Ironman Recovery
Coach Cara
2/07
CONGRATULATIONS!!! You did it!
The next step in your Ironman journey is recovering from it! Your body will thank you if you take the proper steps to ensure that you recover well and quickly. Your recovery begins the moment you cross the finish line. Here are some steps you can take:
Immediately after: stretch, massage, food/drink (such as Endurox), warm clothes, IV (if necessary!)
Back at hotel: ice bath, ibuprofen, more stretching, more fluids/food if you can handle it
Next morning: walk a bit, stretch, ibuprofen, banquet, etc.
In the first week, you should do no running.
Some athletes prefer to do some swimming or light spinning. This is
a good idea if you are starting to feel the onset of cabin fever
after not working out for a few days. If, on the other hand, you are
not feeling exactly energized about working out, you should take the
entire week off without any guilt.
During this first week, you should spend 20-30
minutes stretching each day. Be sure to eat a diet high in protein,
and emphasize hydration and rest in your daily routine.
1-2 weeks after: At this point it is
definitely ok to start swimming and spinning easily again, and
depending on whether you sustained any nagging injuries in your
Ironman, you can start running. Be sure to start slow. 3-4 miles at
an easy pace is plenty at this point. I have discovered that competing in a sprint
triathlon 1 week after an Ironman is not a brilliant idea.
After 2 weeks, you should be ok to start
running again. (I’m not sure how typical this is, but I have twice
raced to a 5k PR two weeks after an Ironman after ZERO working out.)
After 3 weeks, make yourself get out
there whether you feel like it or not, unless you have plans to
completely discontinue swimming, biking or running for good after
your Ironman. You don’t have to jump back into a training regimen,
but don’t put it off anymore.
Oh, and you may have been binging on desserts and fast food (after all, you denied yourself all those “goodies” for 6 months, and then you raced an Ironman – you earned it, right?). If that sounds familiar, now would be a good time to reign yourself back in. It’s common to see a drastic weight gain in the weeks after an Ironman, and actually, current thinking is that a little off-season weight gain can actually be good for you. However, too much indulgence in unhealthy food is not. So, put the cookie down!
The Other Side of Ironman Recovery: Taking care
of your spirit
You have spent months dedicating yourself to a singular and monumental goal of finishing an Ironman; hours on the bike imagining the magical moment of crossing the finish line and hearing The Words, hours spent pounding the pavement and staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool. Self-discipline and will power have been the dominating forces in nearly every aspect of your life. You’ve poured every ounce of your body and soul into this goal, and then, just like that, it’s over. You’ve done it. When you’re in the thick of it, it seems interminable. But looking back, it seems it was all over and done with in the blink of an eye.
Now what?
Some athletes have no problems putting the Ironman completely behind them the very next day. And some immediately bounce back in search of the next adventure – another Ironman perhaps, or maybe this time they’ll tackle Mt. Everest. However, it is very common for athletes to feel a sense of emotional letdown after completing their goal, especially if they have spent a good deal of time dedicating themselves to it.
You may go through a phase of profound emptiness, as though you cannot figure out what to do with yourself now. A few days of looking at all the pictures from the event, watching the DVD over and over again, reading people’s race reports, and telling all of your friends every detail of your race might help, but that doesn’t really erase the sense of loss you might feel now that it’s all over. Or you may simply feel a sense of burnout. An expression commonly heard among recently anointed Ironmen is “I don’t even want to LOOK at my bike.”
However you feel after your race, it is important that you accept your feelings as valid and natural. Some sports therapists have likened the phenomenon to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or Post Partum Depression. A few athletes experience a severe enough case of depression to warrant a therapist, but most just feel a little “strange” about it afterward. Wherever you fall in the spectrum, here are some suggestions that might help.
1) Set further athletic goals for yourself, i.e.
a fun race such as trail run or a bizarre distance run – something
to motivate you to get back into working out. Regardless of what
you’ve been doing for the past two weeks, you have a fantastic
fitness base built up. Shooting for a fast time at a purely running
or biking race, or another triathlon a month after an Ironman is a
good way to further capitalize on the benefits of all your hard
work.
2) Set aside time to catch up with friends/family you may have neglected during your training.
4) Get yourself to a post-IM celebration with your fellow triathletes so you can brag on yourself and swap stories. It might get you fired up again. If nothing else, you’re almost guaranteed to hear that least one other person is going through the same thing as you.