Marathon Plus 1 Day
I guess I should follow-up to what I did after the 26.2 mile adventure yesterday. I arrived home at 1:30, showered, packed a suitcase, and headed to the airport at 2. I boarded an airplane at 4 and arrived at a hotel in New York around midnight. Then I slept 6 hours and headed into the office. Today I have been spending most of the time in meetings, reconnecting with colleagues I normally only work with via email/phone, and planning out the next 2 days.
Up until about 10 minutes ago I hadn’t really had time to analyze how my body feels. The positive part is that if you saw me walking by, you’d never guessed I completed a marathon yesterday. On the negative side, that’s not how I feel. My hips and IT band appear to be locked up and feet are sensitive. Now that I’ve realized this, walking around the office is not so pleasant.
Which leads me to my question: Why do I hurt more after a marathon then I did after the ultramarathon in July?
Once I put aside the fact that I’m insane, I think that the answer points to food. On the ultra, I was able to eat like a 12 year old boy. PBJ, chips, pretzels, M&Ms, soda … every 8 miles I had that spread to look forward to. On the marathon course: water. Boring. There’s something exciting to look forward to in the ultra and it’s really an adventure. The same could be said about a marathon, but each adventure has it’s good and bad moments. Sometimes the bad ones outweigh the good ones, but you just need to realize tomorrow’s another day with an opportunity to correct the bad.
So while only parts of my body hate me, I’ll still go to a bar tonight, watch Monday Night Football, and hangout with friends.
I would say you’re moe sore after the marathon because more lactic acid built up because you didn’t fuel your body as much during the race as you did in the ultra. Perhaps you also an a faster pace? Either way, great job on your marathon!!