Thursday, November 5, 2009

Recovery

I never really know what people talk about when they talk about recovery runs -- I think they just mean Run Really Slow.  Well, I already run really slow, so I've defined what a recovery run means to me.

Monday, first day post-tri, forget it.  I was super spent, going shopping for groceries presented the conundrum of How do I stand up for such a long time?  Nothing hurt, per se (except for that right calf), but it just seemed like my blood wasn't flowing fast enough or something.  I had ideas of going for a little run or something, but those ideas just kinda fizzled and I spent the day just putzing around.  Tuesday I went to a morning yoga class (oooh, definitely my new addiction) and went for a late afternoon run.

Apparently a "recovery run" for me entails running at a extremely slow pace (even for me! -- like 14:30 even), taking a multitude of walk breaks, pee breaks, drink breaks, look-at-the-view breaks and breaks just because I've been running for a while.  My schedule called for a 4.5 mile run, and I guess I fulfilled the milage if not the spirit of the schedule.  No worries, though, the weather is just amazing here right now and it was a lovely run through the woods in the fading afternoon light (I found that it now gets dark at 5:15.  I think I gotta start carrying a headlamp with me).

Wednesday started with another round of yoga, then in the afternoon I did the unthinkable and actually went running with someone.  Wow!  So this entirely new experience was pretty darn good, and all the conversation really makes the time go zipping on by.  I went with Nora, a woman I met through my running club, and whilst I think she is a faster runner than me, she's aching with IT band issues and was more than willing to run at my pace.  There's another woman from the club who's expressed an interest in running with us, so this might turn out to be a regular event.

In the end, I think I prefer overall to be a solo gal (I love my iPod), but I really appreciate the change and the variety of running with a friend.

3 comments:

Stuart said...

The idea of the recovery run is to try and flush out all the lactic junk in your muscles from racing, but you can just as easily ride a bike for 20 mins...either way though thy're both slow!

Oz Runner said...

i'm with you on recovery runs...slower than slow? i started doing yoga this week too, hoping to build some strength and flexibility, of which i have none...have a great week...

ShirleyPerly said...

As long as it feels really easy, almost any workout will be useful as a recovery workout per my coach. I actually like cycling and swimming more than running in the first few days after a race. Enjoy your time off!