Day 36 of 100 days of Me - Recovery

“Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.” 

― Mark Buchanan

How long does it take to fully recover ?

"When I refer to full recovery, I insinuate that you are recovered from the race completely—so that you can do a race-quality training session or another race with no residual fatigue or affects remaining from your last event.

A quick guide to estimate race recovery time follows:

Cycling Races: one to three days per hour of racing
Triathlon Races: three to five days per hour of racing
Running Races: four to six days per hour of racing" - from active.com

If this is true, for my 6 hour race, consisting of a 37 minute swim, 3.5 hour bike ride and a 2 hour run, I should take at least 18 days to fully recover.... funny, cause I feel pretty good today - only two days later. True, I could not do the race over again, I guess that would take the two and a half weeks.

Today I ran a quick easy run, not very far, and certainly not very fast.  It felt nice to move, to run through the streets with the wind through my hair.  I do like running for the sake of it, enjoying the sun and wind, and filling my soul with good vibes.

I get to take it easy the next couple months as my Ironman training won't start officially until the new year.  In the meantime, I get to workout for fun doing some cross training and other sports that I love.  I'd like to get out to the Gatineau hills and do some trails on a mountain bike, I'd like to skate, ski, hike and simply have some fun... looking forward to it.  I'll do some weight training as well, and get some swimming in during the week also.

Recovery:  A return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.

We all need to take time to recover from our physical fitness, from our mental stressors, from the work we do day in and day out to survive.  How we recover will be different for each of us.  Some of us will need to be surrounded socially by our friends and people we love, others will need to have solitude, space and time.

Best ways to recover:  Really allow yourself to rest. Turn off all the things that have caused the pain in the first place and allow yourself to heal up.  Eat and drink as healthy as you can, you need the water and nutrition to get your body and mind back to full strength.  Make sure you are making healthy choices of who you are talking to, hanging with, and allowing in your space - the wrong person can put you on the wrong path! Recovery is tough without good influences.

I personally like that one ;)

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” 

― Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” 

― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life

Quotes and references to aid you in your own recovery:

Race recovery: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/learn/race-recovery/

Mental recovery: http://ontario.cmha.ca/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/recovery/

Relationship Recovery Myths: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-out/201310/5-myths-recovery-after-your-break