Although I have never run this far before, I recovered from the 40 mile run to Mahopac a lot faster than I expected. I think this is mostly due to my slow pace and the lunch break walk near the middle. And maybe that mineral rich miso soup when I got home. Also, the Cliff Bar and lots of cherry juice immediately after were a big help. In fact, I recovered from this run much faster than I did from the Yonkers marathon. I took 2 days off after the Yonkers marathon because of how sore I felt, while I took only 1 day off after the Mahopac bound 40 miler. In fact, I walked about 3 miles the day after the ultra-run.
I was back to running normally within a few days. 2 days after the Mahopac run, I ran 5.2 miles at an 8:52 pace, which is moderate, slightly slow pace for me. I also didn’t drop once. The day after this, I ran 10.2 miles, at an 8:58 pace(again, no drops), which is moderate for that distance. I continued on, running much like before. The longest run I’ve done since was a 16 mile run at a 10:38 pace a few days ago, which is slow even for this distance. For some reason I had little energy that day. I don’t think it was due to over-training, it was probably due to sleep and diet issues(didn’t carb load properly).
I felt like I was fully recovered from the Mahopac run in 4 days, though I realize how I feel isn’t necessarily a reliable indicator of recovery. Another reason I seemingly recovered fast was I stayed well nourished and hydrated during the long run, and had no major stomach issues.
Strangely, my wrists and hands had more issues this time than my legs or hips. This wasn’t a problem after my last marathon. Toward the end of the 40 mile run, my left wrist was in pain. Since it was only a slight pain I could mostly ignore it and continue juggling. When I got home I realized my left hand and wrist were swollen, and this continued for several days. The pain went away and most of the swelling subsided, however, it tends to get swollen whenever I run more than 10 miles, though luckily there is only a little soreness. This is rather strange, since it was my right hand that got broken in a car accident several years ago, not my left. I sometimes wonder if excessive sodium is partly to blame.
While at first I suspected this was a problem unique to jogglers, I’ve read that distance runners and cyclists can experience the same thing. Basically, if your hands are lower than your heart during very prolonged endurance exercise, blood gets pumped into them, but it is much more difficult for the blood to come out.
Fortunately, this is just a minor annoyance, and doesn’t seem to affect my juggling ability. I didn’t drop during today’s 10 mile run, or yesterday’s 10 mile run to Larchmont, or Friday’s 16 mile run. Though minor, I will be looking into ways to prevent this, and appreciate any advice.
One of the most important lessons I learned while recovering from this ultra-run is that moving around, short easy runs, and light exercise is the key to recovering from very long runs. It’s okay to nap or sit, just don’t do it for too long unless you are fatigued in the extreme. Sometimes pushing yourself is a good idea, sometimes it isn’t. How to tell when it’s a good idea is one of the mysteries of running.
AcroTrekker 