Post Race Thoughts

Recovery
Leopold and I are fairly recovered from the next-day marathon soreness, which simply amazes me. Leopold's post-race status went from "my-girl-scream-reflex-is-broken" to "normal" in less than 48 hours. That is just wrong. He really should be made to suffer longer for putting his body through that ordeal... After my first marathon, I recall not being able to sit, walk down stairs, or do many other things normally that one takes for granted on an every day basis for at least a week.

Still DNF Free?
I suppose I really did not DNF this race after all. Originally, it was my intention to DNF at mile 10, and jog it in to the Half finish with Leopold. Since the knee issue completely stopped when I did, and it did not resume with the walk/ running, I continued on. So really, I just gave up my "race", because not only did I finish the marathon (distance), but when I was done, my Garmin said 29.02 miles. An extra 2 point something when I turned around to start up with the boys, plus nearly an extra mile was added just from the effort of continuing to find the highest, flattest spot on the Trail to run on. I should get an award for the worst tangent running ever!

Thanks, Race Director!
When Leopold finished, he was concerned he may have been disqualified for coming in with my number but his chip. It was clear the RD knew what went down, though. Leopold's Half Marathon time was not posted at all, and his name was attached to my chip time. Also, both Ty and Leopold were included in the Age Group Finishers. Well, done RD! You will be receiving a nice e-mail from me.

Good-Bye, Garmin
I am saying good-bye to Garmin for a while. From now on, I plan to train based on time rather than miles, and perceived effort instead of pace (with few exceptions). I've been meaning to take time vs. miles per week approach for a while. Now seems like a good time to actually implement it.

Next: Longer or Shorter?
I can't decide if I want to cycle back to the 5K yet or, given the 29 miler I ran, find a 50K to cap things off with. How does one even decide on 2 such very different things? Hmmm.. Any thoughts?


[ORN: Obligatory Running Note]: Easy, gentle 35 minutes this morning. I have no soreness at all, but that isn't to say I feel "fresh", either. I'm just relieved the knee issue never turned into anything substantial. I feel like I dodged a bullet on that one. I was already aware of the tight/ sore left hip flexor even before the race. It will come around in time.