 The end of the road, the end of the road is my salad for the day. I do like to take a break from eating really, really, really healthy after a big peak race or a big road marathon, but I'm just trying to be smart before the World Mountain Running Championship. So still eating very healthy with chicken and spinach and all that good stuff. But avocado, anyway, it's just, it's just that balance like putting the good stuff in. It's like, you don't want to put a sludge into the engine, you know, you got to put that high octane gasoline. So that's what we're up to, hydration, hydration, hydration, so key all the time as runners, right? But especially after a big race, we've got to stay hydrated. Oh man, it's a, I think it's going to be a big goal of mine in 2020. So I just got in, I just got back inside from chatting with a gentleman who is putting time and energy into making some connections to the Houston marathon and half marathon scene down there. So that is happening. That is in progress. And thank you for all the comments on yesterday's blog when I asked you for your opinion and you're giving it. And I appreciate it. I am basically, you know, I'm still going to say I'm a rookie to the road marathon scene as I come back in distance from ultra marathon racing in the past. And so I'm really listening to your comments, your thoughts, very thoughtful discussion happening on yesterday's blog down in the comments. And I decided to put a poll out asking the very same question on Twitter and on Facebook just asked like, what do you think? Should it be CIM? Should it be Houston? Should it be half? Should it be full? And let me just pull it up real quick, at least on Facebook right now. It's just fast. So it has two hours to go in the poll until the polls close. 142 for the Houston half, 171 for the Houston full. Fascinating. Great. It's a, you know, it's pretty close, but the Houston full marathon is winning at this point. And then let me pull up the Twitter poll. Okay. Similar actually. So 55% for the Houston full, 31% for the Houston half. So I haven't made my decision, but yes, it does connect to today's topic about recovering from marathon racing. I realize I'm, I'm, I'm, and that's why I'm discerning alongside you with this half marathon full marathon business in Houston. I think I can officially say CIM is not going to happen. It's just too close and so here we go. If you just ran a marathon, usually you'll be able to take a little bit of time off. In fact, I would strongly recommend, and this is just my opinion, but I'd recommend at least seven days of relaxation, chilling out fit for physical and mental health. Just like relaxing, not worrying about having to get your run in that day. Even though we all love running, I think, and I know some people do streaking, meaning they run every day, every day of the year for years and years and years. And that's fine. Like if you enjoy doing that, that's cool. But I think there's really a good health benefit physically and mentally to take a break. So I recommend at least seven days all the way up to 14 days. And if it really took a toll out of you, I think it's totally fine to take three weeks off. Now I would recommend mixing and cross training along the way. But for me, I am racing in Argentina in nine days from now, eight days from now. So I cannot quite shut it down completely at this point after the New York City Marathon. I'm doing a mountain race down there, the World Mountain Running Championships. But I'm so excited after Argentina, I'm taking a break. Taking some time off. I'll talk about the details of that when it comes up. Now I want to share exactly what I've done since the New York City Marathon that I haven't filmed everything. But this is what I do. And at the end of the day, you have to listen to your own legs, your own ankles. Like right now, when I woke up this morning, my left ankle just felt tight. And so I had to listen to that pain and just, you know, as I walked around and just figure out, okay, is this going to go away or is this something a little more serious? Sure enough, it went away. So what I'm about to share is not doctrine, it's just what I have done and continue to be that mad scientist when it comes to recovering so that, and you know, it's applicable to not only high intensity racing, but also high intensity training. When you're training at a high level, high volume, high intensity, maybe it's four to five weeks out from your peak race, you've got to recover well. So okay, here we go. I have some notes here. So I recommend what I do is walk for 30 to 45 minutes every day, whether it's doing chores around your house or literally going for a walk or maybe hopping on the, hopping on the treadmill and doing a combination. So walking around 30 to 45 minutes every day after the marathon, at least for three days. I would recommend more if you can, but at least three days just to get in that habit, form the habit for when you're racing shorter distances, when the need for recovery is not quite as high. You still have that habit formed of, okay, even though the race is done, I want to get ready for maybe the next training block or the next, if it's just, if it's a, a tune-up race for your peak race, okay? Of course keep stretching. I'm not stretching. I must say, I don't stretch as rigorous as I usually would, meaning I don't quite try and make it hurt as much because the muscles are broken down right now. They're, they're, they're, they're rebuilding as we speak. And so I stretch, but I must say the intensity of the stretching is not quite as high. Let's say is before the New York City Marathon. I did get a massage right after New York, the day after, and that was actually the first time I've done that. I think, I usually I do two days, and I don't know, I felt, I'm not as sore right now sitting here on Wednesday. So that's good. And I realize again, not every, you know, massages cost money, but over time, if that can be, or maybe you can find someone that's experienced enough anyway. But I realize it, not everyone can do that, but maybe you splurge and get a good deep tissue massage right after a big marathon race on the road. Epsom salt baths, of course. You know how I love that every single day. I'm a big fan of compression sleeves in order to increase blood circulation back to the heart quicker. So these are the shorts. I also have the calf sleeves. I also have the socks. Here we go from Unived, which I'm actually, I'm really excited about these. These are new to the rotation, but again, I've only worn them for the past couple days, but so far so good in these Unived compression socks. What else? Foam rolling every single night for 10 to 15 minutes while you, you know, watch Netflix or watch a football game, or what else? While you listen to classical music and drink tea, whatever you do to relax, foam rolling. And you don't have to go out and buy, I realize this foam roller, the electronic one back here. I'll pull it out in a second is, it is $200, like that's a lot of money. You can just get a regular one. I think they're $10 to $15, so not too bad. And that will do the trick as well. So you don't have to get the most expensive one. Find the recovery mix that works for you. So 30 minutes after the race, put that back. Unived is treating me very well right now. I just am enjoying them a lot. What else here? I've been hopping on the stationary bike for three miles. Three miles of easy pedaling, basically to get the blood pumping. That's about it. No aerobic benefit. And to, you know, just get the legs moving without any pounding on the legs. Also walking for one mile on the treadmill, especially in the winter months. Oh man, I am really excited to rebuild. I'm going to talk about this in another vlog, but to rebuild my running form just a little bit before Houston, if that's going to happen. And I think part of that is going to be continuing to work on my flexibility, which connects to warming up my muscles even more and making sure I'm a little more limber. So the sauna and the hot tub, I'm, listen, you got to be a little careful. Like I don't think you should be in there for too long, but 10 to 15 minutes just to warm up the muscles. So far so good. These last three months, I've been doing that before I hop into a stretching routine. And I realized once again, all of this takes time and energy and some, you know, no, you know, usually have to pay a gym membership fee to get an access to a sauna or a hot tub. But if you can carve it out, you know, I don't know, carve it out. I think so far for me it's been working because I've remained healthy through these back to back road marathons. And lastly, of course, extra sleep, if you can tack on another hour, one to two hours. And I'm just going to say this right now, a lot of people ask me how they can run faster. And I would say my answer would be to that is to find more time for your recovery, which is hard. But it's the sacrifice of chasing down PRs, chasing down Boston qualifiers is time. I think at the end of the day, that's kind of, and that's, it's so difficult. But I think if we can carve time, that would be my number one tip for racing faster. That is it. And I realize that's a long list. But after Argentina, I will be taking a break, a formal break where I won't be running it all. Yeah, so I'm excited about that. So question of the day, what is your most difficult thing? I don't like that word. What is the most difficult component that you experience after a road marathon or a peak race? Like, is it mental? Is it physical? Is it, is it emotional? What is like, what do you struggle with the most? Is it the fact that you don't have, you don't have like a goal that you're chasing down? Whatever the case may be, and why do you think that is? And how do you overcome that challenge? So that's a little bit, it's a little deep. Got to maybe hit pause, think about it for a minute. Bottom line, thanks for being here on our little staycation, talking about recovery because that is what is happening up here, just getting the legs better so we can go race well against the rest of the world in Argentina in, once again, about nine days from now. The race is next Friday in Argentina. So that is it for today. Thanks for being here. Thanks for watching. We're going to toss it back to two recovery vlogs that I've talked about in the past, in a different way, like we're going to go to the foam roller one on the right and then on the left, we're going to talk about different drinks and food that I eat after big racing. All right, thank you for being here. See you tomorrow. Work hard and love each other. See you tomorrow.