Well, it’s been just over 2 weeks since I slogged my way around the Etoniah Creek State Forest trails, and I’m pleased to report the recovery has gone well. Typically I find post-ultra recovery is a battle of 2 components – the physical aspect where your body needs time to heal, and the mental piece of the puzzle where your mind needs to forget the punishment it’s just endured. Each race is different, so I tend to just take things day-by-day and react accordingly.
Physically, the Iron Horse 100 didn’t really beat me up, and aside for some hip flexor soreness, my lower body felt surprisingly decent. Also, despite the sandy trails and the torrential rain for much of the second half of the race, my feet came out completely unscathed. I attribute this mainly to my trusty Injinji socks which I’ve been wearing exclusively for several years now, but also to the not-so-well-known Topo Athletic Magnifly for keeping my feet happy for almost 16 hours of running. The combination of underfoot cushion and spacious toebox were just perfect on the day, and it’s definitely a pairing I’ll stick with in future races.
Mentally I fared quite well too, and after experiencing several big “lows” during the race, the next day I soon found myself thinking about future races and goals. Funny how that happens.
Despite feeling good on both counts, I still treated myself to three whole days of zero exercise, several RecoveryPump sessions and plenty of good food & drink-type rewards. Wednesday I decided to get moving again, but kept things easy with a 2 mile morning walk and a gentle lunchtime stretching routine. The rest of the week went as follows:
- Thursday – 4 miles easy at 7:59/mile
- Friday – 4 miles easy at 7:33/mile
- Saturday – easy hour of running (approx. 8 miles)
- Sunday – 12 miles at First Landing State Park in 1:30
The second week post-race my motivation definitely dropped somewhat. Work got busy and although I didn’t really feel much like running, I still managed to get out every day to stretch the legs.
- Monday – 5 mixed-incline miles on the treadmill
- Tuesday – 4 progressive miles at 7:14/mile
- Wednesday – 35 minutes easy at 7:07/mile (felt great on this one!)
- Thursday – 4 progressive miles at 7:02/mile
- Friday – 4 miles easy
However, at the back of my mind for most of the week was Saturday’s Tidewater Striders Distance Series 20 Miler which I’d signed up for way before Christmas, and a long time before I’d signed up for the Iron Horse 100. Part of me wanted to do it as preparation for March’s Shamrock Marathon, but a bigger part was not feeling a 20 mile race at the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail at all! Even on Friday night I was still on the fence about running.
Long story short, I made it out to Chesapeake in pretty good spirits (it’s always great to catch up with the local runners), with the goal of running 6:45/miles for as long as possible and to see how the race developed. Somewhat surprisingly the legs felt good, and after sharing some enjoyable miles with fellow Masters guy Chuck Inman, we went through 10 miles in 1:06:53 (6:41/mile pace). I didn’t really intend to pick up the pace, but that’s what happened and I soon found myself striding out and having fun, beating my pre-race goal by just over 5 minutes to finish in 2:09:15 – a confidence-boosting 6:14/mile pace for the second half of the 20.
Now the plan is to just keep things ticking over for a few weeks before enjoying a mini-Shamrock Marathon taper, then start thinking about the next couple of months and ultimately the Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 24-hour event in PA. Good times ahead for sure!