Just recently, I ran The Bank of America Chicago Marathon and The Rock n Roll Denver Marathon, which were a week apart,  and I guess what? I am exhausted, but I’m alive and filled with a sense of accomplishment of  completing marathons 94, 95 and 1 step closer  to 100.  Now with the New York Marathon less than 1 week a away, the question is, How does one survive back-to-back marathons? Recovery is the name of the game.  It’s important to make sure you are getting enough protein which rebuilds muscle tissue, sleep which replenishes hormones, hydration and minerals which are also very important for recovery. In terms of running midweek between marathons, don’t do it.   Stretching, is good, recovery takes precedent over training when you have a week between marathons. For us non-elite runners,  it’s important to slow down your pace when running frequent marathons.  It helps to take the marathons slower, you utilize less resources, which make recovery quicker and reduce the risk of injury. I pushed it a little in Chicago to a 4:38, even while stopping to take pictures and giving out hugs on the course.  The course was super flat, so that helped. Do you know the joke about the Chicago Marathon? “What’s the biggest hill in the Chicago Marathon? … The Curb 🙂 ”   Then there was the RocknRoll Denver Marathon one week later. I knew it was going to be slow with the altitude and heat and it was just that.I finished in 5 hours and 20 minutes, with a smile on my face and a skip in my step.  Partly because I had my Project Purple Team waiting for me at the finish line, I was thinking about all the amazing pancreatic cancer survivors I was running for.

Now with just a few days left before the New York City Marathon, I am getting excited, not only because it’s one of the top marathons in the world, but also because I just received my brand new kicks, for marathon 96,  my new Purple ASICS! Good thing too because the Santa Clarita Marathon is the follwing weekend.  Marathon 97 with these ASICS will be like running in Heaven!

We Got This!

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