This last week following Phoenix marathon has been very active, but not because of running. It has been so nice to switch gears and focus on family and friends after the long marathon build-up!
Week activities included wine night with some of my girls:
Celtics game Friday night- such an intense game against the NY Knicks! In the end, our team survived with a last second win!
My Saturday started with a flywheel class with friends, which was almost as intense as the Celtics game! My friends are incredible at spin, and really push me to my maximum. It was a great first workout post-Phoenix marathon, and I am still feeling some soreness!
Flywheel was followed by some time spent with my parents (so happy that they live only half an hour south of me!), and then we met up with so many cousins to celebrate some March birthdays!
A concert at the Middle East in Cambridge capped off the night. Our awesome friend Tom’s (my friend’s boyfriend) band was playing, and they were SO GOOD! So much dancing, so much fun.
Yesterday I was back to hitting up my favorite running paths in Boston for a short and easy-paced run. It was a beautiful day out there, and it felt like spring was in the air.
I’ve started to switch gears from the Phoenix marathon to focus on Boston, which is 6 weeks from today. Since the two races are only 7 weeks apart, I have to balance recovery from the first and training for the second. I truly have follow my body and be flexible with the training plan. As the Hanson’s Method indicates in their post-race recovery section, taking time off from running is important because it gives your body time to restore glycogen and hydration levels to normal. The marathon breaks down your muscles on a microscopic level, leaving them in dire need of time for rest and repair. Hansons recommends two full weeks off from running following a marathon, but my coaches and I have agreed that I will start to incorporate shorter, lower-intensity runs into my training in the upcoming week as I am feeling somewhat recovered from Phoenix.
In the end, I am SO EXCITED to see what the next five weeks of training brings!
How was YOUR weekend? Any races/good runs?
How much time off do you usually take after a race before training for the next?
Do you like to spin? What’s your favorite cross-training activity?
Any fun plans this week? After a busy last week, so far I have some workouts and lots of SLEEP on the schedule. Boring, I know! :)
Have a HAPPY Monday!
Jane Runs Wild 
Good weekend here but looong. Fasting and being home all day with the kiddos is tough. And since I’m fasting I can’t get out for a long run in the sunshine which doesn’t relieve my mental state.
I did get a new pair of running shoes though! They look super aggressive for trails so I’m ready to tear it up once the Fast is over.
As far as recovery post-race: I don’t do as much as I should. Perhaps a few days of nothing or just a mile shuffle before I start to extend the mileage again but keep moving slow.
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Awesome about the new running shoes! I got some new Brooks as well– what kind did you get? Fasting must be so tough with running! How long is that going to last? Good luck! :)
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What a great weekend you had!! Glad you were able to get a little fun in before this next cycle!! I’ve never done a spin class before, but they sound like absolute a$$ kickers! Might be good for the soul for me to try one, :D. Have a great week!
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Thanks so much! Yes spinning almost killed me this weekend! Great job in your half!!! Have a good week yourself!
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Ah, Boston is so close! I can’t wait to see see you rock it. I’ve never run marathons that close together. But I usually take off a few days (4-5 depending) from running totally. I DID have a fun 4 miler this weekend. :)
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Thanks so much!! Glad to hear you got in a good run! And 4-5 days of rest sounds like a good plan :)
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I usually start my run a few days post race, depends on the feeling. This time I started on the Thursday with only an easy 5K, and two other easy on the Friday and Sunday.
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Thanks for your input! Always good to hear what others do. Thanks!
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Looks like you had a fab weekend Jane. Basketball, bands and birthdays!
Bit late now but maybe this’ll be useful after Boston. Here’s Greg Mc’s post-marathon recovery plan … https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/articlePages/article/27
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Thanks so much for posting this information! It offers a great post- race plan. This is a great site, a great resource.
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Looking forward to seeing how you train for Boston. I plan on doing Tucson Marathon early December and then Phoenix Marathon late February. I’ve never done 2 that close before.
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Awesome!! You’ll love both I’m sure! Hope that Phoenix is a bit cooler for you next year! Good luck with that BQ! :)
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Good luck with your quick recovery and then gearing right back up for Boston. I’m in full go for Boston myself with a 16-miler on tap tomorrow morning while traveling for work in Huntsville, Ala. I usually take a few days off after a marathon and just walk until about Thursday and then gradually get back at it. As for spinning, I love it and don’t do it enough. Swimming is probably my favorite cross-training activity as it allows my legs to recover. And, I’ve enjoyed taking some Body Pump classes and wish I could take them more often.
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Thanks for your comment! Hope the training has gone well for you so far! I’m getting super excited and can sense the excitement growing in my city! Good luck with the 16 miles! And I’d love to swim more, if only I had more frequent access to a pool. Good luck and have fun!
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So exciting you’re running Boston–can’t wait to follow your training! I was supposed to run 11 miles Saturday but cut it short at 10–the tendons around my knee have been bugging me so I’m taking some rest days and scheduled PT. I had Graston before for my calf, so I’m hoping it will help again! I’m not a big spin fan but I love strength training classes!
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Thank you for your comment and hope that your knee is feeling better!! Hope the PT helps too. Definitely keep foam rolling and ice your knee!
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I am excited about Boston too! No, I am not running it but am looking forward to watching it with my kids. :-)
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It’s going to be a great day out there!! Let’s hope the weather cooperates!! :)
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I agree!
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I haven’t done a big goal race before, so I’ve never taken off after a race. After the marathon, I plan to take some much needed rest! The best workout for me last week was my Saturday recovery run. I had icicles on my eyelashes, but everything was so pretty. I was in my happy place :-)
Have a great week!
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Sounds like a beautiful run last weekend! Hope the weather is a little warmer for you this week- it’s been summer-like in Boston!!
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Sounds like a great week and weekend! We had a half-marathon this past weekend…didn’t run quite the time I was hoping for but respectable enough just nowhere near a PR though. Transitioning between cycles is something I’m still figuring out. After Maui, I only had about 2 weeks before my next training cycle needed to start for Salt Lake. I’m not sure how I’m going to approach 3 marathons in <3 months with Salt Lake, RnR Seattle, and Missoula. I'm guessing I'll only have a realistic PR attempt at one of them – probably SLC but will be fun to find out, or maybe I should say interesting to find out! Have a great week, Cheers!
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There are a lot of resources out there! Here’s an article to check out regarding multiple marathons: http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/marathon-training-plans-how-long-before-running-another-marathon/
And of course, Hal Higdon has a training plan for multiple races: http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51153/Marathon-Multiple-Marathons-Training-Program
You have some exciting goals, but it sounds like you’ll have to pick one as your goal marathon/PR attempt, and the others can be considered as training runs. Looking forward to hearing how they all go!! Exciting locations!
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Those links are great Jane…I have the Higdon one but will certainly check out the Runners Connect – I am finding some great articles from them that they share over twitter. And, yeah, in terms of marathon PRs…only 1 or 2 a year will realistically be a goal PR type of race. Lots of fun stuff going on!!
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My weekend was pretty good. Did a spin class on saturday and ran 4 miles on Sunday.
This is my first year doing so many races so i guess i will find out how much time i take off! I think mostly i will be doing a lot of listening to my body.
I have just started doing spin classes and i love them! They are so killer!
I might hike this weekend. That is really the only thing on the docket this week.
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Awesome!! I can’t wait to spin more myself! Hope you enjoyed your weekend and the hike! :)
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Sounds like a fun week.
Impressive how you are running two marathons almost back to back. So inspiring.
Hope we get to meet in Boston.
Happy running.
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Thank you, same!! How is your training going?! Good luck in the next 6 weeks!
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I just ran two marathons fairly close together (8 weeks) and in hindsight I did pretty well the first week (one run/walk and one really easy 3 mile run) but pushed too hard the second and it took longer for my long runs to feel something other than hard. Definitely take it easy for a couple weeks!
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Thank you for your comment! I am feeling sore these days and definitely need to take it easy before I jump back into marathon training! It’s a little tough, given that Boston is less than 6 weeks away, but I think that I’ll run better if I ease back into it. Hope your running is going well right now!
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Sounds like the perfect, fun recovery week!! I love FlyWheel. It’s such a good non-running cardio workout.
Have you ever taken a look at Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning? It has some good plans for back-to-back marathon training, customized for races 4-, 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-weeks apart. I ran Berlin and NYC 5 weeks apart in 2014, and it was a good plan for the in between period.
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