I find it amazing how within a 24 hour period you can go from feeling invincible, to doing an invincible act, to hobbling like you have two broken legs.
I also think that sitting down is absolutely the worst thing to do after a hard race.
Take for example my experience yesterday:
Finished the race, felt sore, but not too bad. Got home, showered, still felt fine. Went to the movies and sat for 2 hours.
Movie ends; tried to stand up: FAIL
Oh........my........goodness!!!! I couldn't walk!!! I absolutely couldn't walk! The outside of my left knee was pleading with me, "What the heck are you doing! You CAN'T do that! No, I mean, you PHYSICALLY can't do that! STOP!"
So walking out of the theater was more like a 1) Step right leg 2) Drag left foot on ground. Rinse and repeat until final destination. It was a very humbling experience!
So last night I was brewing some more beer at a friend's house and I made an effort to stay standing for most of the evening. It worked and I felt better by the end of the night. I was sorta dreading waking up the next morning.
Fast forward to this morning: Everything from the knees down hurt the most, but not super bad. Walking was fine and my quads and hamstrings are fine. Wierd,right?
At lunch today, I hopped into the pool for 2500 yards and was feeling the best by the end of it. The swim really loosened me up! Except when I got back to my desk and sat down for 30 mins, getting back up I could feel the soreness again. Not as bad, but I could feel it.
So on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a TON of pain (pretty much the soreness that I felt after the Manhattan Half Marathon), this soreness is in the 6-7 range. Either I didn't go hard enough yesterday, or I have beat myself up enough times this season that my body can take more of the abuse.
What are your favorite recovery methods?
I went for a 2 mile walk this morning to loosen up after my race yesterday and was feeling great but as the day drags on and I sit here at my desk every time I get up it becomes harder and harder and my legs are SORE! OMG! Make sure to drink lots of water today and pop a few ibuprofen.
ReplyDeletemy fave recovery methods are soaking in a bath with epsom salts and sleep! lol. and pizza! lol
ReplyDeletestretching, yoga and light walking around works for me too!
good luck! try to walk it out. maybe do some yoga. Check out yogadownload. they have free classes.
My favorite recovery method is Aleve! LOL
ReplyDeleteor an ice bath works pretty good for me if I can get to it quickly after I run!
Favorite recovery method: drink lots of beer.
ReplyDeleteI usually go for an ice bath, but now that I read Regina's suggestion, I may have change up my routine.
ReplyDeleteOn top of ice baths, I try to do lots of swimming, walking, stretching, etc. Anything to keep my legs active. Once after a marathon, I put a board over the treadmill to put my laptop on. Then I walked at about .5mph while I answered emails and did some work.
I kind of like Regina's idea! I have used it a few times actually. Ice, light stretching, walking, biking, I find active rest works best for me.
ReplyDeleteHi little bro,
ReplyDeleteBoy have I been there!! After both of my half marathons I felt like it hurt to stand up too!! The more we do these races the better it will get...our bodies will eventually get used to it!! I hope that you are feeling better soon and those aches and pains will go away!! Hang in there:)
I prefer napping, watching TV, and eating hamburgers and cookies. I would probably drink beer but I'm just not into drinking..... and complaining to anyone who is within hearing range.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite recovery method is to take a hot shower, drink a big glass of chocolate soymilk, then put on my awesome compression tights. I love my recovery tights and although there's some controversy on whether they really work or not, in my opinion they work!
ReplyDeleteThats the one down side of a racing. It seems we dont ever feel like that after a training session.
ReplyDeleteMy recovery after a hard race is compression gear, I swear by the stuff....oh...... and a large all meat pizza with extra cheese
I know the feeling! My recovery isn't much different than others here, but this is the order: ice bath ASAP post-race; something that resembles stretching but very lightly, maybe some light sticking as well; eat and drink whatever I want which generally includes beer :); 3 advil before bed; Zoot CompressRx tights, can't live without them; sleep with legs on a pillow the first night. After the IM I was walking around like a normal person by Wednesday, it's miraculous!
ReplyDeleteUm...ouch. My favorite recovery method is a spoon and two gentlemen by the name of Ben and Jerry. Can't feel crappy after that!
ReplyDeleteFOAM ROLLER! Relieves your pain with more pain!
ReplyDelete