I had every intention of having a race recap and review up today, but I just didn’t have the energy.


Image from YAvengers.com

As you may remember, or didn’t block me from Instagram or Twitter I ran Rock n Roll Philly yesterday. Obviously, I didn’t hide my results, I had a big PR, but it wasn’t easy. We ran hard. I was in pain, and when we finished, I was drained, physically and emotionally.


Image from createdebate.com

I didn’t do a great job of focusing on recovery the way I did with pre-race prep.
– My post race meal was pretty good: Greek yogurt, vegan cornbread, and tons of water/Gatorade.
– I did my usual lavender Epsom bath (with some Westin Bath Salts added in, thanks to the runWestin team and runConcierge Chris Heuisler).
– I tried to nap, but chose to take it on my couch while the Eagles were playing, and my across the hall neighbors are apparently big fans. Every few minutes I was woken up.
– I didn’t continue to drink fluids like I should have. I didn’t really focus on nutrients for my remaining meals, I even considered not eating because I was too tired to cook.
– I didn’t keep moving, I didn’t foam roll, I didn’t even do a complete stretch session.

In short, I failed at recovery, which is a rookie mistake. True recovery is a critical part of training, especially if you have more races coming up.

Luckily, I have a job that allowed me to take today off with basically no notice. I am spending today focusing on real recovery, and while I feel a bit guilty about it, I know I need it to be able to focus on the different parts of my life (work, training, social) with fervor for the rest of the week.

So today, you’ll find me drinking lots of fluids, taking lots of naps, and then getting active to move that lactic acid out of my system.