Happy Anniversary to Wild Juggling!

Running the 2013 Yonkers Marathon while juggling

It has been exactly one year since the founding of Wild Juggling! Over the past year, Wild Juggling has grown to 290 posts, 675 followers, slightly over 25,000 page views, and something around 150 bad jokes. It has been viewed and continues to get viewed in dozens of countries around the world.

Also over the past year, I have become a faster runner, ran one marathon in under 4 hours while juggling, did one podcast interview, and even partially joggled up a “mountain”.

But even more important, based on feedback I have gotten, I have inspired many people to exercise more(and I have been inspired in return). Some people tell me they are interested in going vegan because of my example. I still haven’t met a person who became a joggler though after reading my site, but inspiring people to joggle isn’t the main purpose of this blog. Inspiring people to live healthier lives, and to have more fun with exercise is the main purpose.

Thanks to all my followers for your support. All of you are great, and I continue to learn from you and your sites. I always look forward to your feedback. It has been fun. Let’s make Wild Juggling’s second year even more fun. Oh, and be sure to come back later since there will be a giveaway contest to celebrate the anniversary.

Countries of the world where Wild Juggling has been viewed

How long does it take to recover from a marathon?

So how long does it take to recover from a marathon? This is a question that is very difficult to answer. Obviously, the answer will depend on your age, your training, genetics, the difficulty of the marathon, and many other factors.

Just yesterday, exactly one week after running the hilly Yonkers Marathon(my first) in 3:51, I managed to run 13.2 miles(21.2 km) in just over 2 hours. I rested the day after the marathon and have been running short distances all last week, not exceeding 4.8 miles until yesterday.

The soreness as well as weakness from the Yonkers Marathon was mostly gone within 3 days. I think the weakness lasted a little longer. By yesterday I felt nothing at all. I wonder if all that cherry juice is helping. This interesting article in the NY Times attempts to answer the riddle of how long it takes to recover from a marathon – How Long Does It Take to Recover From a Marathon?

Dr. Urso advises runners to spend two to three weeks after a marathon doing what she calls a reverse taper. Before a race, most athletes taper by gradually decreasing the intensity and duration of their workouts.

After a race, do it in reverse, she suggested: Gradually build up with runs that at first last no longer than 60 minutes.

“I would guarantee that most runners will be back to baseline performance within two to three weeks of the marathon if they follow a program such as that,” she said.

This sounds like good advice, especially for those new to marathon running. However, if soreness is any indication, it took me just a few days to recover. Granted, I didn’t try running long distances until yesterday, and if I had I probably would have experienced some difficulty due to the marathon. I actually feel like I could run 26.2 miles tomorrow if I really wanted to, though I really should resist the temptation to do something like this. Just because I don’t feel sore doesn’t mean I have completely recovered. Not feeling sore at rest or while running short distances doesn’t mean I won’t experience soreness or even injury at mile 15 or 20. I’m contemplating running another marathon, though not sure where or when just yet.

So it looks like the answer to the question is “weeks”, but probably no more than 2 months. It probably takes longer for older runners to fully recover. Sure there are some people who run marathons every day or every week, but these runners usually train very rigorously and they are usually not that fast.

For those of you who have run a marathon, how long did it take you to recover?

My marathon training

Here is what my marathon training consists of:

• 1 long run per week of 15 to 20 miles
• 2 moderately long runs of 10 to 12 miles
• Short runs of 3.8 to 6 miles alternating with the longer run days

I aim to run a minimum of 30 miles per week.

I tend to run 4 to 5 days in a row, and then take a rest day which means I will just walk a little and do a lot of juggling as cross training. I alternate between long run days and short run days usually, to help rest my legs.

I do strength training for both my upper body and lower body, with much greater emphasis on my legs. I don’t want my upper body to become bulky so I keep it to a minimum, otherwise it slows me down as a runner. About once a week I do a complete upper body workout which consists of:

• 2 sets of arm curls with resistance bands(usually 10 to 12 repetitions)
• 2 sets of shoulder lifts with resistance bands(usually 7 to 9 repetitions)
• 1 set of push-ups(I usually do between 30 to 34)
• Juggle 3 very heavy balls(2.25 lbs) for several minutes until I can’t do it anymore

I tend to do this workout after runs(later in the day, not immediately after) since I want my body to build endurance for long runs rather than emphasize upper body muscle growth. Doing this before would emphasize muscle growth and may compromise my endurance level. I do an abbreviated version of this workout a few days after this which consists of just push-ups and heavy ball juggling. This workout allows me to juggle for hours on end. Here is some of my equipment – Iron Juggling.

My lower body/legs strength training regimen is even more important. I do this 2 to 3 times a week(rarely on the same day as upper body strength training). I tend to do this before I go out for a run(and refueling first if doing the run right after), and only on days when I do short runs. This helps build muscle for endurance runs, and to help rebuild muscle the days after very long runs.

This consists of:

• 4 sets of leg lifts with ankle weights, I usually do about 20 lifts
• 3 sets of this type of standing hip exercise using resistance bands(very important for hills). I do about 10 to 15 usually.
• 1 set of bicycle crunches to build ab strength
• 3 sets of jumping squats to build explosiveness and leg strength

On some days I will run on mostly hilly terrain during my long runs to train for the notoriously hilly Yonkers Marathon. Some good research indicates that the body can either build cardio endurance or strength for the day, but not both. They are in conflict, but not as bad as some people may think it is. So endurance runners should strength train their upper body after runs, not before. It’s fine to do leg strength training first though to build leg muscle, at least that is how my body works.

I do no stretching, except for the occasional back stretch on an exercise ball. I’ve seen no convincing studies indicating that stretching is beneficial.

If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear from you.