Recovery

I ran a marathon! Now what? 

I think recovery is the hardest part for me. It is so different from training because you have to take it day by day. You never know exactly how fast your body will recover from your marathon. 

1. Listen to your body. Don't push yourself too hard. You do not want to risk injury. 

2. Stretch. Stretching is so important to keep your muscles from tightening up. (make sure to do a warm up walk before stretching) 

3. Sleep. I think one of the hardest things for me after my marathon was to sleep. My adrenaline was working overtime for sure! But once I did finally sleep I felt so much better!

4. Eat. Give your body a chance to refuel with healthy food. (Of course giving yourself a cheat day is okay too) You just ran a marathon! 

5. Relax. Enjoy your time off from working out. There is a life outside of running! The first thing I did after my race was crawl into bed and binge watch my favorite tv show. 

This is what recovery looks like. 

I hope these tips were helpful for you if you just ran a marathon or just need to take some time to recover from something else! 

Until next time, 

Janelle 

Marathon Day!

I've done it. 

I ran my first marathon! 

It was hot

It was fun! 

It was really really difficult. 

I finished with a time of 5.34. 

My goal was to run a marathon and have a great time doing it and I did. I high-fived the little kids and thanked all of the volunteers! 

The experience was incredible! 

My favorite part was in the beginning when my adrenaline was pumping and everyone was cheering us on. One thing that I learned while running my marathon is that it definitely is as hard as I thought! If you are considering running a marathon, here are my pros and cons list that may help you to decide! 

Pros. 

1. Accomplishment

2. Runners High 

3. Physically Fit 

4. Inspiration To Others

Cons. 

1. Blisters

2. Tired 

3. Sore

4. Recovery time 

I might have missed a few things on my pros and cons list but that is all I could think of at the moment. In my opinion, if you are physically capable you should at least run one marathon in your lifetime. It truly is an incredible experience! 

Now here are a few pictures from my marathon adventure!

 

Until next time, 

Janelle 

Marathon Week!

My marathon is just one week away. The next time I post on here I will have ran a full marathon! This has been an awesome experience and I have learned so much. Sometimes when I am running so far I feel like I can't run anymore. Here are a few of the things that I use to keep going!

When you feel like you want to stop running... 

1. Think of your favorite day and play every minute of it in your head. Start from when you wake up, to when you go to bed. 

2. Look at the crowd cheering you on. Reading the signs are the best! 

3. Eat a snack! Eating is always a good thing to do while running a marathon and it can distract you from wanting to quit!

4. Pray. Meditate on a passage of encouraging scripture or just talk to God.

5. Imagine yourself crossing the finish line. Picture how happy you will be when you finish and what you just accomplished! 

I have been looking at the weather for my race next week and it has been changing every day. It went from 70 degrees with 20 percent chance of showers to 80 and sunny. Although I know I cannot change the weather, I would much rather have 70 degree weather than 80 degrees any day! Either way the weather goes I will still be at the starting line at 7:30 about to run my first marathon! 

I hope these tips were helpful to anyone running a race soon! 

Until next time, 

Janelle