how long after an IM does one continue to feel fatigue. 1 week out and while I’m not sore at all, I have little energy, and am pretty tired (just want to take naps all day)?
Depending on how much walking you did on the run…2 weeks to a month…
…unless you are Joe Boness, in which case you are ready to go sub 9:30 the following weekend !!!
How fast would that guy go if he were actually rested?!!
Feel the same way… First IM 11:47 at IMLP.
Congrats on the finish! It can take weeks or months to properly recover from an IM depending on your fitness level and other life factors. See Gordo’s notes and about 15 other threads here on post IM depression/recovery.
All you guys assume that people like Joe would go faster if he was “more rested” perhaps the reason he goes so fast, is that he is used to huge volume and can cope with the demands of Ironman easily. If he took some huge drawn out taper, his body might actually go into shutdown mode like a Tour de France cyclist after a rest day. Fleck and I posted about this in the past, but back in late 80’s/early 90’s, we raced ourselved into shape for an Ironman, often racing right up to the weekend before an Ironman. Lots of folks thought this was a good idea and if you look at the times at the front end of the age group racing, it was faster than it is now.
Personally, I think that rest is overrated if you are accustomed to high volume training. I do better in racing when I do the 2 day micro-taper than when I do the long drawn out three week taper thing. You should have seen the Tdf cyclist last year warming up before the Alpe d’Huez TT. Most of the guys spent a solid 60 - 90 minutes warming up on the trainer in 35 degree heat before an all out 45 - 60 min TT. On the rest days, these guys are riding at least 3 hours, sometimes more so that their bodies stay on track.