Recovery

It's been about 12 days Ironman Melbourne, and I must admit, I'm feeling scarily good. For a year, I had read or heard stories of long recoveries - several months long. And for a few days, I thought I would be in that boat, too, having shelled my legs at the big dance. Then, after a few good nights' sleep, some light activity (namely walking around and some easy swimming), eating reasonably well and doing plenty of stretching and trigger-point, I came back to life pretty darn quickly.

Last weekend (6-7days post-race), I did a couple of light rides at a recovery effort and felt really good. I tried a first jog early this week. It, however, did feel cumbersome and laboured - similar to the end of a +2hr long run. I ran today, and felt great. Not 100%, but 85% - which 12 days post-Ironman I am pretty happy with. I feel like I'm riding really strongly at the moment, as well, having done a couple of hilly little loops this week I was really please with the legs!
Had a good swim this morning with the local squad and even though they beat me up a bit, I still felt pretty good.

Nothing too much on the horizon, though, so there's no rush to do any more or push any harder than what I feel like on a day-to-day basis. I'll just keep training lightly and try to improve technically where I can. I've started doing more strength training, as well, which is a pleasant change.

To summarise for all you folks who skimmed lazily to the bottom in hope of something really exciting, here's Cliff-notes version of why I feel amazing only 12 days after an Ironman:

• Getting in protein straight away - i.e. right after crossing the line
• Good sleep
• Good food
• Light exercise
• Stretching
• Trigger-point (poor man's massage)

Recovery begins here, at the finish line.