Almost Fully Recovered

Recovery from the 100 miler is substantially complete. Activity and physical comfort is beginning to return to normal levels again. It’s been almost 3 weeks and I still have a little ground to cover but for the most part, I feel excellent.

The first two days were the most uncomfortable. I tried to sleep a lot the first 24 hours but had great difficulty doing so. I would drift off for 20 minutes and then jolt awake in cramped up pain. It would take substantial effort to roll over and find another semi-comfortable position before dozing off to repeat the same cycle over and over again. Everything from the waist down was stiff and fairly useless. My left ankle was swollen and my lower shins were bruised. I had to use my hands to stabilize and raise myself from a sitting position to standing.

After a couple days had passed I was sleeping better and able to walk in a fairly normal looking fashion. Every step, especially when down stairs, was still painful. I took two days off work to focus on healing and refueling before going back on Wednesday. Fortunately, I have a job sitting at a desk and I am able to recover while working. I took walks at lunch but wasn’t motivated to run or cycle during the first week off.

By the second week, I was getting pretty antsy to do something active. On Tuesday, even though my ankle was still swollen and stiff, I decided to ride the bike to work. They say you must be careful after taxing yourself as I had because you are still prone to an injury until you have fully recovered. Even though the ride was more uncomfortable than it normally is, I think it did a lot to help loosen stiff joints and muscles. I managed to ride the 16 miles to work and back on 3 days that week, each time leaving me feeling better than the last. Saturday, after 2 full weeks without a run, I went out for short 2 miles. It felt so good run! That was until I had gone about ½ mile. After 2 miles I felt like I had done 15.

In this third week, I should be back to an almost normal amount of activity for me. I‘ll come in with about 60 miles of riding and 15 to 20 on the run. I still haven’t decided what the next challenge will be. There is a 50 mile run I am considering in the spring but I haven’t committed to it yet. I like to keep something on the horizon to keep me motivated to stay active. It makes it too easy to skip a day, or more, of working out when you don’t have a goal you’re getting ready for.

This weekend is Jake’s first meet since Regionals. I am excited to see what this season at a new level holds for him!

Week of November 8 – 48 Bike, 2 Run