Thursday, March 3, 2011

Rest & Recovery

My coach has a quote on his website “The proper combination of stress and rest leads to success.”

After a long, hard run it is important to recover so your body can start to heal before the next swim, bike or run. I am very fortunate to have an incredible recovery crew.

When I stumble in the house after a long run I am asked immediately if I would like water and do I want ice in that water (Kerianne & Avery) followed by “How was your run Mama? Last night I came in to see the boys in the kitchen making dinner. I make my way to my bathroom and start the cold water running for my ice bath. The ice from our automatic ice maker is brought to me by one of the boys. Then the girls come in to check on me to make sure I am OK and ask if I need anything else.

I have a hate/love/hate relationship with the ice bath. I HATE being cold, hate it! But I know the ice bath helps my legs recover quicker. I start the water and shed my clothes except my sports bra. I have found that keeping it on helps me stay warm on top and not shiver as much.
Once the water is covering my legs I pour the ice in. I have a good size tub and long legs but I am able to straighten them so they stay submerged. The very important part for me in tolerating the ice bath is keeping my toes out of the water. My meaty parts can handle the ice cold but my bony toes cannot, having them in the water is painful and makes me want to get out sooner. I stay in the bath for 15-20 minutes, at least until all the ice is melted.

Then I get out, dry off and get some clothes on, log my run on BT and it is time to eat! I do my best to make sure I get protein, carbs and plenty of water. When I am done eating it is time to get wet again but this time it is a hot shower. I get dressed again, have a beer and then a date with my foam roller before hitting the sack.

Last night I had an 8.59 mile run at an 11:35 pace which is very good for me, I met or exceeded all my goals for this run. Tonight I have my first bike fitness test. I will put Dori on the trainer in the garage with a fan in my face. Warm up and then go as hard as I can for 20 minutes, recover a bit and then go as hard as I can for 5 minutes before the cool down. The purpose is to measure the amount of power I put out during times of stress to help my coach set power goals for me in an effort to improve my bike intensity and speed. I will admit I am a little skeered but I hope to get through it without tossing biscuits. Knowing my recovery crew is on hand to help me after makes it so much easier!
The great news is Friday is an OFF day for me. These are very rare since my coach thinks swimming is an OFF day (that’s what happens when you are coached by Aquaman). So and honest to goodness off day is very rare when there is a race on the horizon. TGIF for sure! 4 weeks and 3 days till Kemah Olympic!         

4 comments:

  1. Wow, kudos to you for taking ice baths. I am all for rest and recovery, but I have never had an ice bath.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm with Suzy. Never once have I taken an ice bath. I can barely tolerate icing an injury. You are a tough mama for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ice baths are hard, but it really does help! And, having a great support system helps too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really like your blog - thanks for sharing. I used to do tons of ice baths back in my weightlifting days... I hadn't thought about it for endurance sports. Looks like one can never escape the ice bath. Keep up the good work!

    Meredith
    www.SwimBikeMom.com

    ReplyDelete