Tag: Recovery

Off the Plan: Does spontaneous dancing count as cross training?

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Sunday morning I woke up and was all ready to knock out my scheduled training plan for the day. First, I was all like:   Then, I was all like: Normally, after a long day of training, John and I stick to a pretty set plan of the 3 R’s: refuel, recover, and rack out on the couch. Yet, by the end of the day on Sunday, we were all like: What happened, right? With just under 4 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid for me, and just under 3 weeks to the Vermont 100 for him, this type of …

Go Team Crazy!

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It was Monday night, 11 p.m. EST, and I was in a panic. Earlier that day, John had brought our bikes home from the Pro Pedals Bike Shop, where they received their final tune up and check over before Ironman Lake Placid, now just 10 days away. Normally, I go to bed at at 9 p.m., but I had drank a foolish amount of green tea, and couldn’t sleep. So, I wandered over to my bike, which was sitting in the living room (a.k.a., the CompuTrainer room), to check out the new tires the mechanic Jason put on my rims. …

The ART of healing

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Two weeks ago, I got off my bike after a five and one-half hour bike ride and started my brick run. It was supposed to be a 45 minute jaunt, nothing fast and furious, just your basic brick run. A mere twenty minutes into the run, my right leg became so irritable I had to stop and walk. It was time for me to accept the fact that this leg was not getting any better–and in fact–was getting worse. Tendonitis, ITBS — whatever the heck the problem was, it was signalling its presence and stopping my run. At that time, …

Getting back to normal

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I’ve come to the conclusion that the Boston Marathon bears a similarity to Thanksgiving dinner: lots of preparation and anticipation – and then it’s over in a flash, and life gets back to normal. With less than 13 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid, normal can only mean one thing: swimming, eating, biking, eating, and running, followed by eating and sleeping, which is then followed by swimming, eating, biking, eating, and running. But, the formula is not as easy as all that since recovery from a marathon is just as important (more important?) as preparation for a marathon. So, …

The Aftermath

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“This hurt worse than the Ironman,” I said to Carole as she and I waited in line for a free massage just moments after finishing the Boston Marathon. Ironman veterans had said the same to me before I finished my first Ironman: A marathon hurts worse than an Ironman. “You’ve got to be kidding,” Carole replied incredulously, much the same way I did when someone first said the same to me. “How could that be true?” I don’t know how it could be true, but it is.  Ironman Lake Placid did not hurt as much–during or after–as running the Boston …

Treating a sore ankle with angst and ice: 6 tips

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I woke up one morning about 3 weeks before I was to run the Philadelphia Marathon with a sore ankle. Damn. I had just completed a 21 mile run a few days prior, and despite a few rough patches, the run went well. But, when I woke up two days later, the ankle was officially sore, and I was officially in a terrible mood. An injury or pain that keeps me from running–even for just a day–is enough to turn on the wicked witch switch. I had plans to do about 7 miles of speedwork on Sunday. But, my ankle hurt just …

I think compression socks are sexy

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Okay, maybe not sexy, but I do think they are effective. Even though the science on the use of compression socks leaves room for debate, my experience using them suggests that they are great tools for enhancing recovery – particularly from long distance running. When we were at the Lake Placid Ironman, we saw many of the athletes wearing compression socks – walking around in them the day before and after the race, as well as wearing the socks during the race. Oddly, I had forgotten about my socks, which I had purchased back in March. I hadn’t worn them in …

“More” does not always equal “better”

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I usually start each Wednesday with an advanced yoga flow class at Yoga Nine. Today was no exception. However, what was different was a noticeable dip in my energy level. Every limb of my body felt heavy. Yoga can be an excellent way to energize the body. So, I went despite the heaviness. After 60 minutes, the heaviness remained, but I did feel looser. Laurie, my yoga instructor, led us through a variation on a Tripischore yoga series, which includes postures for lengthening and balance. This series is usually one of my favorites, but today triangle was torture. Warrier I and II …