Post-Vineman racing and recovery

Just wanted to post a quick update about life post-Vineman.

Recovery has actually gone surprisingly well. I took the first few days off after completing the race, but by mid-week I was ready to start easing my way back in. The soreness gradually went away, and I slowly began walking more normally, and getting less questions about what might have happened to me :)Overall, I really didn't feel that fatigued after a couple of days went by. The biggest issue I had was that I was experiencing some pretty serious pain on the bottom of my right foot. I could hardly put any pressure on it and was afraid I might have a stress fracture, but a first visit to the doctor in probably years revealed otherwise. The doctors said it was likely just bruising, so I have been keeping an eye on it. The pain goes back and forth, some days intense to the opint where I can hardly walk, and other days I barely notice it. I hope it will be all better soon.

I decided to race the following Sunday after my race, to finish off the Olympic triathlon series I started in June at Rancho Seco Park. And man, am I glad I did! I mostly wanted to do the third and fnial race because it would clinch me the series win for my age-group, which means free entry to next years races, which we all know I NEED! But, I figured the race would be painful and most likely slow just one week after Ironman. But, as it turns out, it was actually awesome, and I ended up with a total PR, taking off almost five minutes from the time I set in June!

I don't know if maybe my pain threshold went up after making it through Vineman, or if the fact that I spent almost the entire week resting helped out, but somehow as soon as I started the race I just felt awesome! I felt like I was able to push harder and harder and wasn't being held back by anything. Each discipline felt great, and I believe I actually set a best time in all three.

I finished 4th, with a final time of 2:23:54. I am still trying to get under 2:20, so I have some work yet to do. But, I feel confident that if I have another day like last Sunday, I can make that happen before the year is over! Overall though, a really great day and a very positive experience. It's nice when you see results that confirm taht you are getting stronger, and all the work you have been putting in really is paying off.

Now it's time to really put in some good quality hours, along with some intensity, as I have two weekends in a row sans-racing (including last weekend). Looking forward to seeing how my body responds to some actual quality training time!