How long are you tired post IM

Triathlon Forum
1

I did IMTX the last two years. This year I’m struggling to get energy back for workouts and to hold power. I’m also tired and lethargic most of the time. It’s now been almost two months and I’m still struggling. Is that normal? How long should I expect this? I likely overtrained heading into the race by not taking enough rest. This could be my body still angry at me. Just looking for some feedback on this.

I ran the 1500 in track in college and after I graduated it took my body a couple months to recover but that was a big come down after years of training. Could be similar.

2

I did IMTX the last two years. This year I’m struggling to get energy back for workouts and to hold power. I’m also tired and lethargic most of the time. It’s now been almost two months and I’m still struggling. Is that normal? How long should I expect this? I likely overtrained heading into the race by not taking enough rest. This could be my body still angry at me. Just looking for some feedback on this.

I ran the 1500 in track in college and after I graduated it took my body a couple months to recover but that was a big come down after years of training. Could be similar.

The biggest sprint race of the season is the week after IMWA (Busso) so lots of people do that race as well as IM and most of them do OK, probably no pbs, but close to what they would normally get in a sprint. 2 months seems a while.

3

Struggling to hold power - what kind of power are we talkin? (Zones)

How much time did you take off after imtx?

4

Any FTP work just exhausts me. I could go on an easy ride no problem but forget putting in a sustained hard effort.

5

If you drank deeply from the well at IM, 4-6wks is not at all uncommon. Go have fun instead of “training” and you’ll be back in no time :slight_smile:

6

Any FTP work just exhausts me. I could go on an easy ride no problem but forget putting in a sustained hard effort.

Seems to be the proof that it is not without reason that a lot of people hold on to periodization of the year. This includes mostly an off-season block with little training which can last several months.
It is true that after a week a lot of people can still accomplish a shorter race in a satisfying time (I once did an olympic triathlon a week after an IM without training in between), but that should be regarded as a short “flash”.
The off-seazon block is mostly after the A-race, e.g. an Ironman. Wasn’nt IMTX just 6 weeks ago?

7

Typically, it has taken me about a month to feel fully recovered. However, this year, my recovery time was sharply reduced. I had a tremendous build for IM South Africa on 2 Apr. A week later, I realized my legs were already back. I signed up for IMTX just a week before and had a strong race. Three weeks after that I did a walk-up registration for IM70.3 Gulf Coast; and then won my AG in a sprint tri just a week later. That made two IMs, one 70.3, and one sprint in the space of 7 weeks, and I am 60. Again, this was NOT typical for me. I believe the two biggest factors in the short recovery were the huge base I built, and the fact that I did it over the Florida “winter” instead of the typical summer build which is incredibly taxing due to the high heat and humidity. But I didn’t plan on doing that much; I only executed after my body told me that it was ready. Keep listening to your own body and take the time you need to recover. You’ll know when you are ready to race again.

8

Any FTP work just exhausts me. I could go on an easy ride no problem but forget putting in a sustained hard effort.

After my “A” ironman race, if I totally emptied the tank, I need 2-3 weeks completely off, followed by a period of around 4-6 of purely zone 2 base training.

I did IMTX as well, and im still in the zone 2 area. I feel amazing now and ready to start introducing some intervals – but if I did any FTP work before now, I’d be shot too.

Many people can recover faster than this, or even go straight into another half iron or something.

Not me though, I’ve learned that I’m just too old for that :slight_smile: (40)

You’re hearing what your body is telling you, so take it easy, you’ll feel it when you’re ready for more.

9

About a year after the 108º day at IMCDA! Did not have the will to do anything active except get my paddleboard out and piddle around the waters. I couldn’t even muster up the will to train for any of the duathlon nationals races that take place a mile from my house last year.

Got back to it this year though, and it has been fun seeing myself improve to my old self again. I’m motivated again, maybe more than before (of course the 20+ lbs I gained was a HUGE factor in that!). Heck, I may even look for another IM to do next year…

10

I probably need to just do low key stuff for a few more weeks. Enjoy the summer and hopefully it will come back. Thanks for all the great feedback. The human body is amazing and mysterious.

11

How quickly did you start doing training of any kind after the race?

The typical rule of thumb, developed by Mark Allen I believe based on blood tests looking at inflammation markers, is six weeks. That resonates fairly well with my experience.

If I’ve had a smooth build and taper, it’s less. If I’ve had a rough build and taper, it’s more. Early season races - like Texas - take longer than late season races because most people typically have less training load under their belt early season.

But the biggest determinant, in my experience, is how quickly you try to ramp back up.

In 2013, for Ironman Melbourne, I got quite sick before the race. I ended up racing sick. Plus, of course, the massive travel involved in getting to/from Australia. I took a week off and then started trying to get ready for 70.3 St. George. It was way too soon. I needed two weeks at least totally off. Maybe even a month. I didn’t take it. And I never actually recovered. For the entire year.

I took five weeks at the end of the year totally off except for some swimming. And I finally recovered. Certainly I had some decent races that year. But nothing like what I was capable of.

Without question, the biggest regret of my career was not stepping away for a month (or two or three) when I should have.

After Melbourne, it was May, and I was already thinking about preparing for Kona. As a result, I DNFed in Kona. If I had simply done no training of any kind in April - taken the five weeks I took at the end of the year at the beginning - I bet I would have had a fine season. Maybe even a great one.

Even “easy” training is hard on the body.

If you are two months out, and still feeling it, take a break. A real break. I don’t mean, “oh, just swim and run a bit.” I mean actually stop training.

Put another way, I’ve never regretted taking time off after I took it. But I’ve always regretted not doing so…

12

it s very normal to feel some deep fatigue after a ironman. And for many, the race itself isnt the taxing part… it s the preparation that really take a tool on the body.

That s why it s very important to change the stimulus on the body after a ironman and have some different phase of training so the body can accomplish some work all year long…but that work is a little different depending on the time of the year.

For most of the athletes i coach, i rarely ever seen more than 2 weeks of ‘‘off season/unstructure’’ training. And even in that phase, i ask them to remain active. As long as you plan the season right…there should not be any burnout or overtraining…

so take it easy a little longer and do something different until your body say go…

13

If you’re in TX the heat lately has been brutal. I did a marathon 4/30 and then a 70.3 on 5/21 with little downtime between. I took a down week and then started a 4 week build in June. It took a good two weeks before I started to get any bike power at all and runs are still brutal. I’m just writing it off to a combination of fatigue and summer.

Fall can’t get here soon enough.

14

If you’re in TX the heat lately has been brutal. I did a marathon 4/30 and then a 70.3 on 5/21 with little downtime between. I took a down week and then started a 4 week build in June. It took a good two weeks before I started to get any bike power at all and runs are still brutal. I’m just writing it off to a combination of fatigue and summer.

Fall can’t get here soon enough.

I’m in the same boat here in Central Florida. I’m curious whether you reduce your run volume in the summer, and particularly with long runs?

15

After a solid training for Roth 2016 I had a local Half IM 4 weeks later.
So I just did an easy week after Roth,just some cycling and swimming, but very easy and then went into the last 3 weeks of my normal HIM plan but didn’t run for more than 70mins at a time.
I did PB that race with beating my time by 10 mins (first time under 5 hrs) and it didn’t felt terrible hard doin it. (Why wife yelled at me if I’m on a lazy Sunday ride after the first lap). Don’t know if there is a difference in the times people put down though.

After that race I was done completely, swim times got slower,…,you name it.
Without a set goal for this year I never got into Normal again.

16

If you’re in TX the heat lately has been brutal. I did a marathon 4/30 and then a 70.3 on 5/21 with little downtime between. I took a down week and then started a 4 week build in June. It took a good two weeks before I started to get any bike power at all and runs are still brutal. I’m just writing it off to a combination of fatigue and summer.

Fall can’t get here soon enough.

I’m in the same boat here in Central Florida. I’m curious whether you reduce your run volume in the summer, and particularly with long runs?

I probably won’t back off volume as I’m really trying to keep my volume up this year. My question is whether to back off pace or increase HR. Something’s gotta give in the heat.

17

I have a bad habit of not backing off pace and then I blow up in the heat…especially on longer runs (aka 10+). More ‘waddling’ is in order this summer! :slight_smile:

18

i ran one of my fastest 5ks ever as a 40 year old just 7 days after my last IM in 2014. On the flip side, two years before that, i felt horrible didn’t recover for weeks after IMLP and discovered I had Lyme disease… if you have any night sweats or anything weird, get it checked out…

19

Great advice and thanks. I was trying to do occasional workouts to maintain the fitness gained from IM training. However, having been doing some form of endurance training for 25 years now I should know better. I was hoping it was different doing biking and swimming with no running but the body needs to recover, even if it’s not from they physical pounding. Thanks for the feedback and stories. Very helpful.

20

For most of the athletes i coach, i rarely ever seen more than 2 weeks of ‘‘off season/unstructure’’ training. And even in that phase, i ask them to remain active. As long as you plan the season right…there should not be any burnout or overtraining…

I’ve definitely hewed to this. Often to my detriment. The part that I underlined and bolded is a big “IF.” Yes, in years when I did it all right, that was enough. But it was the years where I did not plan right that I definitely needed more.

When it’s easy, it’s easy. That’s what makes it all so confusing. But I can definitely think back to quite a few occasions where I’ve thought, “I shouldn’t need more than one/two weeks.” But I did.

I think the reality is that it’s important to simply recognize that sometimes you do need to step away and take a real break.

While I would never have wished for my accident, I think the massive forced time off - it was close to three months where I wasn’t really doing any meaningful training or even exercise with any regularity - was a huge benefit. It think without that big break, I don’t have those two incredible seasons in 2011 & 2012. But I was only able to take that break because I was forced into it by my wreck.

Of course, had I had a bit more mental discipline, I could have shut it down any time during any one of the years that I should have but didn’t. But it takes real courage to do that.