Ironman recovery

I write this on the Tuesday 9 days after the Sunday Ironman.

If you read around, the "word" you get is that among marathon, ironman, and half-ironman, the recovery time is in that same order, i.e., an open marathon is the hardest to recover from.

Within limits, I am finding that to be true. I have done three half-ironmans now, and racing two weeks out from that may not find me at my peak, but it's completely possible. Racing one week out would require very careful attention.

I am now 9 days out from my ironman. From an "injury" point of view, I feel fine. My messed up toenails are now no longer bothering me. I have no significant muscle pain, and I don't have any trouble getting around, e.g., descending stairs.

Last year, I went on a 30 minute run on day 7 from my marathon and the HR was pretty high. On day 9, I went for an easy 7 mile run, and the legs complained the next day. I remember my quads being sore for a couple of weeks. In the third week, it looks like I had a couple brisk, if short runs. It was 5 weeks before I went 10 miles again.

Yesterday was my first activity after IM. A very easy 1 hour ride (ave power 120 W) showed me that, although I am pain-free, I still have a lot of underlying fatigue. To have pushed that any harder would have been difficult. In my head, I know my goal is to accelerate recovery, but my ego wants to keep or increase fitness.

My cold/virus/whatever still hangs on. It has been two weeks. I assume that IM has made it worse, but I do not know. I sure wish it would go away. I know it will, but just wish it had already.