RECOVERY MASTERCLASS

YES, STORMING PAST THE FINISH LINE IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT SHOULD BE CELEBRATED AND ENJOYED. BUT IT’S ALSO WHERE YOUR RECOVERY PLAN KICKS IN. HERE’S THE HOW, WHY AND WHAT…

By their very nature, triathletes enjoy pushing themselves – in life, in training and, in particular, at races. Even if you enter the swim and think this event is all about you, focusing on yourself and on the process goals, as soon as the starting horn sounds, your competitive instinct kicks in and you dig deeper than you ever thought possible. As long as you eventually temper your racing synapses and deliver textbook pacing, you’ll soon rack up a new personal best. But then what? Often, you’ll stride like a zombie for the next week, your limbs stiff and your mind exhausted. Soon, post-race melancholy replaces postrace elation. But it needn’t be so with our recovery plan.

How quickly you recover is down to numerous contributing factors. We’re talking your age, your level of conditioning, the quality of your tapering, triathlon experience and even the daily stress that you’re managing. There’s also, as you’ll discover, what you eat, how you sleep and other more cutting-edge methods to banish residual fatigue.

Sadly for those of us who’ve tipped over 40, the younger, fitter and healthier you are, the quicker you’ll typically recover. In truth, we all recover at different rates, no matter how meticulous your recovery protocol. So it’s essential that you listen to your body and give your ego a rest. You must respect time off or doing fewer training hours post-race, or you could simply overtrain and spend weeks on the sidelines.

With that said, it’s time for your postrace recovery refresh…