Ouch?

And how are you feeling today? Calves a little tight, quads screaming, glutes on fire? Think of your aches and pains as war wounds, wear them proudly, you earned them. If you think today is bad, think about how proud you can be tomorrow when delayed muscle soreness sets in, oops forgot to mention that in my what to expect talk. Running and recovering from an endurance event is a lot like having a baby, (sorry boys this analogy won’t work for you), the pain subsides and you are ready for another, ok, it didn’t work for me either, but you get where I am going.

I know that you may be wondering why you are sore today but weren’t after your training runs? One word, ADRENALINE. When you did your training runs you did not wear a timing chip, there were not 300 of you corralled like cattle into an area made for 75 to start your run, the music wasn’t pumping (well maybe in your car before your run), there certainly wasn’t an MC (although it would have been a nice touch), your finish line was the parking lot where you left your car, not a grand entrance thru the gates of Fort Langley to be welcomed by hundreds of cheering onlookers and that MC…and your medal was a latte at Starbucks not an actual medal. As an aside, you had all better be wearing your medals today, the rule is if you get bling it must be worn for 24-48 hours after the event, and yes, even if it was a participation medal, bling is bling.

Here are my recommendations for the next few days, give your body a break unless you will be joining me for the “props” class at Pilates by the Lake tonight, if you are having a hard time walking down stairs try walking down backwards (yes, really), take a bubble bath, eat properly, remember you are no longer training so watch those extra calories, if you are planning on running this week, wait until at least mid week and take it slow, if anything hurts head back to the couch. While you have a bit of time of your hands, I might also suggest that you take the opportunity to register for the 5 Peaks Trail Running Clinic starting on April 10/10.