I’m going to let you in on a little secret- I RUN TO RECOVER.  I swear I’m not being ironic.  In fact, I’ve even come up with a fabulous related t-shirt concept.  The front images would be similar to those found on triathlete paraphernalia, three stick figures swimming, biking and running.  In my creation, said figures would be shown sleeping, eating and drinking wine while the back of the shirt would boast the above, un-ironic statement.  Throw in some fashion colors and I’m sure I’ll have a real money maker. Now don’t go stealing my idea in the meantime, but you can place your order in the comment section of this blog.  I plan to get started on October 7th.

Hopefully, I amuse you all half as much as I crack myself up.  While I’m clearly joking around, I’m also completely serious.  Completing these long training runs makes me appreciate some of my favorite (non)activities in a different way.  Just as we can’t know true joy unless we have experienced great pain, sleeping and eating and wine drinking are that much more enjoyable when done the day after running 17 miles.

 I like to think I’m doing something right since I woke at 9am and was able to get out of bed without any assistance from my family.  I was well rested and perplexed to find that I wasn’t really sore, like at all.  My legs were a little tight but I made in down the stairs without so much as a grimace.  Following some foam rolling, I sat down to my favorite recovery breakfast of greek yogurt, blueberries, granola and coffee.  I chatted and relaxed, waiting for a wave of muscle soreness to wash over me- but it never did! CMB and I discussed how my body felt in relation to the last time I marathon trained.  I can’t be sure since I don’t have a painstakingly detailed blog to refer back to, but I think I felt a hell of a lot worse.  No matter.  I felt so great that I took my kids to the farmer’s market, walked around, ate samples and shopped all on surprisingly fresh legs.   

Once home, CMB (back from a brick workout) and I shared a late lunch on the veranda of farmer’s market cheese, bread, fruit and some of our cellar’s finest Pinot Noir.  OK, we ate on the patio and the Pinot was from our wine rack but it was still quite lovely and civilized.  Although this is something we’ve done a million times before, today sipping and eating and exchanging were that much more satisfying… and surprising.  You might think that all this downtime would send me packing for my favorite spot on the couch for a nap, but instead I  was really productive.  I took care of business around the house, blogged, and made a blueberry cobbler- which I thoroughly enjoyed later with another glass of wine.                    

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