It's now two weeks to the day post-Gold Coast Marathon, and I have just got back from my all-too-quick China trip to see my husband (whose passport was stolen and he was unexpectedly trapped in Beijing and unable to fly - all good now, he is now in the possession of a brand spanking new passport, phew...). I am so tired and blurry/sketchy-feeling that it has made me realise that all those times after big bender weekends in my (earlier) youth (lol) were not simply the results of a hangover or a come-down, nope: just good old fashioned lack of sleep can make you feel really weird too. Oh well... As a result, I didn't get up and run like I had planned to this morning, and today will be a 'recovery' (from the flight) kind of day.
So, let's talk about recovery. After the marathon I had a whole day's worth of sitting on planes (I flew from Brisbane to Beijing via Singapore). Now, I had the forethought to actually get a post-race massage on the day before I flew, and I tried to walk about as much I could on the arvo after the race (active recovery and all). I even had a post-race soak in the hotel spa. So, I did everything I could to prepare myself for my day of not moving and sitting in a tiny chair. It actually wasn't too bad, but by the time I got off at Beijing, my legs were definitely stiffening up and a bit sore (but again, nothing like any previous post-marathon feeling, weird hey?). The next day they were a bit tender when going up or down stairs, but nothing too major. This has been the best marathon ever for me, in terms of both performance and recovery afterwards, but I still attempted to take it easy for the next week, just in case.
So, the next week was spent cycling around with Husband, visiting our friend's pool and gym (where I ran only once, and that was a full 6 days after the marathon), and general wandering around in the extreme Chinese heat. All good. Except, and I think I usually find this after a marathon (not with a half-marathon or shorter race distances however), I have gained about 1-2kgs since the race!! Does anyone else gain weight when either training for a marathon or in the recovery period afterwards?? I do, annoyingly so, and I'm sure it was a combination of doing much less activity, eating more (and eating delicious Chinese foods I have greatly missed), and a third annoying female factor, but whatever the reason, it's kinda annoying! It doesn't sound like a huge amount of weight (and it's really not I guess) but when you're a shortarse such as myself, it makes a big difference and I felt it in my clothes immediately. Oh well. The body needs to recover and heal and all that, and I'll soon be back into upping the training, so all good.
During the second week in China, I did get in an outside run (SOOO hot and humid!), and some more gym work and kicking around in the pool, in between visiting the Aussie embassy a couple of times (fun stuff) and some other Beijing antics. Here are some photos of my time in beautiful and bizarre Beijing:
So, let's talk about recovery. After the marathon I had a whole day's worth of sitting on planes (I flew from Brisbane to Beijing via Singapore). Now, I had the forethought to actually get a post-race massage on the day before I flew, and I tried to walk about as much I could on the arvo after the race (active recovery and all). I even had a post-race soak in the hotel spa. So, I did everything I could to prepare myself for my day of not moving and sitting in a tiny chair. It actually wasn't too bad, but by the time I got off at Beijing, my legs were definitely stiffening up and a bit sore (but again, nothing like any previous post-marathon feeling, weird hey?). The next day they were a bit tender when going up or down stairs, but nothing too major. This has been the best marathon ever for me, in terms of both performance and recovery afterwards, but I still attempted to take it easy for the next week, just in case.
So, the next week was spent cycling around with Husband, visiting our friend's pool and gym (where I ran only once, and that was a full 6 days after the marathon), and general wandering around in the extreme Chinese heat. All good. Except, and I think I usually find this after a marathon (not with a half-marathon or shorter race distances however), I have gained about 1-2kgs since the race!! Does anyone else gain weight when either training for a marathon or in the recovery period afterwards?? I do, annoyingly so, and I'm sure it was a combination of doing much less activity, eating more (and eating delicious Chinese foods I have greatly missed), and a third annoying female factor, but whatever the reason, it's kinda annoying! It doesn't sound like a huge amount of weight (and it's really not I guess) but when you're a shortarse such as myself, it makes a big difference and I felt it in my clothes immediately. Oh well. The body needs to recover and heal and all that, and I'll soon be back into upping the training, so all good.
During the second week in China, I did get in an outside run (SOOO hot and humid!), and some more gym work and kicking around in the pool, in between visiting the Aussie embassy a couple of times (fun stuff) and some other Beijing antics. Here are some photos of my time in beautiful and bizarre Beijing:
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