The Post-Marathon Recovery

Since I posted about my the days leading up to the marathon, I thought it’d be fitting to also post about my recovery following the marathon.

Immediately after the marathon, my body was in complete shock. My legs hurt and I never wanted to run a marathon ever again. LOL. Despite those feelings, I knew that I had to keep moving after crossing the finish line or else my legs would stiffen up so I pushed on. I got to gear check and within seconds, I changed out of my running shoes and into my OOFOS sandals.

Disclaimer: I received a pair of OOFOS sandals to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own. 

These sandals are AMAZING for post-marathon recovery! AHHHHH-MAZING! I don’t rave about things all too often, but I can’t stop raving about how great these are for recovery. Just the other day, I was walking around and some woman stopped to talk to me about how great they are for her feet. LOL. True story.

The traditional running shoe is designed to be responsive. They’re supposed to take the energy you force down and propel you forward. The OOfoam that these OOFOS sandals are made out of do the opposite. They absorb (they say 37%) more of the impact and this ultimately reduces the stress on your feet and body helping you recover faster.

Damn right my feet earned this. 🙂

After I ran my first marathon last year, walking around hurt A LOT. I didn’t change out of my running shoes and ended up hobbling around because my joints hurt so much. This time around, I made sure to bring my OOFOS sandals with me to gear check and after putting them on, my legs felt an immediate relief. Honestly, I was skeptical when I first wore them pre-marathon. I didn’t think it’d make that much of a difference. I was so wrong. The OOFOS sandals have made my recovery a lot smoother. I was able to walk up and down stairs a lot easier (which was great because the Chicago public transportation system requires you to walk up and down a lot of stairs) and later that night, I was able to walk around downtown and meet up with more people to celebrate. I would say that by that night, I was walking at about an 80%, which I thought was amazing.

So how have these sandals helped me in terms of running? My first run after the marathon, which was also a 5k race (LOL) took place 5 days later. That race? It took place on a hill. Yep. My time wasn’t amazing, but it was still pretty impressive to me especially since I had practically torn all of my leg muscles 5 days prior. Since the 5k, I’ve run 6 more times and each run is getting easier. Thank goodness too because I have a Rock N Roll LA next weekend. I know. I’m crazy, but it’s okay, I got this.

I feel like I’m a broken record, but I cannot emphasize how great these are. I’m not at a 100% with running yet (I’m maybe at 80%), but I feel like these really helped me move around more normally. Check out my Instagram. I have proof. I was bouncing up and down without pain and it was the greatest thing ever. I like them so much I’m going to end up buying a pair for my mom. 🙂 Luckily, they have a variety of OOFOs shoes because my mom is picky about what she wears.

If you do end up buying a pair online this month, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, OOFOS is donating $10 for every pair of Project Pink shoes sold to breast cancer research. 🙂

If you have any questions regarding the shoes, please feel free to ask me or any of the Bibrave Pros below. I tested the women’s OOAHH Sport Project Pink Sandal, whereas the others may have tested the other types of shoes.

Christi – Kim – Merideth – Jenna – Gisgie – Vanessa – Paula – Aubrene – Kolbe – Heather -Amanda – Bradford – Angie – Laura –  Emily – Jennifer – Stephanie – Melissa – Mark