Beach to Battleship Race Summary Part 7: Recovery

One of the most important facets of any race or training is recovery. Recovery is important to fix any problems on race or training day, but also so you can continue exercising or feeling normal the next day. I knew that recovery from the Ironman would be difficult, but I had developed a plan to help me get through the recovery in the best way possible.

In the previous half of the ironman races, he finished the race with a bit of recovery and, in addition to some mile pains, he was fine the next day. I realized at the end of the race that I had actually pushed my body further than it had before. He knew he would have a great recovery to face. I started that recovery immediately after finishing the race. I had packed a bag for my wife to bring me containing a mixed bottle of Accelerade, two ibuprofen, and my compression socks. I forgot to put on the compression socks immediately, but I swallowed Accelerade and ibuprofen. I took some time off the Accelerate because I was still grossed out by all the nutrition I had taken over the past few hours.

I got a late-career massage that I think helped at least get me on the road to recovery, even though I was numb from all the hours at work. Then I walked a lot with my family. My feet were tired and sore, but I wanted to keep moving for some reason to avoid any cramps or pain. We head to the results tent and then head back to the convention center to collect my bags. I never found my bike to have special needs or run special needs, but all I lost was a pair of socks and a CO2 cartridge along with a spare tire tube. By the time I recovered my bike from the transition area, I could feel my back tense along with my calves and hamstrings. I stopped and did some gentle stretches that certainly helped alleviate some of the problems there.

We got to the truck and I got my bike out of the back. My wife drove and we headed to the hotel, which was about a 15-20 minute drive. My mind was spinning with all my thoughts for the day, but my body was really tired. By the time we got to the hotel, my whole body was tense. The ibuprofen had definitely helped ease the swelling, but he was walking like a stiff 80-year-old. We went in and I took a shower. It felt good to be in warm water and wash off all the dirt. Until then, I didn’t feel like eating anything, but I started to get very hungry. We get dressed and head to Chili’s. I ate a moderate amount for myself, but my taste buds were certainly not normal. I wore my compression socks throughout dinner and until I got to bed that night.

We got back to the hotel and I crashed on the bed. I had a very difficult time sleeping that night as did my whole body. In hindsight, I should have taken a couple of sleeping pills before bed to help me sleep. I slept intermittently during the night.

The next morning we woke up. My children begged me to go to the jacuzzi and pool. Even though he was very sore and couldn’t walk very well, I thought the war water from the hot tub would help and it sure did. I enjoyed the warm water and stretched while in the water, especially my hamstrings and calves. At that point, I was feeling pretty good and was ready to drive the 7 hours home. I should have run 2-3 miles but decided not to. The weather had turned cold. I walked a bit on the treadmill, which seemed to help.

We gather all our things and head home. The only thing that really bothered me was my lower back and the soles of my feet. I am usually a sore person on the second day, which means that I am much more sore on the second day than the first. In fact, I hit a wall of pain on the second day. I think the race on the first recovery day would have helped a lot, but I didn’t.

In general, my recovery was good. I was sore for the rest of the week and decided to really take the week off as I didn’t run the rest of the year. By Wednesday of the following week, I felt human again and most of my pain was gone. Next year, I plan to run a couple of miles the day after the race and then run a couple more days the following week. I think this light run will ease some of the pain and be more like a regular hard training day.