Recovery and Patience
We tend to forget how long it takes to recover from all-out efforts. In younger years, we may have been bold, running races on consecutive weekends. If the race was longer and/or hilly we ideally gave it a bit more time. The benchmark for resuming intense training is typically one day of recovery for every race mile. However, I’ve seen estimates doubling this by age 60 and tripled by 75. This is affected by various things, including an individual’s preparedness going into the race.
In any event, four days ago I ran a fairly hilly half marathon. Much of it on dirt roads with a half-mile cross-country trail near the end. Not a PR course for sure! I planned to do it as a training run for the upcoming Grand Prix half three weeks later. But it was a beautiful day, I felt good, so I pushed it. This led to an 80% age-graded result, finishing in the top 20%, something not assured as I age.
I have harped for some time about the importance of recovery. Too many older runners find themselves injured shortly after a hard race effort. I certainly have! So, following a day of water running I set out for an easy four-mile run, with the intent of following that the next day with an easy five. It had been a year since I had raced hard for that distance and anticipated some stiffness. This proved out — the first mile took 11:05, three minutes slower than the race pace. My legs felt heavy and I’m sure the float was barely discernable. The second mile was 10:45, the third 10:30 and that proved top end. Maybe if I was being chased by goblins, I could have mustered some speed! As it was, it seemed I was barely moving. Running slower should be easier, right? But this assumes everything else is equal. And it is not! When we age, there is less muscle to do the work. And our tendons provide less spring to push the pace, so the depleted muscles need to work harder. The result is more muscle damage needing repair.
It’s a good time to step back and be patient — to let my body do its vital repair work. That hardly means sitting around! Doing something at a moderate level everyday with lots of stretching and light weights will help. Maybe it’s 7 days, maybe 10 or even 12 days, before I throw in some speed. If I listen, my body will let me know. That Grand Prix half is now 18 days away, but the time will pass quickly. It’s important to be both rested and ready when the gun goes off. This will involve some taper the prior 4-5 days. Expecting some positive training effect carrying over from last weekend, I best celebrate that and be deliberate about a full recovery. Recovery is like putting money in the bank. Patience lets it earn some interest and then when called for, there is more to draw on!