Never having done a marathon before, I really did not know what to expect regarding how I would feel.  Yes, I’ve read about post marathon recovery and saw the video of the walking dead after the NYC Marathon.   But I still didn’t know how I would feel and I don’t think it’s something that you can fully explain to someone either.

I do know that by the end of the marathon, I was spent.   To the point that while running the last mile, my sister ran onto the course and gave me a rose.   I took it, but then gave it back to her telling her that I didn’t even have it in me to hold the rose.  I really wasn’t lying either because at that point my sole focus was just to keep my legs moving which is harder than it sounds.   The rose just felt too heavy, so I gave it back.   I did take it to carry over the finish line (I think).

Of course, my legs just felt beyond tired at the end.  Although in retrospect,  I actually think that they hurt worse when Dawn and I did our 20 mile training run.   They felt heavy and tired, but it really wasn’t till I stopped putting one foot in front of the other that the realization came that although I could move forward moving up and down stairs was not easy.  I get it now.   After all those miles of making your legs move forward, they forget that the muscles need to move other ways too.   Luckily that is short term and honestly so worth the pain.

The process of training and running a marathon really is similar to childbirth in the fact that you prepare for the event for months.    You go into it very excited and nervous.  You don’t know fully what to expect (even if you’ve done it before).  The pain starts off small and builds over the miles.   By the end, you are just exhausted and want it over.   Then when your cross the finish line, you realize it was all worth it and would probably do it again.  You don’t forget the pain, but realize in the end it was worth it.

I was lucky too in that when it was all said and done, I limped away with only one blister, sore heels, one sore ankle, and of course legs of jello.   Upon arriving home in the evening, I took care of the blister and soaked in an Epsom salt bath which felt amazing.   Then off to bed  where I don’t think I moved all night.

Then in the morning when I hobbled out of bed and rolled out my legs, I put these shoes on.

Monday

Tuesday

Now these might seem like odd post marathon shoes, but they worked for me.   They took the pressure off my heel and supported my sore ankle.   I wore them all day too!   Maybe this isn’t for everyone, but this seems to work for me as I did something similar after long training runs. I actually did read something about wearing heels and that is why I first tried it.  I like it.   I really do.

What are your post marathon shoes?