So the little ole sprint tris I did last summer (2) were embarked upon with a “just finish” mentality and I didn’t push super hard cuz I didn’t want to crash and burn before I was done.
I just did Waterloo, 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike & 5 mile run. I sorta knew what I was getting into. I know to you HIMs and IMs this was probably a walk in the park.
As I was explaining to someone what it’s like, I said, imagine you’re being chased by a mugger (in my case for 2 hrs 15), that’s the adrenaline surge I had going. Is this how hard I’m supposed to be going? I kept thinking, OK, just catch your breath on this downhill, but then thought, NO, keep pushing.
Needless to say, I sorta feel like I’ve been hit by a bus this morning – not totally trashed but when I heard some club folks talking about running 10 miles this morning, I about choked on my sandwich. The thought of doing any activity at all this morning, other than make coffee, was outta the question.
Is this a good feeling or am I in dire need of more training?
I think everyone is different. And on top of that, everyone has their own limitations: age, experience, training volume and so on. It is wrong for you to try to compare yourself and how a race affects you to anybody else.
You don’t really have a lot of racing experience yet. I don’t know how long you have been training, but if I recall you were relatively new to this last year. Your body is still learning how to adapt to the stress you put on it during a race, even though it is “only a sprint distance.”
if you were pushing yourself to your limit, you should feel achy today. But think about it…you had an amazing race and covered more distance in 2 hours than most people you know will cover in an entire week!
I’ve got the opposite problem I have to work out. While I am racing, I don’t feel like I have anything left to give, but then 10 minutes after I stop I feel great.
Sounds like me after my first Oly distance. You’ll be fine, you just haven’t built up your base endurance enough. As Paulo says “more is more”, keep training and the next one will feel better. Go for a really light bike ride to work the legs out tonight and help you recover.
IMHO, the best thing that participating in endurance sports has taught me is patience. Patience in training, patience in racing, and patience in recovery. Your body has been through a rather traumatic experience that it is now adapting to, and that requires time and, yes, patience. Ten years ago when I trained for my first marathon a 15 mile training run left me wiped for two days. Now I can do that and play with my kids all afternoon. You will learn, grow, and adapt as well. Enjoy the trip!
I’ve done two full IMs and ten 1/2 IMs, and I feel every bit as bad today after doing an Olympic distance race yesterday as I did the day after the longer races. Everything feels foggy today. The race you did was not a “walk in the park”, it was just raced at a different intensity than a longer race would have been. Its good to be shot the day after a race - that means you pushed yourself. Good job.
Bernie: Thanks for that! I’m gonna keep plugging along. Ha, that usually is my favorite line: “I might be slow, but I’m still faster than the guy that’s still sleeping”
It’s amazing to me how much there is to the whole sport. I mean we all swam, ran & biked as kids, but actually *training *versus just going out for a fitness run is so different.
Patience! That I’m gonna order up It’s good to hear you say “after ten years…”
I think I need to look at this for the long haul, as in when I’m in the 70-74 y/o age group …
was there a bit of a smile going on behind the keyboard as you posted? i imagine there was. good.
you’re going to find all sorts of post race and day after things going on. consider all this a work in progress…which hopefully never stops. as you increase distances and race frequency you will learn that much more about changing and adapting.
it gets really fun when you start racing to train as much as you train to race.
coming over for Great Lakes or doing Clark Lake? it would be nice to meet you.
BTW…“little ole sprint tris” allow you to tear yourself up just as much as any other distance…its the how that is the kicker.
sounds like you raced to the best of your ability. if your body is telling you to rest, then you should rest.
when you race hard, the body suffers tear down. so, today your muscles are building back up, in which you’ll come back stronger.
don’t sweat those guys going out for 10.
one lesson i’m telling myself is to not compare myself to others!
it is hard to not do it, but “keep your eyes in your head” and just focus on what you need to do (rest) & you’ll come out better for it.
i’ve found that when i compare myself to others i often feel defeated and negative; but when i just “keep my eyes in my head”, things go SO MUCH better and i’m able to appreciate being out there, and can have a positive outlook (even during the toughest of training days).
FWIW, racing hurts! even 5K’s feel like major suffer-fests to me. and most always i question my sanity somewhere along the route. so, you’re not alone; most people will tell you that pushing the body really hard never really feels that good! but you can probably see there is reward in the exertion.
the main thing to understand is that you had the fire to keep racing; and that’s awesome.
I think it’s great that you feel that way. It means you gave it everything you had. A much worse feeling is when I wonder “could I have done more”? Did I give up too easily?
FWIW - I think the shorter distances always hurt more than the longer ones.
I feel the same way after a race. I don’t know how to go ‘easy’ in a race…I always hit the finish line with an empty tank…hopefully I time it right and hit ‘E’ when I cross it, not 5 miles before.
Yesterday, after Saturday’s Camp Pendleton race (an Oly) my legs, calves especially were very sore. My shoulders were sore as well. No way in hell I would have gone for a run…the most activity I contemplated was an easy swim, but that never happened as I ended taking a long nap.
That’s pretty much standard for me for anything 70.3 or shorter. 24-48 hrs of soreness, then by the third day, feeling close to normal and back to 100% by day 4 or 5.
FWIW, I did do any easy spin on the bike today, just about 40 minutes to get some of the stiffness out.
Some people can hammer a race, and be fine in a day…but for me, if I truly race it, I’m sore afterwards, regardless of how fit I am.
That’s one persistent mugger! You should stop carrying your purse with you while you’re racing. That will solve your problem right there.
I always feel completely zonked the day after a race. I wake up 10 times more tired than when I went to sleep. I usually take the day after a race off and then do a swim workout or spin on the trainer the following day. I’d probably injure myself if I did a 10 mile run the day after a race.
It’s good to hear you say “after ten years…”