Recovery, why do you elude me?

It has been exactly 2 weeks since the marathon. I don't know what I expected as far as recovery time, but this wasn't it. I thought I'd take one full week off, and then dive right back into training, this time for triathlons. I didn't exercise at all while we were in Disney World for vacation, unless you count all the walking through the parks. When we got back a week after the race, I decided I'd go out for an easy 2 mile run; my legs felt completely fine, or so I thought.

Less than 1/4 mile into the run, my legs stopped feeling fine. My hamstrings, which were decidedly the most sore muscle on my body after the marathon, felt like they were strung way too tight. My right arch started to hurt. Most of all, my legs just felt fatigued. I finished the run feeling disappointed, but it was only one week out, so I told myself I'd rest another day or two and try again.

What surprised me the most was the fact that the morning after the 2-mile run, I actually felt sore in my hamstrings! 2 miles made me sore?? Ridiculous! That night, to loosen things up, I rode on the bike trainer for 30 minutes. But the morning after that, my hamstrings were even more sore! Never one to give up hope, I waited 24 hours, and tried another 2-miler. It was a no-go. Yesterday, I rested again. I contemplated heading out for at least 3 miles this morning, but when I stepped out of bed, the pain in my arch made itself known. Instead of running, I hopped on the bike trainer for half an hour.

What's the point of this post, you might ask? There isn't one, not really. Basically, it's me trying to convince myself that taking time off to recover, or just to cross-train, is totally fine. The first week after the marathon, doing absolutely no exercise, was glorious. I felt entitled to the rest. This second week has left me feeling guilty and lazy. In a twisted way, I sort of miss having a training schedule/calendar to cross my runs off of. Now I'm just floundering.

However, aside from maybe doing an indoor triathlon in February (more on that later), I don't have another race scheduled until a half-marathon in June. Logically, I have more than enough time to rest, recover, and train. Have I convinced you of that yet? I'm still working on convincing myself...

I'm going to detail my workout week here just so I can see it in writing:
Monday: 2 mile run
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 30 minutes on bike trainer, 75 crunches
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 2 mile run
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 30 minutes on bike trainer