I went to the Running of the Green 4-Mile race at Green Island on Saturday. While I was there, I ran into my cousin Joe, who was helping at the ARE booth. I knew Joe was an accomplished runner, but I did not know that he was an ARE member and assisted with these events. Knowing that I was training for a marathon, he invited me to join their 15-mile group run the following day (Sunday). Since I had to do 16 miles, tacking on an extra mile at the end would be no problem, so I happily agreed.
Normally accustomed to running my long runs solo, it was an interesting change to run with a group. The course consisted of 2 7.5-mile loops. I ran the first loop at a faster clip (faster than I should have, but I was feeling good) with a friendly trio. And the second loop, I ran more at my pace with another group of experienced runners. All of them had been through marathons before and had great tips. I used the opportunity to soak in what knowledge I could (one of the recurring themes seemed to be the importance of ice baths post-run). At the end of the run, I was sore and tired, but feeling upbeat and confident about my training.
Today I'm sore, but not as sore as last Monday. I usually make it a point to stay on my feet after my long runs as opposed to crashing on the couch. I'll do chores around the house (yesterday I was cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, etc.) I find that moving keeps my legs loose so that they don't tighten up the next day. I wasn't brave enough to attempt an ice bath, though!
I'm going to enjoy the upcoming "down" week. Twelve miles will be my long run this week. It'll be interesting to see if I notice any difference between this week's 12 miles and my 12-mile run from a few weeks ago.
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