The day after

     Some say that the day after a long race is the worst.  Others say it is the second day after.
I have been dead to the world mentally and physically all day yesterday.  I think I might have taken two or three showers to loosen up my muscles.  I lost count.
     Recovery is key to staying healthy and active.  Recovery is that phase after a long run or race that your body heals.  Everybody does it differently.  Some do nothing, others continue to be active even run!  When you beat up your body that hard there is waste products in your legs and muscles.  The best way to get rid of it is to keep it moving.  The blood carries away the bad "stuff"  How do you carry away the bad stuff faster?  Get the blood moving faster.  That is why some people like to walk or run the day after.  I would suggest do anything that gets the blood moving but reduces the impact on your body.  Swimming, biking, or walking.  If you can run go for if just be careful.
     Today I chose to take a 1.2 mile walk with my wife and kids and the running buddy and his wife and kids.

     Last night I pigged out and my body still wanted more food.  Today I tried to eat like normal, minus the half a cheeseburger I had at 8:30am.  To recover from a hard effort I have been adding whey protein to almond milk or soy chai lattes from Starbucks.  One day I thought I would try whey protein in soy chai.  It tasted good and made me feel great.  Later I researched soy and whey proteins only to discover that combining both types can have greater recovery benefit that one kind alone.  Somehow my body and mind just knew it.  My wife made me a protein laced sandwich for lunch, that was a bonus!  The week before a hard effort I like to eat protein heavy in the beginning of the week and gradually move to a no meat and little protein diet by the end of the week.  The extra protein is great for helping to repair all the damage done in the body.  Another thing I found that helps has been tomatoes.  I don't know how yet or why, I just looked it up on the internet today.  But lately after long runs we have had tomatoes with or in dinner.  I swear they have helped me recover faster.  I did find some stuff about anti oxidants and lycopene.  Tomatoes have always been good for the heart in preventing cancers, but maybe they help repair it too?
    Where do I go from here?  The reality of not running a major race for a while is setting in.  Just like the soreness that begins to wear off and you can tell what really hurts.  Would I like to improve my time of 4:18?  Of course I always want to improve.  This year I wanted to work on my official 5k time and I did, I smashed it.  29:09-22:03 I have one official 10k time its near 1:15 something.  I would like to see if before the end of the year unofficially I could break 50 in a 10k.  I also have only one 50k time 8:17.  I know I could beat that.  So until then thoughts of running bounces around in my head while I recover.