Remember this?
Well, this is your body:
And this is your body on Ironman:
Silverman was 3 weeks ago yesterday. And I'm still shattered. For a race that resulted in no mechanical damage (not even blisters or angry toenails, and no muscle soreness past 3 days), the wear and tear on the cardiovascular system has proven to be monumental. It is worth noting that this race was the hardest by far I've pushed myself in the 3 I've done.
Active recovery began with walking as much as possible for the first few days. 4 days after the race, my immune system figured out that the race was in the past tense, and hence all the stress and pressure of staying healthy was gone.
And promptly clicked its heels together, gave a smart salute, and went AWOL for about two weeks, leaving me nice and sick.
I've been in the pool a few times, but it's hard to go more than 100yds without stopping, gasping for air, and letting my heart slow down from "hummingbird" to "human."
I've been on the bike a few times, but my legs get that deep "are you serious?" burn within about 20 minutes.
I've been for a jog a few times, but within half a mile, my heart goes back to "hummingbird" and my lungs notch up to "bellows."
All in all, I'd guess that I'm no more than 50% recovered. 3 weeks later.
I'm certainly not asking for anybody's pity; I did it to myself! Why bother to write this?
a) you may have wondered what kind of a toll an ironman takes on a well-prepared, healthy individual, or
b) you may be thinking about doing an ironman yourself, perhaps because it sounds cool, and you ought to be aware of what you're getting yourself into.
That is all. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
