Endurance Corner Radio
For the past several weeks, I've been learning to use our podcasting equipment/software. I may have went a bit overboard--our set-up looks like I could be running a recording studio. Once I conquer the learning curve and get everything figured out, it should be perfect. Here is the link to the podcast interview with Chris McDonald. The volume seems to be a bit low, so you'll probably have to turn your speakers up. Hopefully, I'll get the sound sorted out very soon.
Direct link to iTunes
I've also posted a new article, written by Dr. J, on age group doping. You can view this over on the alternative perspectives blog .
####
Post Ironman Recovery
I had a chat with Gordo a few days ago about the recovery plan following my race. I was starting to get a bit antsy and was ready to start training with the squad again. Since this was my first Ironman I had no idea how quick I would recover from the event. It could take me a couple weeks to a couple months.
I'm usually very good at following the plan and have used Gordo's experience and guidance in the past to limit most of my mistakes. By taking the conservative approach I don't have to feel pressured to get back into training. If I’m feeling good, I can resume training and if I’m feeling bad, no harm done, I will just continue to recover.
A week or so ago, for some reason, I felt that I needed to see where I was at. My roommates, a couple of Velo News Boys , kept trying to get me to ride with them. Somehow they managed to get me out the door. The next thing you know I'm sitting on a heart rate of 170 going up the side of a mountain. It was one of those circumstances where you know you are doing something stupid, but you keep on going. Finally, I snapped out of it and said..."boy's I'm out."
That was probably some of the most intense riding I have done all year. I felt absolutely destroyed and was sick for the rest of the day. This was the kind of sick you feel after an all out effort--such as a 5k or an all out night on the town. I had a major headache and felt nauseas. My legs felt ok during the ride, but my HR was 20 beats higher than normal on that climb.
It had been 3 weeks since I finished IMLou and was in a super recovery mode. I don't have anymore races scheduled this year and have been very conservative with my recovery. I've been doing 20-40 min of easy exercise everyday. My efforts that day were a poor decision, but I guess sometimes you need to figure things out for yourself.
When I came into the office Monday morning, Gordo wanted to chat a bit more about my training schedule and asked what I had done the past weekend. I kind of chuckled and told him about my up-hill TT that weekend. He was very understanding and began explaining how this sort of thing is a great learning experience for me. He explained that 14-21 days post Ironman are the most dangerous for athletes because your legs start feeling good and you feel as though you can jump right back into training.
Inexperienced athletes that are unfamiliar with the recovery process after completeing an Ironman need to use caution when returning to normal training. Walking around, my legs felt fine/recovered, but everytime I exercise my HR is sky high and I need to be very careful with my efforts. Even after easy swims, I feel the need for a nap.
This sensation is interesting because you just finished an Ironman where you were in the best shape of your life and now feel unfit. It has been fun watching my roommate,Justin Daerr , prepare himself for IMFL after just completing IMCanada. We both finished IM’s on the same day, so I can easily compare if I could be doing the same training as him. I can tell you right now that I couldn't. I believe the major difference between JD and myself is his experience. JD has been a high volume athlete for a number of years. His legs are more durable and his race duration was two hours shorter than mine. I believe JD is going to write about this transition in an upcoming blog. His insight will be very useful for anyone wanting to stack a few races.
What's next? When I feel normal again, I will just go out and have fun. I will train easy with no pressure, no mainsets, and no expectations. I will spend most of my time on the bike (October), enjoying the fall weather until winter comes.
Mat
