I am not a happy camper today. I am cranky, tired, sore, and in pain. Trying to focus on the positives and snap out of it. The goal now is to get through the day.
After barely finishing the race yesterday, I tried to be smart about recovery. There was a pretty good spread of food available for racers: pizza, bagels, bananas, pretzels, cookies. Of course I had no appetite whatsoever. I forced myself to drink a powerade.
Before hitting the road I ate a banana. On the long drive home I made myself drink about 2 bottles of water and eat about a third of a bagel.
I think I need to be better about recovery nutrition, and am looking for advice on what to do.
When I got home I ate and drank what I could. I knew I needed to eat but my appetite just wasn’t there.
I think my system was in shock. I was so tired. But sleep just was not what on my body’s agenda. I tried to go to sleep several times. A couple hours later (around 10:30) I finally drifted off only to wake up two hours later with hunger pains.
Fortunately I thought ahead, knowing that middle-of-the-night hunger often strikes after a hard day. I had planned out what I would eat and went straight to the kitchen to eat my banana and peanut butter.
Back to bed for about 5 more semi-restful hours, and then I woke up about an hour before the alarm. I hate that.
I am sore today, but I am used to that. My foot hurts, but icing it seems to help and I am not really worried about it. What is really bothering me is chafing. Not so much chafing exactly, as we went beyond chafing to now having an open wound. Ummm, let’s just say the new black and hot pink tri shorts looked excellent, but were, umm, problematic.
You know when something hurts, and then you see how bad it looks and then it starts to hurt worse. Yeah. I started to cry when I saw how bad it is. I don’t even know how to treat it. The thought of Neosporin makes me want to scream.
I am at work (shhhh, no blogging at the office). I probably should have taken the day off. But what I am going to do? Take a day off after every race? My boss is not an athlete and doesn’t understand this craziness. He has made that clear. Maybe I should change sections and work for the guy who is a competitive cyclist. He would understand.
I will be okay. I need to hydrate and take care of myself today.
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After an intense effort (either a race or workout lasting more than one hour), you need to replenish not only fluids, but also carbs and protein. Your muscles suffer "micro-tears" during these intense workouts. When they repair themselves, they become even stronger. In order for that to happen, you need to take in some protein within the first 30 minutes following a hard workout. There is some research to support the notion that there should be a 4:1 carbs to protein ratio in the stuff you take in. There are a bunch of products on the market designed for recovery. I used Endurox R4 and have no complaints. You can find it at GNC and other stores. Some people say Slim-Fast also has the right ratio. Sometimes I just eat a yogurt. Good luck with your training!
ReplyDeleteTo add to Old School's post which is EXACTLY what I was going to say a cheapo version of the perfect 4:1 ration is chocolate milk. And to me an ice cold chocolate milk sounds so good after a hard workout. The bonus, you can pick it up at the corner store OR Horizon makes aseptic packs that you can keep in the car. If you put it in a mini cooler with an ice pack it'll be waiting for you. So sorry you had a rough day today.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing ever for chafing is A&D diaper rash cream...better than Neosporin because it is made for wet, damp areas that are not exposed to the air.
ReplyDelete