50 Mile Race Recovery

After running the Green Swamp 50, I didn't think I would need to write this post. I didn't think I'd have enough content to give my 2 cents. This was before the car ride home. This was before I started to get stiff. This was extremely naive.

When I got out of the car, after driving 2 hours to get home, I couldn't believe how much different my body felt from just 2 hours prior. It seems that ever joint in my body, did not want to extend any more than it had during that car ride. It took a good 20 minutes of walking around to get my body semi loose again, though it didn't last long. That evening included a long shower, a lot of eating, a movie, and an early, well needed bedtime.

The next morning the stiffness was to a whole new level. Every joint all the way down to my toes were sore. This was a whole new type of stiffness. Walking around, there was a sharp pain coming from the outside of the bottom of my foot. My feet were completely swollen. The reminded me of and sometimes felt like sausages.

My "sausage-like" feet a day after the race.

My "hobbit-like" feet on a normal day.

 Over the next few days I spent a lot of time with my feet in an ice bucket. I tried to walk around as much as possible, whether it was at school, the store, or work. I tried to find excuses to take the stairs. Everything was tight and walking was very slow, but day by day I could feel it getting better.

Recovery "Florida Style"

By the fourth day, pretty much all of my muscle aches were gone. There was still irritation in walking, but it was only from joints and tendons. I decided I'd try running the following day. On Thursday, I woke up feeling the same and decided to run 3-4 miles. Around a mile in, I was starting to really feel good and decided to make a turn for a 10 mile loop. Bad choice.

I felt great through mile 7 and then I felt a sharp pain in my foot right where it had been the previous 5 days. I quickly stopped running and continued to walk the final 3 miles home. I didn't want to do any more damage than I had already just done. There was a sharp pain every time I took a step for that entire 3 miles. My stubbornness in wanting to be back on my feet quickly was to blame. I had to rest it.

Two days later, I was back to a slight irritation while walking. The next day, Monday, I decided to run again. This time I only ran 3 miles. At the end of my run the irritation was there, but it wasn't a sharp pain. It had only taken 9 days, but this was improvement I could work with. Tuesday I ran 4 miles with a little less irritation and Wednesday was 6 miles with barely any. I am glad I was able to correct my problem early enough for it not to effect my training for too long. I can see how easily it is to really injure yourself. Especially when you want to get back on your feet but your body isn't ready. I plan on continuing to slowly add miles until I am completely recovered. If that is such a thing.

Lesson Learned:  Joints and tendons take a lot longer to recover than your muscles. Be patient with your body.