According to all the best authorities, it takes at least three weeks to properly recover from a marathon. I'm not sure I can wait that long to get back to full intensity training. I've run three times this past week--always short, easy runs with lots of walking. My schedule hasn't really allowed for much more than that. But every time, I felt great. And so I've been incredibly antsy.
At some point I want to take the time to reflect a bit more on my experience with this marathon. It was an incredible race. The weather was pretty near perfect until the last few miles when gusts of wind nearly blew the last remnants of resolve right out of me. The record-breaking crowd was amazing. The music along the route was great. The race was incredibly organized. The water stops were well-stocked and efficiently run. It was wonderful all the way around.
But, man oh man, 26.2 miles is a long, long way to run! And you really know it right around mile 21. That was when my body reminded me that it is not a good idea to run a marathon with Bronchitis and a sinus infection. That was also right about the time that my glycogen stores gave out. And of course, it was right when the wind started howling across the Cumberland River. I was well ahead of PR pace until then. Indeed, I was close to Boston-qualifying pace until then.
The good news is that I started thinking about my next really big race, the Moon Pie-RC Cola 10-Miler in Bell Buckle, just a few hours after I finished. I think that pretty much means that I'm hooked.
