The Amazing Human Body

It’s 5 days post marathon and it’s hard to believe that I ran 26.2 miles on Sunday. My legs are pain free (they were fully recovered by Wednesday, i.e. 3 days after the marathon) and I just can’t fathom how the body repairs itself so well.

Immediately after the marathon it was quite difficult to walk. After the finish line there was the long walk down The Mall to meet the family. That wasn’t too bad but then we had to make our way to Charing Cross Underground Station. There were thousands of people doing the same thing so the nearest entrance was closed – more walking required!  When we finally reached an entrance we could use, I had to walk down the stairs. Now that was very difficult and with thousands of people crowding round and in a hurry, the best I could do was walk down sideways – I probably looked like a crab! My right knee ached and my thighs complained like mad. I had taken my running shoes off soon after I crossed the finish line and was now wearing flip flops because the blister on my toe was very painful.

In the excitement of completing the marathon and the photos, etc, I had forgotten to do my stretching exercises. As soon as we arrived back at the hotel I started stretching and had my sports recovery drink (which I should have had straight after the race). I like “For Goodness Shakes”, chocolate flavour – it is 3:1 Carb:Protein – which tastes delicious, especially when it’s nice and cold.

When we arrived back home on Monday, I went  to a Sports Therapist (Mathew Bennett) for a massage. It was somewhat painful but now I know it was absolutely necessary. He told me that I should drink plenty of water to get rid of all the toxins, which I did.

Anyway, because I hadn’t done my stretching and drunk my recovery drink, I was convinced that I would take a long time to recover from the marathon. But no, my body has behaved brilliantly. What an amazing thing the human body is!