Post Ironman

Phew, the day after a big race, always a strange place to be.

On the physical side you have the exhaustion, stiffness and soreness. I don't have a lot of experience with full Ironman races, but I would expect what I was feeling this morning is fairly normal. The body is not happy, although, it must be said, it isn't as angry as I would expect. It is not as if I am immobile, just a bit worn, feeling a bit sun exposed etc. The hamstrings and back are probably the sorest parts of me.

However, I always find that the physical side is only a small part of the post race strangeness. The mental side is the funnier one in my experience. As the reality of what you have just been through sinks in. Whether it is a Half Ironman or a full, whether the day goes well or it doesn't, I always find that there is a lot to take in after a race. That sinking in process can take a while and can leave you feeling a bit zoned out for a while. Sometimes the race day feels like some other alternative reality as you step back into normal life. Sitting at work trying to act normal, while your mind is still replaying the race like it is a highlights package on TV. It can make it hard to focus.

Other times the day after the race passes in a bit of a blur of travel and exhaustion. Too tired to think about the race, but also too tired to re-engage in the world. Not really reality, but somewhere in between. Surreal would be the term I think. That is what today was like for me mostly, floating through the day of packing, travel and unpacking. Not really thinking about the race in detail, other than to have a general sense of accomplishment and a vague pleasure that it is done with for now. As a result I haven't really sat down and digested what went on yesterday. I am still very happy with the result and how the day went in general, but I haven't really dived deeper than that. What comes now I have no idea about, other than relaxing and enjoying Christmas. What I get to next year, what the race schedule looks like etc, will have to wait until next year, I have some vague feelings but right now all that is a thought too far.

That isn't to say that today has been an unpleasant day at all. Far from it actually. I had a lovely recovery ride this morning, basking in post Ironman Busselton, a great brunch with the family and a cruisy day of packing and traveling. All pretty easy. It is just that the day has felt a little... strange, once again, surreal would be the word. I am not quite back in reality yet.

I am sure over the coming days I will drift back down to earth though and get my head around the race more as I rise out of the immediate post race haze. That is one of the reasons it takes me a couple of days to get around to writing race reports. Sometimes it takes me a few days to have the time, but often it take me a few days to simply digest the race. I think this race will be one of them. I will get there though.

As I get my head around this race I am interested to see what learnings I take out of it, there are always some. I suspect for this race it will be the value of having a plan and sticking to it, but there are likely to be others that haven't occurred to me yet. It is always a fun process finding out what those lessons are.

For now though the main lesson I am learning is that I need more sleep. The body is not quite ready to forgive me yet.