I am not 25 anymore! Not even close actually.
Maybe this is an excuse, or maybe I think I am more fit than I am, but I have had such a hard time getting motivated to train for this marathon I have coming up next month. All I really want to do is sleep and eat. I have gained a few pounds since Redman, but I feel like I can never get caught up on my sleep, which is why I think I have over done it and not given myself time to recover properly. But what exactly does "proper recovery" mean anyways? Am I mentally worn out from running or is it physical???
Active.com states that one should allow for 3-5 days for every hour of racing. So roughly a month and a half recovery for me?
Other websites I looked up said 4 weeks to recover from Ironman.
So, maybe this is natural. Maybe it is longer for some or shorter for some, but I know I am in no way ready to run a marathon in 3 weeks. Yesterday I went out and ran 11 miles and mentally it was everything I could muster to get me to finish that 11 mile route. Forget speed or worrying about time, just finishing the run was a chore.
So with all this said, I think the smartest thing or me is to back down a step from the marathon and just run the half marathon. I just do not think I have the desire or the "want too" to finish 26.2 miles, and I certainly do not want to slug through the miles. I do not think I would be "competitive" in my eyes, so this is the next best thing. After this is over, I think December will be pretty low key, as well as will 2014. I am not going to make any commitments to any races until after the new year.
I totally understand this!! It seems like you are already in "shape" for something, you don't want to lose it....but then you find yourself getting exhausted after awhile. I think you are making a good decision switching to the half. If your mind and body are interested, it could mean not just a slow time you'd be disappointed with but possibly injury too.
ReplyDeleteIM recovery took a long time for me ... I think post IM blues and burnout is common. Take it easy and look for something you WANT do do -- the half sounds like a plan !
ReplyDeleteIronman does take about 4 weeks. It was tough because I had maybe a weeks downtime and then went straight into Chicago. I STILL need to take at least a 30 minute nape every other day to play catch up. Sleep and eat. Sleep and eat. Eat good foods that is :)
ReplyDeleteHalf is the way to go, really. You'll have a better race.