Today is better than yesterday, for sure. While I'm still stiff today, the legs seem to be doing better. I woke up this morning and did manage to get another hot tub soak in. The hot water sure does help loosen things up. While an ice bath is the best thing for immediate post-race recovery, nothing beats a nice soak in a whirlpool tub. I also scheduled a massage early this afternoon. I went to the Omaha Massage School and got a full hour-long massage for $35, not bad. While the massage on the legs was uncomfortable at times, it really did help, and is something I'll probably do in the future after big races. And tonight, I did manage to do a 2.8 mile 1:4 walk/run combination. Basically, I'm just trying to do a reverse taper recovery plan, to ease back into it.
On an unrelated note, I also had time to do a full post-race evaluation today. While I'm very happy to finally have the first marathon in the books, I now wonder if I couldn't have done better. I suppose these feelings are common for everyone, asking ourselves what we could have done differently. In the end, my first marathon ended up like an extra-long long run. My last long run of 22 miles 3 weeks before the race was at a 10:15 pace. My 26.2 mile marathon averaged out at a 10:14 pace. Given that I seem to be recovering well, I'm starting to question whether I might give this another shot in the not too distant future. It's a personal struggle, questioning whether I could have pushed myself harder, and did I somehow subconsciously sandbag my own race by not giving it my all? I did bonk during the race and cramped pretty badly near the end. If I had run harder, would I have bonked sooner? Or should I be happy with what I've done, take a break, and begin anew next year? It's a real dilemma for me.
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