This year training for Ironman Brazil has been really interesting from a recovery perspective. My high intensity climbing sessions on Old La Honda along with my jump to long rides with 3 hour interval sessions in the middle have really taxed my system more than I have experienced in the past. Chalk it up to increasing intensity, but also my age makes me recover slower.
My recovery after my long Saturdays is taking a full 3 days before I can ratchet back up to normal paces and intensities for my normal weekly workouts. Now, I am taking SportLegs supplements and jumping in an ice bath post my Saturday long sessions. Sunday is an off day, Mondays consist of short form swims of about 1500m, and then I run a form run on the treadmill lasting about 20 minutes. I can only swim/run recovery workouts as I can feel my body reaching LT very quickly during the workouts. It just isn’t worth risking overtraining or burning out by attempting to keep to normal weekly intensities. Tuesday morning I’m on my bike trainer, but either I am doing a pedaling efficiency workout for recovery or reduced wattage normal workout, as I cannot sustain normal wattages. My quads are still tight and I do not want them to seize up and wreck the rest of the week’s workouts. By Wednesday morning, however, my body seems back to normal.
Listening to my body is crucial. My fitness level, my recovery ability and my age are all factors in how I recover and I have to really accomodate that or else I could really tank my race preparation.