(Recovery) Week(s) in Review

1/23 through 1/29:
55 miles
0 days off
0 doubles
0 workouts

1/16 through 1/22:
0 miles
7 days off
2 hours elliptical
5 days in SLC
4 airports (BOS, DEN, SLC, JFK)

As promised, I took an entire week off from running. Eight days, actually. My first run after the Trials didn't occur until Monday afternoon, shortly after arriving on a red-eye flight from Salt Lake City after an exhausting week/weekend of working the Outdoor Retailer show. I don't know what I was expecting from that first run back, but what I got was one of the most humbling experiences of my entire life. Simply put, it was awful. Every stride felt slow, awkward and incredibly unnatural, almost as if I'd never run before in my life. Really? I asked Running. I've given you so much of myself, day in and day out for the past however many days, and this is how you choose to repay me? By making me feel as though I couldn't run one single mile at my marathon pace right now if my life depended on it? How rude.

Fortunately, my runs got better, albeit only marginally, as the week progressed. By Saturday I felt ambitious enough to embark on my first double digit run, bolstered by excellent company. Emily and Carly drove up from the city and I took them on a few loops of the Neck before returning to the fort for a gourmet breakfast whipped up by Jordan. (While I truly hate that he's not running right now, I always appreciate a well-crafted flapjack.) On Sunday I reciprocated the drive by meeting Emily, Carly, Teresa, Terry and some new (to me) BAA faces for a "long" run on part of the Boston Marathon course. They planned to do an 11-mile loop twice, but once was more than enough for me at this stage in my recovery. Though it was ridiculously windy and my legs felt pretty terrible climbing the Newton hills, I was definitely glad I made the trip. I look forward to many more runs and workouts with these guys as I return to serious training.


What I've been doing in the evening instead of doubling

For now, however, I definitely plan to take it easy for another week. I may throw in a baby workout on Thursday or Friday if I'm feeling frisky, but I plan to keep the mileage where it's at and really listen to my body. It's silly to jeopardize some potentially great spring performances by rushing back into things now. I've got big goals for 2012, and it's important to keep the big picture in mind. So instead of training my heart out, I'll just live vicariously through my friends and training partners as they knock out some great workouts and races. Life could be worse!