I completed my first half-ironman on Sunday in St. Croix (2 hours slower than I had hoped), and flew back last night (Tuesday). I noticed when I got off the plane that my ankles and feet are extremely swollen. I am also sunburned pretty bad there. The swelling has not gone down. Does anyone know if the swelling is a problem from doing a half-ironman and then flying. I am hoping that the swelling is just from the sunburn. Any help would be appreciated.
Probably from sitting down for prolonged periods of time after the race, I assume you did.
Sit at the airport, sit on the plane, sit after the race.
Heat and humidity can cause hands and feet to swell.
You probably want to hydrate, sitting down for long periods of time may have other issues but I think swelling is a result.
It is probably nothing but could also represent one of two more serious problems. First you could have developed a blood clot in your legs. This is a potentially life threatening condition that I see not infrequently. In fact on of the pro women triathletes developed a blood clot in exactly the manner you describe. Long hard race, a little dehydration and immobility thrown in with a plane trip and Voila-Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) aka blood clot. The other problem is less likely but still very serious is a compartment syndrome where muscle damage and swelling causes a tense “compartment” to develop in the legs which can cause extensive damage. I hope it is sunburn and overuse which is certainly a possibility as well. However your health is too important to trust to anonymous posters over the net (myself included). See your Doc!
David