Pledge Week 14: Recovery is a Long Road

Times eaten fast food this week = 0
Total pledge amount this week = $35 (7 days * $5)
Total pledge amount to date = $505 ($500 contributed to date)
Funds raised to date = $2870

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The fast food habit was easily kicked again this week. Discipline and good choices in the face of time crunches also helped (thank goodness for Chipotle chicken bowls with no cheese or sour cream). But that's not the real story this week because my good weeks tend to look very similar now...

No, the real story is how much these long races take out of you. If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I did the Long Beach Full Marathon on Sunday. Immediately after finishing, I grabbed a banana, coconut water and a protein shake from the athlete tent. I gobbled them all down as I then made my way to the medical tent. There I proceeded to get two bags of ice for my quads which I also later used for my calves. I then threw my compression pants on in the car as my parents drove to the brunch spot.

Isn't that the magic formula, right?
Carbs? Check
Protein? Check
Water/Electrolytes? Check
Ice? Check
Compression? Check

I even came home and passed out on the couch with my legs elevated over my sofa! (Elevation? Check haha) I mean I did everything you could think of...

And Monday morning was still miserable. My feet hurt like crazy. My quads felt tight. My calves were on fire. Monday was a rough day just trying to move around...

Tuesday came. A little bit less of everything, but my feet still hurt.

Then Wednesday. Finally some better movement. Getting to the gym to do some light weights helped get my muscles moving. Softball got my cardio back up a bit (we killed the other team so I didn't play that hard haha).

By Thursday, I think I had some semblance of normal movement, but I still felt uneasy. Friday was no different and I spent 1/3rd of that day stuck in traffic on my way to Solvang...

Even Saturday, as I prepared to roll up to the Solvang Century, I was still uneasy and a little concerned. But read my Race Report and you'll see I somehow magically pushed it and was just fine ;)