Recovery: Essential But it Sucks!

I'm almost 2 weeks out from my Ironman race, and my foot is feeling MUCH better! I'm getting around the house pretty well without wearing that gigantic boot and without it swelling. I should be out of the boot all together by this coming Monday. That means I have this weekend to find all of my left shoes :)

Everything that you read involving running, cycling, or triathlon and many other sports puts great emphasis on recovery. Any coach that I've ever heard anything about/dealt with builds all programs around it. Whether your recovering daily through naps, taking a recovery week throughout your training or recovering during your off-season, it's a must to be incorporated into all programs. Every body needs rest as an opportunity to rebuild after the training and suffering we put it through. It is a well-known fact that strength is gained through recovery rather than the exercise itself.

I get it. I understand it. I make it a priority. But that doesn't take away from the fact that I hate it! Actually, a lot of people I know talk about how "rough" recovery time can be. I know it may sound silly, but when you take a body that is accustomed to roughly 20 hours a week of training and then bring it to almost a halt, it can be disturbing :)

Exercise is a HUGE stress reliever for me. I use it to mentally recover and let out some steam. So all during this training season, I dreaded recovery weeks to a certain extent. I knew I'd be grumpy, MORE tired, stressed and even kind of sore as my body absorbed all of the training and rebuilt to be stronger the next go-round.

Well, I'm less than 2 weeks into my big recovery of the season in which I've barely exercised. It hasn't helped that my foot has been injured, and I haven't been able to run, my main physical/mental release. You try to maintain a good attitude. I'm catching up on my magazines, time with my family, and "Kellye" time. But my body is still achy when I wake up in the morning, I'm exhausted, and I'm kind of on edge.

Again, I know that my body needs it, and I'm trying to relax and let it do it's thing so I'll be ready for 2008. Once I can run again in a couple of weeks, things should be looking a little brighter :) In the meantime, if you call me during the day and I'm sound asleep or I snap at you for absolutely nothing...I apologize in advance!!!

Until next time!
K :)