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Ironman Recovery

I don't do well with down time. Have been reading up on this whole recovery subject and seen a wide spectrum of recommendations. One sourse says 2-6 months of recovery (absurd, unless you broke your leg). One says 2-8 weeks. I'm thinking more along the lines of 4 weeks. Mike was talking about a reverse taper, and that sounds exactly like what would work out for me. I feel run down right now, can tell I need to build back up.

Building up plan: make sure to take vitamins and make healthy food choices. I was ravaged by the Ironman. I will eat and nap when I can for the next week. My metabolism is cranked right at the moment, I'm a walking furnace. I cleaned in a sports bra and shorts and turned the furnace down to 60 yesterday. Proof that my body is not back to normal. By next week, I will have to cut back on total calories because exercise will still be reduced.

Swimming will start back in on Friday. Easy, no records here. The point is to get my blood moving. Maybe get out the aquajogger again, keeping intensity very light.

Biking will start tomorrow for about 20 minutes out to the dam and back home. It is pretty flat, and I will use a very low gear (27), hoping for a 5 miler on Saturday/ and 45 minutes Sunday.

Sometime next week, running will fit back in. 20 minutes to start and very easy. I've been walking easy since Sunday. It will be on the treadmill since the surface is uncertain on the trail and the muscles are not up for that yet.

Strength training will resume in a week. Light and low reps to start. Get back in the ab/back routine. NO leg exercises.

Stretching/yoga starts tonight. This will be gentle and slow. More getting the blood moving and just for healing purposes.

A 5K should fit in nicely this next month just to give something else to focus on. Paula Newby-Frasier gave a talk on "A.I.D.S." (after ironman depression syndrome). Hear that. Too much time and energy invested and now the fun is over. But the focus is different right now. Training doesn't stop it just changes. Careful diet, careful return to activity. Plus, there is Wisconsin Ironman to look forward to.

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