Post Ironman Recovery and Training

After crossing the finish line at Ironman the first priority is oral hydration, even with the best nutritional strategy on race day you simply will not be able to replace all the fluids lost through racing. Since Gatorade is almost always on hand at IMUK the first thing I did was grab a couple of bottles before heading into the Athlete’s Only area to get a massage and collect my White dry bag containing a change of clothes and a Protein Shake to start the recovery process.

Walking into the massage area I was ushered to a table and told someone would be along in a moment, a rather strapping Sports Therapy student appeared and asked me what I would like to have worked on, with the hamstring cramping I had encountered during the run (see previous blog) I instructed him to get to work on the back of my legs. When working with a new Sports Therapist there is a period where both parties are learning about the other, the amount of pressure that can be comfortably maintained by the client for example. With my legs in a state of trauma thanks to the last 10 hours of racing, my allocated chap decided to go hard and go deep! I quickly ‘advised’ him to ease up on the pressure as I was tired and cranky and wouldn’t be held accountable for my actions if he continued in that way.

Massage over, I changed and headed into the food area to grab a handful of everything. I headed down the stairs in Bolton Town Hall and outside to a waiting Helen and we drove to the hotel. Once back in the hotel room, I filled the bath with cold water and stepped in. Ice baths are well documented for the aid to recovery and since I didn’t have one on hand this would have to suffice.

The next few days consisted of stretching and a massage with Cal Performance Massage with Cal. On Wednesday I regained the ability to negotiate stairs, up AND down, and Helen and I took our daughter up to the local pool for a swim and play about. I used the opportunity to have a good stretch out in the water and swam a conservative few hundred meters.

By Thursday, the 4^th day after the event, I was feeling like a ride. A phone call to my riding buddy and friend Dave ‘Optimus’ Priem and it was on for later that day, we rode a very casual 40mi joined by another friend Alex Irving, I was able to sit on their wheels and draft just keeping the legs spinning.

On Friday, I wanted to ride alone, and headed out for a quick spin. Keeping my Heart Rate low, I went out to just enjoy my ride and the stunning scenery that the Chiltern Hills provide, 20 miles later and I was back at my front door feeling very relaxed.

Saturday and Sunday, I treated myself to two further complete rest days as I was working and a few cheeky beers. On Sunday evening I was itching to start training again, and felt I was recovered sufficiently to ease back into the swing of things, which, come Monday I duly did.

Monday, 8 days since IMUK, I headed up to the gym for some light cross-training, core work and stretching before jumping into the pool and swimming a very easy 2km. In the afternoon, I donned my iPod (something I don’t normally do) and went for a 5km run.

Tuesday didn’t go at all to plan! After breakfast, We headed into town to pick up a few odds and sods and came home with some flat pack furniture, 2 large mirrors and a whole bunch of stuff for the house. Being the man of the house, I promptly threw away the assembly instructions and began to build our new purchases and hang the mirrors, looking outside at about 3pm the rain was torrential and I decided I couldn’t be bothered with getting soaked on the 2 hour bike I had planned. I made the mistake of looking in the fridge and saw the beer I hadn’t drunk at the weekend...

10 days since IMUK and I had arranged to meet with fellow Ironman Triathlete, Russ Cox for a long ride, this was the first time we had ridden together and I found his company a pleasure, I lead Russ on one of my favourite training rides through the Chiltern Hills, chatting as we rode. By the end of the ride my bike computer had recorded 106 miles and my Garmin 405 had run out of batteries at about the 95 mile point. In hindsight a ride of this duration so soon after IMUK was too far, but on positive note, it showed I had great depth to my form that I was able to recover enough to complete it feeling strong.

I hit the pool again on Thursday morning for a steady 3km and in the evening hit the road with Dave for a 35 mile jaunt on the bikes.

As I write this, on Friday morning, 12 days since IMUK, I’m feeling a sense of annoyance with myself, I’m clearly in good form and it looks like I was still weeks away from my peak but I’m learning, this is still my first year at this Full-Time lark and next year I’ll develop and build from my successes and failures. After today, I have the weekend off, my Dad is coming to stay the weekend, and I’m looking forward to watching shrapnel fly as he repeats for the countless time his war stories.