my race day.

87 degree temperatures and all I could do was trot along the Boston Marathon course hoping to make it to the end and finish the race safely.  There was no “race day” for me at the end of those 24 weeks.

Kind of a rip-off huh?

So, maybe I should just jump into a marathon again?  Maybe I should find one, you know in 3-4 weeks or something and race there.  I mean, I really didn’t exert myself too badly at Boston right?

Sure.  Tell yourself that.  Plenty of people go out for a 26.2 mile training run in 87 degree heat and then run a marathon PR 3 weeks later right?  Happens all the time.

How ridiculous is that notion?  Completely right?

Sure, because we are being rational about it.  But to an endurance junkie like a marathoner, especially a “disappointed marathoner” – what I described above can seem perfectly sane.  In fact, they will assign a level of “coolness” to it.  Make them feel more “badass” in pulling that off.

They will also more likely than not run poorly or get injured during or shortly after that second effort.  Too much, too soon and you are staring at the injured list.

Think you are disappointed from a poor race experience?  Try not running at all for 6 or 8 weeks and see how that feels.

The same trap can take place for runners coming off a great race.  They want to jump right back into training, run even more miles, faster splits – race another marathon and REALLY nail it.

Same situation – just different motivation behind the decision.  You have to be tough, strong and willful to run marathons.  But being smart helps a whole lot too.

By planning out those 4 weeks in advance, you remove all emotion from it.

You plan out your “days off” in my case 3 complete days off from running and put them on your training calendar.  You get to “Cross Off” those days just as you would a workout and give yourself a feeling of accomplishment.

Only 2 more days until I run, only 1 more day until I run, I get to run today!

I then reverse my taper workouts increasing the mileage the same way I cut it back leading up to the marathon.

First run – 2 miles.

Second run – 4 miles.

Third run – 5 miles.

Fourth run – 4 miles.

Fifth Run – 6.2 miles

Sixth Run – 10 Miles

I do not run on back to back days until my Fourth and Fifth runs, always leaving a rest day or cross training day in between.

I take 3 days off before the first run, which counting the rest and cross training days will stretch this recovery period to two-weeks post race.

At that point I resume a “normal” training schedule gradually stretching my Sunday long-run by two miles each week back to 16.  Once I have that my long run back to that level, I am ready for just about anything.

During this period of time it is important not to “assign” any value to a particular run.  I run completely by feel, no pre-conceived time goals or mile splits.  If 7:45′s feel good, I run them.  If 8:00”s are as fast as my legs want to go, that is fine.

This past weekend on Sunday I actually dipped down briefly into the 6:45, 6:50 range for the last two miles of my 5 mile run.  On a cool 51 degree morning with no wind, that pace came smooth and easy.  I then shut down the run at my scheduled 5-mile goal and took the day off on Monday.

Because this schedule is part of the marathon plan, days off do not feel like I am missing out on anything.  They are all part of the master plan to return this soon to be 45-year-old endurance athlete to competition.

Racing:

The final stage in the recovery process is a return to racing.  It doesn’t have to be another marathon, and in my view – it really shouldn’t be.  The marathon is a lot of things but “fun” isn”t necessarily the first word that comes to mind when I think of it.

A 5K, 10K, trail race?  Relay event?  All are fun events that allow you to pin on a bib, go fast and compete.  Get that race day feeling going again in your stomach and your legs – but even more importantly in your mind.

That feeling is good for your body, mind and soul.  I think it is a good idea to have that first post-marathon event scheduled before your training plan ever starts.  It gives you something to look forward to as you are getting yourself back to full-strength.

Two Sunday’s from now will be my first event since Boston.

“The Rookie” TRI here in Austin.  It is a super-sprint Triathlon that is geared to athletes new to the sport.  Waves are set aside for athletes in their first or second triathlon as well as waves and age group awards for those with more experience.

Being my second ever triathlon, I’m going to have some fun and race with the “Rookies” – 300 Meter Swim, 11 Mile Bike, 2 Mile Run.

By the time we get off of the bike and hit the run course – look out.

We’re going to have some fun …

Marathon Post Race Recovery – The physical side

If you Google “Marathon Training” in 0.14 seconds 43,600,000 results will be returned.

If you Google “Marathon Recovery” in 0.13 seconds 20,800,000 results will be returned.

53% fewer, and that’s not good.

Guess what, in some ways I think that smart recovery from a marathon and having a solid, well thought out plan for how to do so is even more important for a runner than preparing for the 26 mile, 385 yard race in the first place.

Apparently, not everyone agrees.

There is the physical side to recovery, which I’m sure most of you whether you have run a marathon or not can appreciate.  But there is also a mental side to recovery that I am not sure gets its due attention.

Today we’ll talk about the physical side of recovery from “the race”, later this week we will tackle the mental side.

Post Race – Immediately Following the Marathon.

This is perhaps the most important “window” in the early recovery period.  After Boston on Monday, running for more than three hours in incredible heat, I expended close to 2,800 calories.  I worked the same muscle groups repetitively for 3 hours and 44 minutes.  At a cadence of 180 strides per minute, that is more than 40,000 strides to cover the 26.2 mile course from Hopkinton to Boston.

“Legs” are the obvious area that need attention, but the engine needs some refueling as well.

Replacing fluids or “Hydrating” is a key part of the process.

During training runs in similar conditions I know that my sweat rate will cause me to lose close to 5 lbs. on a 20-mile training run in the summer despite taking in liquids frequently.

Add another 6.2 miles on top of that and I am looking at more than 6 lbs. or 96 ounces of fluids.  Think 6 standard bottles of water or Gatorade.

With a stomach that is not quite ready for food, as it takes a couple of hours for the blood to start flowing normally to all of the internal tissues and organs, including that digestive track – rehydrating is critical.

Eating salty foods, Pretzels, chips, heck even French fries can be a good idea to help get sodium back into your system.  But nothing is more important than to keep moving a bit, getting those fluids replaced and getting out of those wet clothes and into something clean and comfortable.

For those runners who immediately jump in a car, head to an airport, travel home post race – guys – not the smartest move from a recovery standpoint.  If you can arrange for an extra day in the city of the race to take it easy, get your sleep and allow the body to recover properly you are going to be back to “normal” a lot faster and a lot safer.

When you are ready to stomach some solid foods, then carbs and protein are your friends.  This will help repair those muscles, get that body back on solid footing and give it the type of nutrition it is craving.

Is Pizza calling your name after a marathon?  Chocolate Cake?  Ice Cream?  You deserve it all right?

Well, perhaps you do, but you might want to save those treats and rewards for what I call, “the day after, the day after” and jump start the recovery process with some pasta, bread, fresh vegetables, fruits and water, water, water.

Compression and Ice:

The faster you are able to get yourself into a compression and ice situation post-race, the sooner those small micro-tears in your muscles will begin healing.

Can you get home or to the hotel for an ice bath?  Way to go.  That 15 minute delay to your “celebration” is going to make a huge difference as you recover.

Not able to get to a hotel/home or shower?

Wait for it ….. I’ve got you covered.

110% Play Harder – Compression+

I reviewed their products previously – click HERE for the full review, but their approach to recovery is made for this exact situation.  I was able to slide into my compression+ gear as soon as I picked up my dry bag from the school bus outside the finish area.  I was walking, applying compression and icing at our post-race meet up just a couple of blocks from my hotel and the finish line on Boylston Street.

87 degrees on race day. Shoes, socks, shorts and our 110% Play Harder Visor.

Their products are designed to not only apply compression directly to the large muscle groups, but they have outer pockets in their gear to insert their patented “cool sheets” that apply ice therapy directly to the part of the body that needs it most.  Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Knees – absolutely TREMENDOUS.

You can learn more about 110% at:

http://www.110playharder.com/

As I made my way around the post-Boston crowd at Cuffs on Stuart Street a table full of marathoners stopped me and asked, “Do you have ice in those pants?”

Absolutely.

So not only did I have a nice cold adult beverage in my hand, I had ice on my quads and hamstrings already working on recovery.

Truth be told, I’m wearing my Quad Sleeves right now as I sit and write this piece.  They have given me the freedom to essentially recover whenever and wherever I want to or need to from a workout.  Friday morning after my first “run since Boston”, I had my quads and hamstrings compressed and iced within 10 minutes of returning to the house.

I honestly don’t know what I did before 110% Compression+.

I'm actually icing and applying compression RIGHT NOW with my friends Brian and Jim. Seriously.

Yes, their stuff is that good.

Massage Therapy – Rejuvenation:

I am not the biggest fan of getting a massage under normal conditions.  Some people love it, could go every week if they could afford to do so – but for me, I save it for recovering from a tough part of the training cycle or after a hard race.

A PR effort in the Half-Marathon, a 75+ mile week with a 23-mile training run and of course post-marathon.

Going to a spa will make you feel relaxed, but I seek out a massage therapist who specializes in sports massage.  Typically an athlete themselves, they understand the mechanics of an athlete’s body.  Where the most likely areas are broken down after a race, how and where to break up those masses of scar tissue and tight muscles and of course how hard the pressure should be to work out the kinks.

I had a session at Back Bay Massage on Tuesday, approximately 24 hours after the start of the Boston Marathon.  Sarah the owner at Back Bay Massage provided my treatment for 90 minutes, focused primarily on my legs and hips.

Each leg got 30-40 minutes of attention and after leaving her office I walked 1.5 miles over to the North End for lunch.  Kept the blood flowing to the legs and gradually I began to feel more and more like myself.

I could for the first time in the last 24 hours imagine running another step.  That is a breakthrough moment coming off of a marathon.  It is the moment when you start feeling like an athlete again.

Which brings us to the next phase of recovery – when do I resume training?

Return to Running – The Reverse Taper:

This is a dangerous part of the recovery process for athletes.  For the past 16-20 weeks they have had every day planned out for them.  When to run, how far to run, how fast to run – but now after the race?  Nothing.

No matter how good or how poor I feel after a marathon I stick to the same plan – which for me is to repeat my previous 5 runs leading up to the marathon in reverse order after resting for 3 complete days.

For Boston that meant:

Monday – Boston Marathon

Tuesday – OFF

Wednesday – OFF

Thursday – OFF/Swim

Friday – 2 miles

Saturday – Bike

Sunday – 4 miles

Monday – Swim

Tuesday – 5 miles

Wednesday – 4 Miles

Thursday – Swim

Friday – 8.3 Miles

Saturday – Bike

Sunday – 10 Miles

When I have completed that 10 mile run two weeks after the marathon, I know that I am back.

I have given my body time to recover, I have gradually returned to training running on back-to-back days only once, but getting back into a “routine”.

My schedule is mapped out for me.  I do not just “wing it” and try to do more than I am ready for just because I might “feel pretty decent” or see that my runner friend  so and so has already gone out and run 12 miles 5 days after the race.

Good for them.

This is not a competition.  The day to compete was during the marathon.

Recovery is your time to take it easy, regain your strength and start focusing on your next goal or set of goals.  By not breaking down your body further you are also impacting the mental side of recovery – getting back your “mojo” I call this.  When it is time to race again, you are going to be sharp both physically and mentally.

Your buddy who was out logging long miles less than 5 days from the marathon?  They are very likely to be sidelined with a mysterious ache or injury in the next month, while you are ramping back up and looking awfully good heading into your next race.

You’ll not only have your mojo back, but you’ll have the legs to go along with it.

Marathon Number 8 in the books.

Stop back this week and we’ll talk about the mental side of recovery from “the race”.

Boston 2012 – Off the race course

The Boston Marathon is more than just a running race.

I know that sounds strange, but the race this year was more “event” than race given the hot temperatures and the inability to really go out there and compete.  It just wasn’t safe to do so.

To describe it in words is tough to do.  It must be a little bit like the way the “hippies” talk about the 60′s.

“You just had to be there”.

There is a tremendous amount of hoopla surrounding the weekend as runners from all over the world descend on the longest running footrace on the planet.

The town is simply buzzing from the moment you walk off of the plane until the day after where marathoners are still dominating street cafes, pubs, Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall and riding around on WWII era amphibious assault vehicle through the streets of Boston and the Charles River.

The colors of the race year are everywhere, in 2010 all I saw wherever I looked was the familiar blue and yellow of the Boston Athletic Association.

This year it was the Orange and Black of the 2012 race.  Right now as I type this I am wearing my colors.  Proud of finishing what I hope will be the toughest race of my life.

Yeah, the weather for race day pretty much sucked.

If you were able to manage your expectations, give up on the fact that you were actually “racing” and just run for the experience of competing at Boston, it was one heckuva day.

I feel for and am still worrying about the runners I saw collapsed on the side of the course and at the finish area.  One I ran past literally less than 200 meters from the finish line.

I saw runners in wheel chairs being pushed to medical tents.  Others already in the tents with an IV in one arm and ice packs around them to lower their core temperatures.  There was a lot of carnage along the course.

More at the finish.

But I feel like just making it through to the line in one piece was a major accomplishment, my training obviously helped me stay upright and keep moving.  I’m glad I prepared as diligently as I did.  Hopefully it will springboard my TRI season to a new level once I am fully recovered and back to training.

I am going to take some extra precautions for the next couple of weeks.  Nothing “tough” and nothing “up-tempo” if it is not cool out.  This is the time of year in Austin where we typically start our 2-3 week period of heat acclimation for the summer.  I’m going to be careful with that and make sure I am hydrated and rested before pushing it too hard out there.

This year’s “Boston” is the type of race that can linger and effect your fitness and performance for a longer period of time than just when the soreness from the race leaves your legs and body.  I plan on competing for a long time, there is no rush to start killing it out there right away.  We have a TRI on May 6th and that will more than likely be the first time we spread our wings again after recovering.

Looking back on the weekend there were a lot of great things about “Boston” aside from the race.  This was Landry’s first trip to the Boston Marathon where at not quite yet 20 months old she has seen her first New York City Marathon and her first Boston Marathon.  Have you?

That is pretty special right?

She was able to pile on to one of those Duck Tours with Mom and Dad and had a blast seeing Boston.

Landry checking out the Charles River

She even got a chance to drive the “boat” on the Charles River.  Captain Landry did a tremendous job, Paci in her mouth and all.

Captain Landry at the helm

After a GREAT sports Massage at Back Bay Massage on Boylston Street, (runners – schedule a session with Sarah, she is tremendous!) I took a walk over to the North End for lunch.  I stopped into the Florentine Cafe at 333 Hanover Street and visited with the local Italian men who are regulars.  I sat at the bar with my homemade Cavatelli in a light red sauce with fresh Peccorino Romano Cheese grated over my bowl and was told stories about the neighborhood.  What growing up in the North End was like and I told them what it felt like to race through the streets of Boston.

As I was talking with them, a man named Jimmy was eating a salad and drinking a beer next to me.  He quietly listened to me compliment the B.A.A. and the job they did managing the course, the heat and the runners to make it as safe as possible for everyone.

Turns out, Jimmy is one of the 22 full-time employees for the Boston Athletic Association.  He wanted to hear my take on things before he told me that – and then shared with me all that goes into planning the race as they are already working on the 117th running next April.

Jimmy turned me on to a little local pastry shop that “blows away” the famous Mike’s Pastry on Hanover Street.  I stopped in on Jimmy’s recommendation and picked up a pound of my favorite pistachio green leaf cookies from my childhood.

Jimmy – you are the man!  Thank you for the great advice and offer about coming to see you for next year’s race for some complimentary Boston Marathon Gear!

I then walked over to the Bill Roger’s running center and shook hands with Bill and chatted about the race.  Nothing to sign this year, but seeing  him look at me with a great deal of respect for finishing the race in what he described as, “just a crazy, crazy day to run a road race” made me smile.

Tuesday night at Fenway Park I caught a foul ball.

Still got hands

Wednesday I flew back home to my girls in Austin and more hugs.

Boston 2012?  O.K., so the race didn’t come together for me like I hoped, but you know what?

It was still wicked awesome.