Have you ever wondered what kind of impact running 100 miles has on your body? Some of it might be surprising! After finishing three 100 milers, although all very different in their own way, the impact on my body was fairly similar.
Emotional Rollercoaster
Ok here’s when the roller coaster starts. You’re all over the place after finishing a 100. You’re riding cloud 9 while you’re sporting that shinny new buckle. Then when you start to feel some normalcy in your body and your able to walk without looking like baby Bambi again, the “post-race blues” set it. “What do I do now with all that time that I spent training?” Queue ultrasignup.com…… and the cycle starts again. You become extra sensitive during your recovery. You may be laughing one minute and cry at the drop of the hat the next. Just remember, your body has just been through some MAJOR stress. Your body doesn’t know the difference between physical stress and emotional stress… and you just put it through both.
Lack of appetite or crazy appetite
I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum of this. I think it really depends on how I was able to fuel and how well my stomach cooperated with me during the actual race. My first two 100’s things got rough consuming food toward the end of the race. Afterwards, I had no appetite and it took a couple days for it to really kick in. Then I ate anything in site. After the third 100, which I feel like I fueled best in, I had tacos for dinner. And they were the best tacos ever!
Peeling feet
Remember all those lovely calluses you built up over months of training? Get ready to loose them. I experienced peeling on the balls of my feet and toes. This may be dependent on the amount of blisters I got (which ranged from 3 to…. let’s not talk about it). But get ready for “baby skin” feet when you start back running. We all know it’s no fun rebuilding tough feet.
Sore feet
No, they’re not just peeling, they’re sore. Hurts to walk on them sore. Whether the course was full of rocks that you continuously banged your toes on. Or covered with sand that got in your shoes and made itself at home. Or on the road pounding the bottom of your feet over and over. There’s probably bruising at the bottom of your feet which can take some time to heal. Give your feet some extra love!
Swelling…. let’s talk cankles
Yep, each race, without fail I developed cankles after finishing. It’s a well known fact that your feet will more than likely swell during a race. Which is why a lot of ultrarunners have a pair of shoes a size bigger for later in the race to accommodate for swelling. But after the race – you will probably be wearing slides for 3-4 days until the inflammation goes down. Your body is working over time to heal itself. Your feet and legs took the brunt of it, thus the inflammation. Make friends with compression socks.
Sleeping a lot, lack of energy
You were probably awake for 24 hours or more. One of the first things you will want to do, besides taking a shower, is go to sleep. Take that lack of sleep, combined with the adrenaline of the race and the healing that your body has to do – you are going to be Sleeping Beauty for a couple days. It can be surprising that just going through out your normal non-training activities, initially, can make you ready for nap time. It can take time to get back to 100% energy levels. You’ll probably feel this when you start back training.
Random aches
I could just be laying in bed or chilling on the couch and I get a shooting pain down my leg but it randomly disappears. Just that little reminder of your body saying “Yeah you made me run 100 miles. I didn’t forget.”
Weight loss
Yep, those jeans are fitting pretty good at this point, right? Between a bit of dehydration, a torch to your metabolism from running 100 miles, and your body working over time to heal itself, you are burning a load of calories. Keep in mind, this will level out and all those additional celebratory foods you’re eating are going to catch up. Trust me on this one!
Crazy thirst
No matter how well you hydrate during your race, you will be crazy thirsty the next couple of days. I remember waking up in the middle of the night because I was so thirsty that I would have paid a buttload for a bottle of water. But that first night or two you’re too sore to hobble down the stairs to the fridge to get it.
Pain
You knew this was coming. The amount of pain you feel can be overwhelming. But you just ran 100 miles! Did you think it was gonna feel like unicorns and floating through the clouds? I relate this to what others say about childbirth (although I’ve never been through it). You remember the good parts but not the pain.
Keep in mind, the more you get moving around after your race and minimize getting stiff, the faster your recovery! Prioritizing your recovery, nutrition, and hydration can speed this up! More to come on that!
I realize that all this may deter a lot of runners considering running their first 100. But despite all this pain – I would do it again!! Completing 100 miles is something that a lot of people will never be able to even grasp!
Remember, these are based off my experiences. You may or may not experience these. If you have any others, please tell me about them! I love a good aftermath story!
