What do to after you run a half marathon

Well, folks. It happened! The shredheads came, saw, and conquered the Disney Princess Half Marathon, and as far as I can tell, most of us lived to tell about it at the finish line.

I'd be remiss not to mention our awesome Shredheads gathering on Friday night at Earl of Sandwich, where we got to meet and squeeze @hellcat13, @elsewise, @wbgookin, @karidahlen, @ladyg8r, @lizinprogress, @nicurnmama, and a few lovely spouses and children. We all got our "official" Shredheads Tiarathon 2010 shirts, and our very cool Omron GOSmart Pedometers, which told me that the day before the half-marathon, I walked 10 miles.

(NOT SMART – well me, not the pedometers – they are actually very smart – but more about those from Bill later)

Make sure to visit all their sites to see pictures (some of which I hope folks load up on the Shredheads flickr pool – ahem) and hear their finish times and reports about the event. A couple of the ladies ran in the 5K on Saturday – a huge congrats to them as well.

Overall, the half marathon was an exciting event, that, due to the constant entertainment from Disney Characters and live music along the way, made for a pretty fast 13.1. I'm still a little confused as to why we had to arrive by 4am for a 6am (or so) start because DAMN was it cold. And I wish the course took the runners through more of the parks and less of the service roads.

But it was definitely a great half marathon, with lots of positive energy from the runners and the staff.

Unfortunately, I made the carnal mistake of leaving right after the race, so I ended up running another few miles back to my hotel and then onto the airport bus. And after waiting at the airport for about 8 hours to catch a flight, my joints and muscles were screaming at me.

So, while I ice my legs today and hobble around doing laundry, here are my suggestions for what to do after you run a half marathon:

Stretch

I have to say that Bill practices what he preaches. As we were both enjoying a post race bagel and banana, he hiked his leg up on a barrel and started stretching.

Hydrate

We both were drinking water and powerade after the race, but it's important to continue that throughout the day.

Massage

A few of the ladies scheduled massages later in the day which was super smart.

Walking and Resting

The combination of walking as well as getting some rest and relaxation is smart. I don't suggest just sitting around all day (see above) nor do I suggest you decide to walk another 10 miles. However, if you do keep moving, it's good for the muscles. And giving your body some rest will also help as well.

Celebrate

Sadly, I'm married to a non-celebrator, which sucks when you do stuff like this and they're texting you at Mile 12 about how badly the Orlando Airport sucks. Don't be a party pooper. You just ran 13.1 miles, damnit. Go out and celebrate, whatever that might be for you. I was so glad to see folks walking through the airport wearing their medals (pretty cool ones, I might add).

Meeting the Shredheads was the true highlight of my experience, and while I didn't meet my goal of under 2 hours (I came in around 2:13 and some change), the high of running with 13,000 other men and women, along with friends I met through this blog, was amazing.

We'll update with pictures as soon as we can. And we'll be back this week with more about what's coming next for the Shredheads.