Recovering from my first 100 is certainly a lot different
than when I recovered from my other smaller distances, including the 50. It’s
been 3 weeks and I’m still in recovery mode.
It actually took quite awhile to acknowledge that I just had a huge victory, I ran a 100 mile race, I actually accomplished what I set out to do. Sitting in the airport, my husband was wearing his Javelina shirt that he purchased. I remember staring at the shirt and the only emotion I felt was thinking, "I just ran that" It wasn't until 4 days after the race when the impact of finishing started to set in. I went and re-read all the wonderful comments that people wrote on my FB wall and I was filled with emotion. I had initially read all the comments, but the second time around, when I had snapped out of it was bitter sweet. It was then that I wrote in my blog and had the interview with the sports editor from my town, a story about to be published. I also wrote up for my own personal memories "Javelina Memoirs" Javelina is my first 100 and I don't want to ever forget how I felt and the memories from the race. I try and explain all the physical challenges that I experienced at the race and how hard it was to overcome my obstacles. I remember hearing my friend’s voice in my head. He told me prior to leaving for the race, “now Jeannie, it’s going to get tough and you will want to quit, but you have to fight for it.”
The physical recovery was challenging. The first few days were the roughest. My right leg and knee was very swollen, yet the left leg wasn't as bad. It would take about 10 minutes to get up and walk to the bathroom. It hurt horribly bad and I was taking more than suggested on the bottle of Naproxen and Tylenol, it was rough. I experienced some dizziness and some headaches. I thought for sure that my period was going to come late, but it wasn’t, however it didn’t know when to quit, constantly spotting. I was also extremely tired for the first week, needing some kind of nap each day. After a week, I quit taking naps, but was still tired. I was starving for about a week and drank a lot of water. Today, my feet are still peeling, blisters are peeling and I feel like a snake.
I ran 6 days after the 100, just 2 miles and it was uncomfortable. I kept the mileage short for quite awhile due to aches and pains, but I knew there was nothing seriously injured. I started training my oldest daughter to run and we kept it at 2 miles, sometimes I would head out again and I would run when the kids were in school.
Now, since I no longer have any aches and pains as of the 13th of November, I am increasing my mileage slowly. 10 miles is currently the most I've run since Javelina, a few days ago and I was back up on the trail for the first time since before the race. I plan on running 4-5 days a week, keeping the back to back long runs. I have also started swimming again, once a week and I will start Crossfit again on the 26th, looking forward to it.
So what is next? Initially, I had the normal reaction, "this is stupid, what is the point?" However, that feeling has gone away and I really like 100's, the distance is extremely challenging and a lot of fun. I'm still deciding on which 100 to do for 2013 and there may be two scheduled. I have entered a few lotteries, so I'll see if I get into those. The 100 (s) I choose will determine all my other races of smaller amounts.
One last thing, when I was walking out of the parking lot after Javelina, a man stopped me and simply said, "Welcome to the club!"
It actually took quite awhile to acknowledge that I just had a huge victory, I ran a 100 mile race, I actually accomplished what I set out to do. Sitting in the airport, my husband was wearing his Javelina shirt that he purchased. I remember staring at the shirt and the only emotion I felt was thinking, "I just ran that" It wasn't until 4 days after the race when the impact of finishing started to set in. I went and re-read all the wonderful comments that people wrote on my FB wall and I was filled with emotion. I had initially read all the comments, but the second time around, when I had snapped out of it was bitter sweet. It was then that I wrote in my blog and had the interview with the sports editor from my town, a story about to be published. I also wrote up for my own personal memories "Javelina Memoirs" Javelina is my first 100 and I don't want to ever forget how I felt and the memories from the race. I try and explain all the physical challenges that I experienced at the race and how hard it was to overcome my obstacles. I remember hearing my friend’s voice in my head. He told me prior to leaving for the race, “now Jeannie, it’s going to get tough and you will want to quit, but you have to fight for it.”
The physical recovery was challenging. The first few days were the roughest. My right leg and knee was very swollen, yet the left leg wasn't as bad. It would take about 10 minutes to get up and walk to the bathroom. It hurt horribly bad and I was taking more than suggested on the bottle of Naproxen and Tylenol, it was rough. I experienced some dizziness and some headaches. I thought for sure that my period was going to come late, but it wasn’t, however it didn’t know when to quit, constantly spotting. I was also extremely tired for the first week, needing some kind of nap each day. After a week, I quit taking naps, but was still tired. I was starving for about a week and drank a lot of water. Today, my feet are still peeling, blisters are peeling and I feel like a snake.
I ran 6 days after the 100, just 2 miles and it was uncomfortable. I kept the mileage short for quite awhile due to aches and pains, but I knew there was nothing seriously injured. I started training my oldest daughter to run and we kept it at 2 miles, sometimes I would head out again and I would run when the kids were in school.
Now, since I no longer have any aches and pains as of the 13th of November, I am increasing my mileage slowly. 10 miles is currently the most I've run since Javelina, a few days ago and I was back up on the trail for the first time since before the race. I plan on running 4-5 days a week, keeping the back to back long runs. I have also started swimming again, once a week and I will start Crossfit again on the 26th, looking forward to it.
So what is next? Initially, I had the normal reaction, "this is stupid, what is the point?" However, that feeling has gone away and I really like 100's, the distance is extremely challenging and a lot of fun. I'm still deciding on which 100 to do for 2013 and there may be two scheduled. I have entered a few lotteries, so I'll see if I get into those. The 100 (s) I choose will determine all my other races of smaller amounts.
One last thing, when I was walking out of the parking lot after Javelina, a man stopped me and simply said, "Welcome to the club!"
