Post Marathon Recovery - Picture Addition

It has been exactly two weeks from today that I ran the Boston Marathon.  Hard to believe that only two short weeks ago I was in the amazing city of Boston racing through the historic streets!  I want to go back already. :)

In the past I have made the major mistake of jumping right back into fast running and racing immediately post marathon.  Running a marathon is exhilarating and exciting and sometimes it is incredibly hard to fight the urge to jump right back in the saddle.  But this time around I am trying to be wiser and a little kinder to my body so I have taken the recovery phase a little bit more serious. 

Which has lead me to run for the pure enjoyment of running.  I am so so thankful for this recovery period to remind me why I run.  I run to explore, I run to relax and self reflect, I run for fun and because I truly love running!  Recovery has been so so good for me not only physically but mentally as well.  I will  let the pictures of my adventures tell the rest of the story.

A trip up to Maple Lake to jog/walk around with the pup.

Yes this is in my backyard.  Only 5 miles from my house. 

The week after Boston I ran as slow as my body needed to go and did not crack a 9 minute per mile pace.  It was so nice to just relax and let my body control the effort.  I ran many of the same paths I have ran before but since I wasn't focused on pace I was overwhelmed instead by the beauty that surrounded me.

Spanish Fork River Trail

Line of trees right next to my house.  I run on this road about 6 times a week.

The gorgeous sunrise I caught while running last week.

The Orchards by my house that I run in 3-4 days a week.

  I have spent lots of time exploring and soaking in the pure thrill of running.  I rarely run with music but during these recovery days I have definitely been running sans music.  The natural sounds around me and my light and soft foot strike has truly seemed magical.  Last week I naturally broke into the 8 minute pace and just ran base mileage.

Track Sunday with the pup.  No speed work here but just easy jogging.

Sunday afternoon walk around Salem Pond.

And to keep the "fun run" streak going I ran the awesome Color Me Rad race with my sister on Saturday.  So much fun!!

My Sister and the awesome Ashley before the real color festivities began.

Me and the Sister afterwards.  The picture does not even do it justice.  We were COVERED with COLOR!

In addition to resting more, running slower, and embracing the pure beauty of the Utah outdoors recovery has also included:

1.  Increasing my protein and taking an iron supplement. 

2.  Sleeping more, icing more, compressing more, rolling more, and practicing the preventative care I have always been taught but rarely abide by as a runner.

3.  More quality time spent relaxing and laughing with family.  Laughter is truly the best medicine and if you laugh hard enough it even works those ab muscles. :)

James's Mom forgot to pack his coat so Grandma came to the rescue with her sweater.  Perfect fit!

Spending time with these three little ones was so much fun and definitely helped aid my recovery. ;)

So whats up next for me?  I am recovering really well from Boston and physically feel about 99% recovered.  I am still feeling a bit low on energy but after being on the iron supplement for 10 days I can feel my energy levels coming back to normal.  I attempted my first speed workout on Saturday after 12 full days of easy running and will be trying my cards at a 5K this weekend.  Wish me luck because I have a feeling I am going to need it.

Boston Trip Day 4

Are you getting sick of my Boston posts yet?  Yeah me too but I really don't want to forget all of the little moments and amazing trip I had with my parents.  Again if you just want to read about the race you can click Here.

On Sunday I woke up early to go and watch the BAA 5k.  My friend Andrea was racing and I made it just in time to see her at the mile 1 mark.  She did amazing and finished in 17:23!!  There were a lot of very talented runners racing the 5k and it was incredibly exciting to watch.

Some of the men's lead pack racing the 5k.

After the race we shopped around for a bit and then headed to the Boston Red Sox game.  Me and my Dad both really love baseball and were so excited to be watching a game at the famous Fenway Park! 

Me and My Mom in front of Fenway Park.

Dad and Mom in front of Fenway.

Awwww so excited to be inside of Fenway!!!  Dream come true.

My Mom with the green Monster.

Me and the green Monster.

Looking down from the top bleachers.

In front of Fenway!  The fans were so much fun at the game.

The year I was born in 1986 the Red Sox won the World Series.  They had really cool displays from every year that they won the world series.

Red Sox Mascot from the year my Mom was born.



Group picture in front of the park after the game in front of the Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and Dom DiMaggio Statue.



My Mom and Dad in front of the Ted Williams Jimmy Fund Statue.

We picked such a great game.  The Red Sox won 6 to 4 and there were 3 home runs during the game.  We all had so much fun and it was truly a dream come true to be inside of Fenway!  After the game we rode the Trolley back to our hotel.  We went to Dinner and when we got back for the first time of the day I remembered that when I woke up the next morning I would be running 26.2 miles in The Boston Marathon!

I have a full re-cap of the race on my fast running blog but will also do a more reflective post on the event here soon.  One more Boston post, can you handle it? haha

Anything anyone reading wants to know about Boston or about my race?  I am happy to answer any questions you might have. 

Boston Trip Day 3

I am continuing to journal my Boston trip.  If you just want to read about the main event, the Boston Marathon click here.

Saturday morning after sleeping in a bit we road the hotel shuttle downtown to enjoy a Harbor Boat Cruise.  While talking over the weekend about our trip me and my Mom both agreed that the boat cruise was one of our favorite parts of the vacation.  It was so so relaxing, enjoyable, and scenic.   It also gave us a whole new perspective of the city. 

My cute Mom and Dad waiting to get on the boat.



Waiting to board the boat.



Me and my Mom by the dock with the sun in our eyes,

My Mom & Dad on the boat.



Gorgeous views!  Ignore my face and just look at the background.



Another view of Boston from the boat.

My Momma Sue on the boat.

After the boat cruise and adequately filling our bellies we walked around Quincy Market place and the North End.

These carts were all over Quincy Market and my Mom thought it was funny since I completely despise fried food.

Then we hopped back on the trolley and headed to the Old Statehouse Museum of Science.  I thought I would be bored to tears at the museum but it was actually really cool to learn more about the Boston Massacre.  My Dad is like a walking History book and knows every single detail so it was nice to have him there to explain things.

Back on the trolley.

George Washington Display.

My Mom on the phones that had the Boston Massacre recordings.

John Hancock Display.

I do not remember what this display was about but we thought it was funny that it was just my height.

The museum was more than enough History for me and my Mom for one day so we parted ways with my Dad.  He headed to walk the Freedom Trail while we searched the streets for a shopping mall.  But first we headed to the finish line area of the marathon to scope things out.  I knew I would be delirious when running in so figured I better get a good look at it while I was still standing.

Finish line photo just in case I never made it there on race day. :)

It was really fun to walk around the finish area and talk to runners about the crazy heat advisory e-mails we were getting from the BAA. 

Another Finish line shot.

Our next item of business was finding a place to shop and look for a few souvenirs.  But instead we got completely lost and ended up in China Town.  Oops!  Luckily a nice Bostonian spotted us and noticed our idiocy. He was kind enough to point us in the right direction and walk us the 3 miles to the Prudential shopping center.  After walking around lost nearly 5-6 miles and then walking 3 more to the mall we were so dang tired by the time we got there all we wanted to do was go back to the hotel.

But we did stop by Saks for a quick second just for good measure.

Once we navigated our way (after walking another 1-2 miles) through the Subway system and got back to our hotel me and my Mom went straight to sleep.  We were so exhausted!  My Dad had so much fun walking the Freedom Trail and exploring he didn't get home that night until around 10pm. 

Boston Trip Days 1&2

I am going to journal my entire trip to Boston because I really want it for my records.  I am going through some major post vacation, post marathon depression so hopefully writing about our adventure will help boost my spirits.  This blog has basically turned into my journal but feel free to follow along and read about our adventures if you'd like.  I know my Sister will be reading right Amber? ;)

We got into Boston around 5:30pm on Thursday night and made our first attempt at figuring out the subway system.  My Mom is from a ghost town of about 100 people and I grew up in small town as well so navigating the big city life was definitely a little intimidating.  Fortunately we met an incredibly nice (and very good looking) Bostonian who noticed how naive looking we were and took complete pity on us.  He helped us get to our hotel and we were feeling like complete rockstars after our 3 different colored subway transfers.



Only picture from Thursday but it's a good one.  The Bostonian made certain that my Mom got the "priority seating" spot on the Subway for the elderly. hahaha I had to take a picture.

Once we got settled into our hotel we got straight to our first order of business......finding a shopping center!  Luckily we found a Ross and a Target .7 miles away from our Hotel.  We were in heaven.

Friday morning I woke up and went running.  I was just slowly slogging along when all of a sudden I realized I was on the campus of Harvard!!  I was in awe.  It was absolutely gorgeous and made me feel smart for a brief minute.  I snapped some pictures, walked around for a bit and then that minor smartness was shattered once I realized I had managed to get myself completely lost.  Luckily Bostonians are very nice people and helped direct me back to my hotel.

Hanging out with smart people.

All of the buildings on the campus were gorgeous. 

Another cool building on campus.  Everything in Boston is so old!

I think this one is my favorite. 

As soon as I found my way back to the hotel and my Dad got into town we hit up the city.  My Dad is a total trooper and even though he flew in on the red eye and hadn't slept a wink he didn't want to waste a second.

My cute Mom waiting for the Subway Friday morning.

We bought the Old Town Trolley guided tour package and it was such a smart investment.  We were able to hop on and off of the trolley the entire three days we were in Boston.  It was perfect.  The drivers talked about the history of Boston the entire time and were incredibly helpful with showing us where everything was around the city.

On our little Trolly ride.

Where the Boston Celtics play.

The cemetery where Paul Revere is berried.

For the most part we stayed on the Trolley the first day and just enjoyed the guided tour of the city.  We made our first stop at the famous Christian Science church because I was starving and eyed a Cheesecake Factory. 

My Mom and Dad in front of the church.

The view of Boston from where we ate downtown.

Walking on water.

After lunch we went to the Prudential Building and saw the view of the city from the very top.  Then we hopped back on the trolly and enjoyed more sight seeing.

The famous Cheers bar from the movie Cheers.

The Old State house.

Later that night after sight seeing all day we headed to the race expo.  I think we picked the perfect time to go to the expo because it wasn't too crowded and we had a lot of fun walking around, hording samples, and talking to other runners.  It was by far the biggest expo I have ever been to and they had a really cool video about the Boston Marathon that me and my Dad sat down and watched. 

I of course had to put my shirt on as soon as I got it. ha!

Trying to do the hardcore intense face.  Yeah I don't think it's really working out for me.

My Mom made posters for me while me and my Dad watched the movie and then added this to the big race posters. 

High Roller!

After the expo fun we hopped on the subway and made our way back to the hotel.  My Dad was wiped out at this point after no sleep and walking around sight seeing for 10 hours straight.  This worked out perfectly because he went to bed and me and my Mom walked about a mile to a new shopping center we found. :)

More to come soon on Boston Days 3&4.