Recovering, Resting...and Working

Not much to report since the race... I've recovered fairly well, actually let me not be ungrateful here, I've recovered miraculously well, been doing yoga, pilates, some mountain bike rides, some walks here and there, some ocean swims...and as it is the busy season at work, been working like crazy. The long hours of working have been bit of a burden on me, as sitting still for prolonged hours are stiffening up my hips beyond what my pain levels can tolerate. But work is work and I have to manage.

Seriously, on the recovery part...except for the day after the race, overall fatigue level was minimal. It was a shocking experience but of course an AWESOME feeling - hip pain was bearable the day or two after the race, but it actually got pretty bad for several days after that. I have no idea why that is, but I supposed it's a part of delayed muscle fatigue after an event like that. Just managed with a lot of self-massaging and conditioning exercises.

Here's what i think helped me recover pretty well after the race:
1. Nutrition/fueling DURING the race - my fueling during the race was like clock work, every hour for clif bars, trail mix bars, clif bloks, gels, etc..., and I drank Perpetuum as my drink supplement (Hammer Nutrition makes these - basically a meal supplement energy drink mix...amazing stuff). All this not only helped me get thru the race but I am sure it contributed a lot to faster muscle recovery

2. Recoverite right after the race - i packed double servings of Recoverite (also from Hammer, no i'm not sponsored by them) to drink after the race. I found this extremely effective over Endurox or Accelerate and other recovery drinks out there. Trust me, i've tried pretty much everything. It has Glutamine in it, which speeds up muscle recovery.

3. Eating a lot of protein and fats after the race. Protein for muscle recovery, and fats (good fats, like almonds, avocado, etc) for minimizing inflammation. And they also taste great after a race (well, anything does).

4. Icing/ cold water and hot tub: i went back and forth between the pool and the hot tub at the hotel when i got back from the race site. Reduce inflammation (cold) and increase blood flow (hot). I also iced my hips in the middle of the night (cuz it was hurting, but i didn't ignore it!)

5. Next day - continue to eat lean protein, fats and a good portion of carbohydrates. drink a ton of water to flush out the toxins.

6. Keep moving - while no specific exercise is necessary, i made sure i wasn't sitting or lying still - i kept moving around, walking, etc to keep my muscles moving. You can't stay still and stiffen up your muscles all of a sudden after an intense race like that, it would be too sudden of a halt for your muscles!

7. Enjoy the victory! Smile, be happy, really revisit the race and the amazing experience and live off that high! Share your story with others and multiply the joy!

after two weeks of mellowing out on the training, I think i'm sort of back to wanting to train again...nothing intense, just for a sprint race coming up in 3 weeks in Malibu. It's for a great cause, raising money for the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

Time to go back to work! Lots to do....