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December 20, 2004
Monday Recovering
I realized I had to change the title of my last entry. I had intended for it to be a quick entry but then got carried away with the details of the event as I began to write. The words just fell off my fingers. I am really thankful for everyone's nice comments about the race and event. Now that I am officially taking a break from formal training I can catch up on everyone else's blog.
My left hamstring is no longer sore which is great. My right hamstring however is still really tight. It probably has not helped that I have been sitting at the computer almost the entire day. I finished my last paper which I was procrastinating on a little bit but am fairly satisfied with the results. I also had to catch up on my emails (I am still not done) and tie up some other loose ends. In a little while I plan to ice my hamstring and do some light stretching. I really hope some of the tightness decreases by tomorrow. I don't think I tore anything but I think I did strain it.
I feel pretty tired and uninspired today. Perhaps it is the emotional let down that occurs after a big event that you have trained for or planned. It is also probably overall body fatigue and some of the seasonal fatigue that comes when you are rushing around trying to get things done for a big holiday. If my hamstring was not so tight I would have enjoyed an easy two mile run in the snow but I definitely knew better than to even attempt that stunt.
We had about 6 inches of snow fall in CT today. I woke up early and was planning to head up to MA to return to my house, collect my mail, and wrap things up at school. When I attempted to drive this morning I was slipping and sliding all over the roads. I did not trust myself on the roads so I went back to my parent's house and spent the day here doing work. I feel pretty lazy today because I have not done any exercise. It feels good but I am so tight. I feel like after this entry I need to get up and walk around. Tomorrow I hope to get out in the snow for a little while even if it is just shoveling the sidewalk.
I was looking up past results for the Huff 50k and saw that about 5 years ago the winning female ran sub 4 hours on the course. MARY BETH ELLIS 3:57:39.0 7:20/M in 1999. I was really impressed with that time. It is still a goal of mine to break 4 hours either on this Huff 50k course or the Way Too Cool 50k course. I know that I will have to be 100% healthy to do that so that I can maintain my pace throughout the entire race. I also saw a race result from a few years ago which stated that a 4:16:31.0 result was a 7:41/M pace per/mile. This makes me think maybe the course was long? I am not sure.
Well I thought I'd have more time to write but I have to go and help wrap some Christmas presents. Thanks again to everyone for all of your support. If you had to run in the snow today and face the cold weather I hope it wasn't too bad. I am looking forward to reading the snowy reports from the East Coast Runners.
Posted by mary at December 20, 2004 7:41 PM
Comments
That 3:57 may be a little suspect, I think. I noticed that the Male winning time that year was also extremely fast. (No one has come within 13 minutes of the winning time since, including the guy that ran that time.) Makes me wonder if the course was a bit shorter that year? Might be worth an email to the race director to ask if the course has changed since `99...
Congrats again on your great run, I'm really proud of you! Now take a break and eat lots of good fatty holiday food!
Posted by: Dave at December 20, 2004 9:38 PM
Mary,
I very late in stopping by to congratulate you on your 50K win. It's amazing that that distance is easy for you! Enjoy your recovery and your break from hard training, you have definitely earned it all!
Meghan
Posted by: Meghan at December 22, 2004 8:18 PM
Tardy congrats from me, too! Texas's big ultrarunning event - Sunmart - was run recently, at the beginning of December, and every year I think "if only I weren't marathon training ..."
I know the post-race mini-depression feeling, but hopefully you can snap out of it soon and enjoy your time off! You people (Yankees) should really stay indoors this time of year, you know.
Posted by: jenandmats at December 22, 2004 9:49 PM
Congrats on your win! A friend call the post marathon thing PMS- post marathon syndrome. It always helps to think about your next goal, I think, but also to enjoy the work you did to achieve this goal. And, enjoy your holiday.
Posted by: lilly at December 23, 2004 11:05 AM