So I raced last weekend and I have another on the schedule in little over a week. Luckily, they are both short course races (Oly last weekend, sprint next weekend). With races so close to each other, I'm trying really hard to focus on recovery.
I once read/heard that the fastest way for a beginner/intermediate athlete to improve is to take recovery seriously and recover well. Great! I can get faster by simply doing nothing?? SIGN ME UP!
However, recovery is the one thing that I always, always, always screw up, slack off on, or don't even do at all. Because it's ONE MORE THING and it takes up more time!!!
Example: I just finished a hard brick workout and it's 8:00 p.m. I haven't eaten dinner, I am a stinky-sweaty mess, the laundry still needs to be put away and the checkbook needs to be balanced.
The good triathlete would IMMEDIATELY drink 16 oz. of water, eat 15 grams of protein and 30 grams of carbs, hop in an ice bath for 15 minutes and then, while making dinner, (consisting of a pure protein, organic green veggies and a brown rice) stretch for a good 15-20 minutes, put recovery socks on, eat dinner, shower, AND THEN go to sleep making sure to get 8-9 hours of uninterrupted, peaceful sleep.
YEAH RIGHT!!!
Immediately after, I eat SOMETHING (80% of the time) while in front of the computer logging my workout into TP. Then I get on FB - for like, AN HOUR, (I'm addicted - I hate it) make dinner, eat dinner, maybe stretch, SHOWER, go to bed.
See, I didn't even get to the laundry or the checkbook - and I didn't do the ice bath and maybe not even the stretching.
BUT this week, I am making a concerted effort to get the recovery RIGHT!
This means: eating right and eating enough; drinking enough water - NO ALCOHOL (except Sunday night - my weakness); ice baths after hard workouts; stretching!!; ART with the hottie chiropractor; and taking it easy on my days off - this is the hardest because I usually see my days off as FREE DAY - a day to eat crap, go on a bender, run errands and clean the house. NOT TODAY. Today I will go the chiro and then head home and lay on the couch for the rest of the night.
Seriously, this recovery stuff is HARD! I have a life and I already put so much on hold, and say no to so many things because of training. Now I have to say no to friends and my only excuse is "I HAVE to do nothing tonight". It's a sure way to lose them. Unless of course, you have athletes for friends. Which I do not. Well some.
ANYWAY... I'm trying hard to focus because after training on auto-pilot all spring, I'm finally BACK! I'm ready to take ownership of my success. All the mental GARBAGE and clutter is behind me now. I can focus on ME and MY GOALS. GRRRRR!
And yes - a 2 minute PR is totally worth not having clean underwear or paying the mortgage two weeks late. All because I did nothing...something...nothing.
