Post-Marathon Month

I haven't written about how I've been doing after the Porto Marathon. It's been quite a change, which was expected considering that I had just spent the quarter of the year on training for the marathon. The minute my marathon high ended, I had been thinking about what the race really meant to me, which has helped my reflecting on my lifestyle, mostly in a positive way. I have been more mindful about health, nutrition, and exercise, and even though I often feel guilty about my binge-eating especially now that I am no longer running 200+km a month, I am grateful because I know have peace in my mind to know that if I ever want to do that, I can because I just spent 4 months doing it!

So here are some things that have happened since November 8th:

1. Injury

I got a tendonitis on my left foot due to my pronation after the marathon. I couldn't walk AT ALL for the next three days. I was limping everywhere, so not being able to do much exercise was really frustrating. Thankfully, having a bike meant that I wasn't completely a couch potato and that I was able to squeeze in some active time. Also, check out this giant blister that just shows how much I pronate (this is my left pinky toe):

2. Marathon Blues

I was expecting this. Finishing marathon training felt like I had just given a birth. For months, I had something to keep me going, but now that I had finished, it felt like I had a huge void in my life. I did spend more time cycling though (and binge-eating).

3. Weight Gain

No surprise about the weight gain. Now that I think about it, I was losing my weight dangerously fast during the marathon training. Although at that time, I was happy, I realize that it may not have been the best thing. I weighed 56kg at one point (my height is 170cm), and now I weight 59kg and that's totally okay! It took a while for me to be mindful about it, but I still feel healthy and I know that I'm healthy!

Thanksgiving dinner - not pictured: Two more turkeys and 10 cakes. I don't regret a thing.

4. Commute Running

After my tendonitis healed, I was very eager to get back to my running schedule. I live 4.5km from my university, so I've been running to uni for a month now and running back. That gives me an easy 8-9km a day. It wakes me up, keeps me healthy, and gets me there faster! I wish I had thought about it before! Here's a view of my commute:

All in all, it's been a good month and a half of personal growth. I've learned that your growth as a runner doesn't stop after you've crossed the finish line at 42.2km! That's why I love running!

Next up: Hampton Court Half Marathon!

#marathon #training #weight #runningtips #commute #injury #marathonblues