Ashley D /

Recovering After A Race

After Saturday’s rough half marathon, I’ve spent this week focusing on recovering. That can mean different things for everyone but for me, based on the plan and directions Gia provided for me, it revolves around a few key areas:

  • Protein
  • Rest
  • Selective workouts
  • Yoga

Protein is very important for muscle recovery by helping rebuild muscle fibers. Runners put their body through a great deal of impact every time their foot strikes the asphalt. Therefore, it is important to increase your protein intake the week before a race and after a race.  Below are a few of my favorite ways to sneak protein into my day.

  • 1/2 to 1 serving of protein powder mixed into my morning oatmeal
  • handful of almonds with my morning or afternoon fruit
  • add an extra protein into my salads (edamame, hard boiled egg, shrimp, chicken, nuts, cheese, quinoa)
  • top my veggie burger with an egg
  • eggs for dinner
  • chocolate milk after my morning or evening workout

Yes mom, I'll pour it in a glass next time.

Rest was the last thing on my mind last week. It was a very busy work week and blogging week due to multiple events. Therefore, I didn’t get to bed until 11 most nights last week, meaning that my body was only resting for six hours. This week I’ve made a concerted effort to be laying in bed by 9pm. This allows me an hour to read The Hunger Games and still get 7.5 hours sleep. In addition, I’ve cut out alcohol this week which seems to be helping me sleep more soundly.

Selective workouts are important to ensure that my muscles are able to truly recover and repair. I often push my body more than it deserves. Over the years I’ve realized that my body really needs one absolute rest day each week. However, until Sunday, my body had been going non-stop in yoga, spin, weight workouts, and running for 16 days straight. Oops! Therefore, in addition to last Sunday, I’m giving it another complete rest day one day this week. In addition, pushing my body during workouts that aren’t going to help me reach my end goal, has a tendancy to set me back in the more important, running workouts. Last week during two evening blog events, I pushed my body in the Refine Method class and The Daily Burn workout.
Even though I said I’d take it down a notch and follow in the back, that isn’t my nature. Therefore, by Thursday, my entire body was screaming. This week I’m giving my body some time by doing two focused runs (4.5 mile tempo and 4 mile at goal pace), 2 at home yoga workouts, and one personal training session which was primarily agility work.
Yoga is important during recovery because it can help lengthen the muscles, release tension, and relax the body. This week I’ve discovered a few new free YouTube yoga workouts which have helped me squeeze some relaxing yoga practice into my day, both morning and night. None of these are strenuous but instead slow, flowing, and focused on the key areas for runners: hips, hamstrings, and calves. Here are a few of the short videos I’ve done this week:

It’s also important to realize that regardless of how successful your race is, you’re still pushing your body. Even though Saturday’s race wasn’t the PR I’d hoped for, my legs and body felt the affects due to the hills, distance, and stress. It’s amazing how much better I feel after four days of focusing on these few things.  Oh and don’t worry, for those of you who have been asking, I will address Saturday’s “bonk” in tomorrow’s Friday Face Time.

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Ashley D /

Getting Through Your First Marathon

Today’s Marathons+Moderation guest post comes from Abby, an inspirational runner and doctoral student. Abby loves sharing her fitness journey with others through personal training, run coaching, and her blog. She shares her workouts with readers while also inspiring even the busiest person, whether they live in Iowa or New York City, to just get out and move! If you’re a local New Yorker, you can find her at the Lululemon East 66th store inspiring others or tagging along with the run club in her spare time. I hope you enjoy this week’s installment as much as I do!

Hi there! I’m Abby from Run Stronger Every Day. I’m a personal trainer, run coach, lululemon Ambassador, 20+ year running veteran, and a doctoral student at NYU’s Steinhardt School for Physical Therapy. Ten years ago, I ran my first marathon in New York City with 30,000 of my closest friends and P. Diddy. Since then, I’ve run eight more in four difference cities and served as a guide for a blind marathon runner. I’m looking forward to hopefully running my best marathon this fall at the Marine Corps Marathon and love the challenge that every training season brings, but I’ve never forgot my first.

Without a doubt, I am always a little nervous (ok, more than a little) at every start line. Along the way, I have learned tricks and tools to get me through the hard miles and to the finish line.

#1. Know why you’re running. For yourself, for a charity, for a family member. Whatever the reason, it had better be a good one that will motivate you when you want to give up. I run for Team Fisher House because my husband was a Marine for ten years and it makes me feel like I’m helping in some small way. I remind myself who I am running for when the miles get hard and it never fails to get me through.

 

 #2. Train smart. Too much and you’ll risk injury. Too little and you may not make it through the big one. Get a coach or a trusted friend who knows their stuff to mentor you and follow your plan.

 #3. Test drive every aspect of your marathon: food, drink, clothes, gear, music, bathroom breaks, everything. Once you figure out what works, stick with it for race day. Practicing takes the guess work out of what to do on race day when you’re too nervous to think straight.

 #4. Tell everyone what you’re doing. You’d be surprised how motivating it is to have people as how training is going. Even better, they’ll be the ones cheering the loudest for you as you take to the road on marathon morning. And everyone needs cheerleaders!

#5. Have a post-marathon plan. A lot of runners experience depression after the marathon. You can avoid this by having something else to look forward to in the weeks and months after the race. A trip, a shorter race, a new goal to conquer, anything to keep you going after the big day.

If you are thinking about running your first marathon, do it now! There’s nothing like crossing the finish line at your first marathon; you will remember that feeling forever. Be smart, train hard, and have fun. Now go out and run!

What are your tips for getting through your first marathon?

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The Odds Will Forever Be In Your Favor If You Survive This Workout

Until last Wednesday I had no desire to read The Hunger Games. Sure, I’d heard wonderful things from everyone and their brother about this book, but normally I tend to avoid cult favorites. For example, I’ve never read the Harry Potter series or Twilight. I know, you can lift your jaw off the table now. I haven’t been under a rock, I promise. I just haven’t been interested.

What changed on Wednesday you ask? Well, my ass got handed to me by Daily Burn’s Hunger Game inspired workout which Theodora organized as part of her day job. I was the only person who didn’t understand the constant survival jokes, comments regarding some people named Peeta and Katniss.

Compliments of Samantha's Blog (www.checkmypulseblog.com)

I rarely want to be the odd man out or confused so after this workout I vowed that I’d spend time on the bus to Washington, DC starting the series. A few days later I’m hooked on both the book and this workout.

The workout, which took place in the beautiful IAC Building, overlooking the Hudson River, was led by the Daily Burn team and Lisa Wheeler, their fitness program director.

Lisa Wheeler motivating the group as we get ready to conquer the workout.

The Animal Core workout, which is rated intermediate by Daily Burn, took us through a warm-up followed by four circuits of animal inspired drills such as dolphin jumps, donkey kicks, crab walks, and other plyometric exercises.

This is definitely harder than it looks, especially the third time through.

Surrounded by some awesome athletes, I pushed myself through every exercise which means that on Friday I was still feeling the pain in my glutes. By the end of the workout, we all decided that if we incorporated this into our training at least two times per week, the odds would be in our favor for sure.

Don't we look confident?

While I’ve discussed my love of Daily Burn on here before, here are a few of my favorite things from this workout.

  • The countdown clock on the right side of the screen allows you to see how much time you have left in the workout.
  • It is truly a full body workout! My arms and pecs were sore the next day from the planks and pushups while my glutes and calves were feeling every dolphin jump and donkey kick.
  • There are 15 second breaks between the workouts which allow for a quick water break, getting readjusted, or just a breather.
  • If this is intermediate than my ass is already scared to feel the affects of a hard or advanced workout.
  • This workout could be done in a NYC size apartment as long as you have about 10 feet of space for crab walks and duck walks.

If you’re looking for a library of sweat inducing workouts and some nutrition tracking, Daily Burn is most likely a great option. The $9.99 per month price tag is hard to beat and the workouts evolve based on your previous experiences and headway due to the tracking ability. For a limited time, you can preview it online for free!

Have you read The Hunger Games? If so, who is your favorite character? If not, will you see the movie?

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