Recovery log:
Day After:
Not so bad. Stiff, but I was much worse off after the NYC Marathon. Walking down stairs was definitely a bit painful, but not as bad as in previous races. I didn’t get a chance to sit in an ice bath after the race, but it seems like my legs were coming back fairly quickly. Also, my aerobic system didn’t feel as bad. Usually I get this “cool” sensation in my chest and lungs and that doesn’t go away for a few weeks, which is a sign that I really pushed my aerobic system and caused some strain there! This time, the sensation was present but not nearly as intense.
+2 Days:
Definitely more stiff than the day before. I tend to get more sore 2 days after a hard workout than the day before. Rolling out of bed was pretty tough, but once I got moving the stiffness quickly diminished. Walking down stairs was also not nearly as tough as yesterday. But sitting in a bus from Busselton to Perth for 3 hours didn’t help. The “cool” sensation in my chest is minimal but still present.
+3 Days:
At this point, I’m rolling out of bed at 3am to catch a flight out of Perth at 545am. Stiffness is still there but very quickly diminishes as I get to the airport. I have on compression socks now for the long flight home.
+4 Days:
Getting up this morning was not bad at all. I still have a “cool” sensation in my chest but it is very, very minimal. After previous Ironmans, this sensation would stay with me for weeks. This time, it has almost disappeared after only 4 days. I got on my bike trainer and did some spinning which really helped clear my legs of all that post-race stuff. Thankfully, no pains at all and stiffness is pretty much gone.
I am heartened to see my recovery going as fast as it is. 2 years ago at IM NZ, it took me about 6 weeks to get back; last year at IM Austria, it was 4 weeks. Then this year at IM Brazil, it took about 2.5 weeks to get back. I guess it is possible to build the body’s tolerance for this type of thing up to a point where it can recover quickly and be ready for the next thing.
I have always been amazed at my friends who race much more often than me. They race Ironman and by the end of the week they are back to long, hard workouts. I wasn’t sure if my body would ever get to that point, but now that I see my own recovery happening faster, I can believe that I may reach that point.