It really should be called basking in the afterglow of a long and brutal race week, but that would be a tad lengthy. I cannot tell you how much I love recovery week and I’ve been doing it justice! #TreatYoSelf
It started out very rough. Making a long story extremely short and with zero details, I had to schedule back to back doctor appointments for the boys on the Monday and Tuesday following the marathon. Yeah, I know. It wouldn’t have been so bad except one was a sleep study overnight Monday, and the other was for 9:30am Tuesday morning. It was ugly but I absolutely took the time I needed to recover from those appointments and the marathon.
WEEK OF APRIL 27, 2015
RUNNING: I hope pool running counts because that’s pretty much the only “running” I did. I snuck in a 20 minute jaunt last Wednesday, on a soft surface, just to see what was doing and it was pain! It was also a gorgeous day and, as I warmed up a bit, the pain decreased. I kept it extremely slow (no Garmin) and enjoyed each and every minute.
BIKING: I had two, one-hour bike sessions, just to get the blood flowing. I was more then excited to actually bring my bike outside for the first time this season! There’s nothing like flying downhill on a warm Spring day. I forgot how exhilarating it is!
SWIMMING: This is where I live now. I started with a recovery swim on Wednesday after taking Monday and Tuesday completely off, and was in the pool either lap swimming or aqua jogging for the rest of the week.
Pool bag, complete with swim fins and lots of water.
RACING: I have the Ten Penny Ale Duathlon, where I won the sword last year, on my calendar for May 17. There’s a very real possibility I won’t be able to do it. Training for and running the marathon left me a little banged up and I want to be kind to my body for all it has given me over these past few months. I will only race if I feel fully recovered and pain-free so…
FUEL: You now how much you eat after a marathon right? And, you know how much I normally eat anyway right? This week has been filled with food! I’ve even kept my delicious whole wheat fig bars by my bed (Meb style!) if I wake up early and I’m starving, because it happened twice. The only other time I had this issue was when I was pregnant with the twins! Gotta love it.
Immediately after the race we found a local spot to have a cheeseburger and beer. Pure bliss. I then drove home and ate pizza and had another beer. I’ve had pizza at least two more times, ice cream and/or frozen yogurt almost every night and one night I had a celebratory party of one with a nice glass of red and some dark chocolate truffles. #TreatYoSelf
Oh…and a pedicure. I think that’s mandatory after pretty much any race…
Don’t mind the random chafing on my left foot? WTH? Who chafes on their foot?
THINGS I LOVE: Date night at Mohegan Sun casino with my husband on arguably the best sports day in recent history! We watched the Kentucky Derby as we stuffed ourselves with dinner, saw highlights of NBA game 7 playoffs, as well as some hockey highlights, (Go Rangers!…that’s for you Carly:-), saw Seth Myers live (hilarious!) and ended the night dancing at a club (feeling old!) and watching the most hyped and least exciting boxing match ever. Just once I wish someone would knock Mayweather out…for good…preferably a woman. #StayDown
Staying up way past my bedtime and my husband’s best duck face…
THINGS I HATE: Sleeping in a chair two nights after running a marathon. As I said, my one son had to do a sleep study, which means we both had to stay overnight in a hospital. I walked into the room and saw this was my bed:
This is a CHAIR! This is not a BED!
The whole experience was exceptionally awful and I got almost no sleep. After they woke us up at 5am and I got us out of there, drove home, picked up my other son, drove back from whence I came and had his appointment, I slept on the couch after they both finally got on the bus Tuesday at 12:15!
That’s a lie. I tried to sleep but you really shouldn’t put on Unbroken if you want to sleep. #WorthIt
MUSIC: Coming down the final mile and a half of the marathon, I finally heard it. It was the familiar beat from “Eye of the Tiger” and I hadn’t heard it up until that point. It was the moment when I needed it most and I looked around for the source. Nothing. Was I now hallucinating? Entirely possible. Then I saw it. The girl in front of me was carrying her phone and playing it from there! WTH?? Was she carrying that the whole 26.2? As I passed, I thanked her and let her know it was exactly what I needed! #ModernDayBoomBox
READING: I’ve been giving myself a lot of “time outs” so I can read! Christine at Love, Life, Surf told me about this gem that was written by a friend of hers: Where They Found Her. One warning, if you’re overly sensitive about dead bodies and don’t like surprises, you should probably read something else. That said, I’m completely absorbed in this mystery and the writing is amazing. Of course the author’s first book was a NY Times bestseller so…
MOVIES: Oh how I love to indulge in movie watching! This past week, I did what people think all stay-at-home moms do, and I sat on the couch and watched a movie in the middle of the day. It was amazing. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, Unbroken, is a must! The book was fantastic and Angelina did it justice in the movie. I cried at the end.
I decided to continue the “true story” streak and watch Foxcatcher. It was creepy. It was as creepy as Steve Carrell looks as John DuPont. That creepy. I now need to watch 100 episodes of The Office to cleanse my mind’s eyeballs.
Try not to look directly at him or you will have nightmares.
RANDOM QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I have something that rhymes with bucket list.” President Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner
Me too, Mr. President, me too.
How was your week?
How do you recover from a hard effort or race?
What is your favorite indulging food?
Um yeah can I email you about the sleep study because both of my kids have issues sleeping!! #notfun. So happy you had such a great recovery week with such a pretty manicure and fig bars (which I need to try because you and Melissa rave about them so much!) date night looked awesome, I am not a boxing fan but I had a feeling the match would be overhyped. I’m kinda scared to read the book–but let me know how it is! I’m down to scare myself a bit once in a while. I LOVE Seth Myers!! Obsessed since SNL days 🙂
Of course you can! I won’t have the results for at least another week but I can try to answer any questions you have.
You should definitely try the bars! They are great recovery food 🙂
Seth was hilarious, so much funnier then I even thought he would be!!
I LOVE so much about this post (ADORED THE DATE NITE PIC ON FB!!!) and yet need to know mo’ about the sleep study as Im scheduling one here for mine.
Ill email you 🙂
OOOH JUST SAW NELLIE SAID SAME 🙂
YES please email me!
Your week sounds pretty similar to mine, and yes, indulge in all the food, you earned it….I actually weighed myself this morning,have put on 5lbs in a week….hahahah oops….no one can tell me I dont indulge 🙂 Pool running was enjoyable? Not sure I believe it 😉 I have not run in a week, and I think Steve said I can do a shorter run today as I have been feeling so good. That is so cool your race had eye of the tiger. I do not know what was playing when I finished…..hmmm, wish I paid more attention. Thanks for sharing my friend, have a wonderful day!
It’s too bad we couldn’t recover together because at least I could keep up with you! You are a braver girl then I am as I refuse to step on the scale…I know it’s probably 5+ too but so worth it. The aqua jogging isn’t awful but mostly because I have some friends in the pool who pop up and chat with me!!
Oh I need to quote the bucket list thing all the time now. I’ve got a lot on that list. I’m glad you are being kind to yourself although I’m laughing at the sleep study….really poor timing!!
Yes you do my friend, yes you do!
I seriously almost cried when I MADE the appointment. I just knew it wouldn’t be good but…the things we do for our kids!
I thoroughly enjoy and take full advantage of recovery week. Usually 1 but if my body is telling me I need longer I take it.
Exactly! It can be different for each race depending on how banged up you are.
It’s obvious how happy you look and how much you’ve enjoyed your recovery. When I was looking for jobs, I watched a few movies during the middle of the day. I loled a lot at Obama’s speech. I’m glad someone else got the same amusement too.
Watching a movie in the middle of the day is such a guilty pleasure! It also shows me how much extra time I have when I’m not training 🙂
a well deserved recovery week! Allie, you look like too much fun. I want to move up there and be your BRF and your BFF!
Me too!!! Get up here!
A beer and cheeseburger is my go-to post marathon! As is eating all the food in the week after. Good stuff. Your having to sleep in a chair right after? Cruel and unusual punishment! Wow.
Keep taking that recovery seriously…
Loved that quote from the Pres. Also the 12-yr old boy who told him he’d been talking to long at a press conference this week. Too funny!
After we run silently next to one another we can indulge in the same food. Good to know.
It was so, so cruel but I kept looking at my son and remembering why I was there. Now we had better get some solutions!
Thanks Amanda.
No sleep study here, but my little one broke her wrist this past week and have had enough of doctors and their appointments for a bit myself! But still yay for recovering this week, especially date night and now I got to look in to the book you mentioned above, because it sounds like it might just be up my alley!
Oh no!! That is so awful Janine! I hope she’s recovering nicely. Poor girl.
So far, the book is so, so good and a great mystery. Love it.
Ugh- sleeping in a chair like that is just cruel- but especially after a marathon!! I’m so glad you have the pool for recovery. I dropped my gym membership but am thinking about finding a pool again. I miss it!
It was the worst but had to be done. Damn kids!!
The pool is so great for runners, especially injured ones 🙂
Thanks Laura!
I need to know your secret to your feet looking so smooth, I run a fraction of what you do weekly and mine are so beat up, blisters and all, its awful!
Hahaha!!! You wouldn’t say that if you saw my heels – yikes! I wish I had a secret but I don’t even put lotion on them. Maybe it’s just my Cuban/Italian skin?
I just watched Unbroken this weekend and loved it. I am ashamed that I didn’t finish the book first, but for some reason I always find something else to do. Wish I could just relax and sit down and read a book! Love that you keep fig bars at your bedside. My kids would die. They LIVE of of those things, can’t imagine if they found them in my bedroom, lol. Sounds like you’ve been recovering nicely!! As for the chair at the sleep study. While I’ve never had to sleep in them, I feel your pain. I watch the poor parents in the ICU trying to sleep in them all of the time and it isn’t pretty. Hospitals really need to invest a bit more on sleeping arrangements at the bedside for sure. Have a great week Allie!
That is too funny because my kids refuse to eat them!
I had no idea I would have to sleep in a recliner. I don’t know what I was thinking but I saw that and wanted to just cry. At least I was *only* there for a sleep study and not watching my baby in ICU. I can’t even imagine.
Thanks Sue!!
Seth Meyers is so funny! Love him! I can’t believe you had to sleep in a chair! That is crazy. When we went to the hospital for Cooper’s birth, we got the biggest room possible to make sure that Pete would at least have a couch to sleep on. We were there for three nights though!
Seth was so, so good. I don’t know what I was expecting but he completely exceeded my expectations. Hilarious.
I don’t feel too badly for new dads but yes, Mike had to sleep in a similar reclining chair when the boys were born, and was not happy about it. He was smart enough to keep it to himself 🙂
Thanks Britt!
I did a 5k Chardonnay Run with a group of mom’s on Sunday….very fun with lots of clever team t-shirts… Favorite post race indulgence is margaritas with chips and guacamole, which I pretty much have regularly anyway but it’s even better a long run or a race….
And I don’t know any stay at home mom’s that watch a movie in the middle of the day….but it is a nice thought to do that in a quiet home by yourself one day.
OMG that post-race food sounds so good right now. I just may take the whole family out for Mexican tonight!
Thanks Paria!
Let’s Go Rangers indeed!! As I was reading that part of your post, I got to the NBA part and was thinking, how could they NOT have watched a Stanley Cup playoff game?? That’s insane! And then you went and redeemed yourself in style with a shout-out.
Are you sad you might miss the TenPenny? I give you major props for being respectful of your body and only racing if you’re recovered. You are a smart cookie.
Hope the boys are both okay and I hope you got a massage after a night in one of those hospital chairs. I have nightmares about those things… Ugh.
I was thinking of you, cuddling up with Tanner and already teaching him about hockey!
As for the Ten Penny – yes, I definitely want to race but honestly, after coming off the marathon so banged up I’m ok with taking a small break from racing. However, it’s still 2 weeks away so…
Yes, massage was post-sleeping-in-chair-nightmare!
I haven’t seen Unbroken – I loved the book but don’t know if I want to see the movie. I appreciate your recommendation, though – good to know you think it was worth it. I got a pedi last week too – gotta love spring!
Totally worth it but not nearly as good as a pedi 🙂
Ugh…back to back Dr appointments is no fun. I hope the sleep study went ok!
Pool running most definitely counts!
I have been meaning to ask you if you found shoes that you liked with a wider toe box?
I love all kinds of indulging food…ice cream is pretty high up there. It is not so much indulging for me though because I have it almost every night (just a little)…. I guess I let myself indulge just a little every day 🙂
I have my half on Sat and so far the weather is calling for a sunny 87 degree day!
I have not found the shoes yet, but I will absolutely post about it when I do!
I love that you have ice cream almost everyday and I feel as though I should adopt that habit.
SO excited for your half!!! I hope it starts early so you don’t get too hot. You are going to ROCK IT!!!!
That chair does not look comfy even when one hasn’t run a marathon! I hope that you are recovering well and feeling better. Of course I would like for you to win the sword again (just so I can say my friend won a sword twice!) but take care of that body of yours. And the book!! So good, right?? I pretty much ignored everyone until I finished reading it.
No pressure. 🙂
OMG the book!!! Going to read it now…15 min before the bus comes!
Glad you’re taking good care of yourself after that race. Pizza and beer are up there on my delicious indulgence list, but #1 will always with chocolate cake. With a huge red wine.
That quote from Obama… I die. I have that list too.
P.S. Your toes look good.
I had the most decedent chocolate cake with a glass of red at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain at Mohegan Saturday night. Devine!
Definitely have to have the f-it list 🙂
Ooh, that book looks intriguing.
Oh I think you would love it Alison!..although not sure when you would find time to read!
Great rundown! I’m recovering a little from my half marathon Saturday. Had some leg cramping that concerned me but I hope the rest of the season will be better. Thank God the weather is finally nice!!
I was so excited to see your smiling face in your FB photo. Great job and recover right..it’s perfect weather to relax in!