It is now four days following the Top Of Utah Marathon, and let me tell you something amigo: my legs are crazy, crazy sore. Not really even my legs, just my quads. My quads are crazy, crazy sore. Those downhill races definitely put your quads through the meat grinder.
The good news is that I have survived Monday.
The Monday after a race is always the worst for me. Usually a few hours after a Saturday race I'm feeling good enough that I could go run again. On Sunday I am much more sore. I start the Feeling-Like-Frankenstein walk.
But Monday? Monday?!? Sweet angel of death, Monday is horrible. My quads feel like they have been trampled by a herd of overweight ostriches. It takes tremendous mental will-power and determination to lift my leg high enough to get in or out of the car. It hurts my legs to breathe. It's always a Monday when I consider changing my hobby from running to stamp collecting.
By Tuesday I feel like a new man. Soreness decreases significantly. But Monday? Ouch. Just plain and simple ouch. This is the most accurate (and highly funny) video I've found about how you feel after a marathon:
After a race, when are you most sore?
I am always sore in my hamstrings. My quads feels great but my hammies, not happy.
ReplyDeletetotally agree! monday is the worst! on sunday i always think that it could never be any worse than it is...then i wake up monday and wonder if i will ever be able to walk again. those canyon runs...they get ya every time.
ReplyDeleteI've seen that video a few times, always makes me smile cuz I feel exactly like that!! I remember when I ran St. George in 2008, I had some issue with my knee after the race (never felt it during) and it swelled to the size of a grapefruit. Was not fun getting in the rental car and driving to Vegas to get my flight home. And sitting on that plane was excruciating! I think that stupid knee was swollen for a solid week!!
ReplyDeleteDo a lot of squats and leg extentions to build up those quads, they'll hurt less for the downhill races...and make you faster! :)
Love the way you describe this. I think it is a toss up between Sunday and Monday for me. Sunday sucks but at least I don't have to leave the house if I don't want to but then trying to function on Monday is just pure torture!!
ReplyDeleteAfter watching that video, I don't know if I want to run a marathon! ;) I'm just playin'. I hope the soreness goes away soon. The ostriches were hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI have found that I don't get that bad soreness if I run the next day... just super short and super slow (like I do the day before a race). I also use the foam roller a lot. But the key for me seems to be slow, easy running. After my first marathon I waited 3 days to run and was sore for 3 days. The next one I waited two days and was sore for two days.... I figured out that as soon as I ran the bulk of the soreness went away. Hope you are feeling back to normal soon! :)
ReplyDeleteYou described how I felt Monday perfectly, I was so sore that I had a hard time being nice to people at work! Tuesday was better by far.
ReplyDelete(I'm a friend of Amy's by the way)
I was expecting Monday to be terrible awful, but you know, it wasn't that bad for me. The worst, by far, was Saturday! Holy cow. I don't know if it was the fatigue mixed with the soreness, but I thought seriously about investing in a wheel chair. It might of helped that I took ice baths on Sunday and Monday and was religious about taking my pain meds.
ReplyDeleteThat video cracks me up! Love it.
Marathons always eat my muscles alive! After my last marathon I took a nap and as soon as I woke up the soreness kicked in, it was rough. Wasn't expecting it that soon and I basically fell on my face the moment I tried to get up from the nap. Good news is it should only get better!
ReplyDeleteThat video is hilarious. Thanks jill for the tips and I agree that if you don't keep moving, even just a little bit the soreness is a lot worse.
ReplyDeleteHa, quads take a little beating there Mr. Downhill for 13 miles??? I remember feeling exactly the same way last year. It's always amazing when you run a downhill race like that, at the time you feel fine, but obviously you are stressing your quads a lot more than you realize. Great job again on the great race and PR!
ReplyDeleteThis morning was the first where I didn't immediately notice my legs when I rolled out of bed and visited the potty. Yay! I'd say Sunday was the worst day for me too. On Monday I went for a glacially slow walk around the neighborhood and wondered what people were thinking of me (probably added to the weirdness that I was still in my PJ pants like a college student). Today I feel normal again, even went for a slow 20-minute run. After past marathons, I've been sore for a week.
ReplyDeleteI love that video!
I've seen that video before...so accurate. I've never run a marathon, but still been pretty sore after my halfs. I can't imagine how sore I'll be after my marathon!
ReplyDeleteFor a while my knees felt destroyed after races that were far to long for the little prep work I put in.
ReplyDeleteRecently I rocked my lower left abs by favoring my left side for 3 miles. My hip and abs took all the travel my ankle and knee did not. It was terrible, the core is used for everything.
I got the CDs in the mail Wednesday and finally listened to them today...AMAZING. I love them. You are so talented, thank you!!
ReplyDelete