The Current State of My Muscles
Thursday August 12th 2004
So it's been over 2 weeks since the Ironman has passed, and I think my body has more or less recovered. It has been an interesting process to witness unfold, and it turns out my experience is not unique. Each of my training buddies have been experiencing much of the same symptoms, trends, and patterns. Coach Som told us that it would take about a full month to recover from the race, and that until that month has passed we weren't to do anything more than 30-45 minutes long. Which is a difficult order to swallow when you're used to 2-hour runs minimum. But judging from how odd our bodies have been during this recovery period, perhaps he's right. Here's what the past few weeks have been like:
- Immediately after the race it was all about soreness and energy levels. Soreness was high, energy low. I was most sore in my shoulders (from not being in the aerobars during majority of the bike, although that would have similarly made me sore, so it's a push), and my feet. My left foot, actually. Or was it my right? Can't remember by now, but I've felt it before after my first marathon, although it was in the other foot. . .whichever one that was. . .
- After the first few days of recovery were past, the fatigue still lingered. It wasn't so much "I need a nap" as it was like I was running on half all the time. I couldn't reach either extreme of energy--I was never dog tired, nor was I ever alertly awake. It was a hazy string of days, all the more compounded by the hangover of having pushed beyond an Ironman, and suddenly without anything to do.
- And then there was the hunger. This sort of crept up on me--the first few days after the race, I didn't notice it. I even ate more than I wanted, because I felt that I needed it. But by day 4 or 5 or so, suddenly I was hungry, and I was hungry all of the time. I'd inhale my entire 3-course meal, wait the designated 45 minutes while my stomach caught up with me, and would have to go back for more just to stop the grumblings.
- And through all of this, there was weight loss. Only a few pounds, but something's missing, that's for sure. My only guess is that this crazy Ironman thing forces your body to just consume itself for energy, while also prepping itself for the next one that comes along. And even though I technically carry more weight than one might prefer as a triathlete, I'm not at all OK with this development, so it's time to hit the weights and put back on a few pounds of muscle.
I haven't done much of anything since the race; one spin class, one 3-mile run, and one full-body lift. And each of those has left me nearly worthless for days afterwards. Lactic acid build-up is instantaneous, and the post-workout soreness is, and I'm not kidding you, worse than the days after the Ironman. Strange the way the human body works. . .
So at this point, I feel under-trained, under-worked, and under-fed. Tonight I have to work at the gym, so I think I'll start off the evening with a quick weight lift and see how I feel in the morning. Assuming everything hurts a little less than last time, I'll do it again, and again, and again, until I'm back to "normal."