Thursday, February 20, 2014

My Recovery from Half-Marathon Better Than Expected

After running for 13.1 miles in the Five Points of Life Half-Marathon here in Gainesville last Sunday, I was prepared to have a difficult recovery period.  After all, I hadn't even run five miles at a stretch in 2014, and hadn't run a half-marathon (or anything close to it) for nearly a year.  But I'm happy to report that I am doing very well and that the recovery period after my race was startlingly brief.  Monday I ran 1.1 miles...some say that runners should take a break after a long race, but I subscribe to the view (among many) of ultra-distance runner Dean Karnazes when he says that a short run the next day after a race is helpful in recovery.  It worked for me, because on Tuesday I ran 5.3 miles and yesterday, 4.2 miles.  The only problem I ever experienced was that one of my right toes ached a little.  Not bad...

Now that I'm back on track with half-marathon running, I'd like to lose some weight (about twenty pounds) by eating more soundly and considering trying one more race before the Florida spring and summer heat overtakes the area.  There is an upcoming event on an island off St. Petersburg that sounds intriguing...