by Matt Dixon, Elite Coach and Owner of Purplepatch Fitness

Following an Ironman event (or any major endurance event), it is absolutely critical to fully recuperate before resuming full training and another build to your next event.  When coaching, I like to boil down complicated concepts into simple and digestible pieces of information, that are easy to follow and understand, hence will do the same in this article.

An Ironman event causes a tremendous amount of damage to your system, both muscular damage to the working tissue, hence the few days of having trouble walking, as well as metabolic stress (a simple coined term we use to make things simple) and ‘damage’.  The localized muscular damage, while sore to the touch and certainly disruptive, is quick to recover, but ‘metabolic stress’ takes much longer to fully restore back to normal levels.  This is a key reason that athletes often feel pretty good after a few days, but when they return too quickly to normal training, will feel very flat and tired 8 to 14 days after the event.  So what can you do to maximize recovery, while not losing too much central fitness?

**  Keep active (with restrictions):  Recovery does not mean simply sitting on the couch.  I like to keep athletes active, but have strict restrictions on what they can do.  As a simple rule of thumb, we shift most focus toward swimming and riding, with some lighter running included.  We keep swimming sessions under an hour, running under 40 minutes (usually closer to 30 minutes), and riding under 90 minutes.  We keep this framework, which includes mostly lower intensity and unstructured sessions, until we begin to notice a real ‘pop’ return to the legs.  It often occurs first on the bike, and we will notice athletes struggle to remain at a lower power, and feel like pushing it.  When this is consistent for two to three days, we can begin to progress volume and intensity.  It is, of course, highly individual.

**  Maximize sleep:  There is no better recovery than sleep, it is when it truly occurs from a hormonal standpoint, and the lower volume and time spent training should be substituted with extended sleep.  A few days, and better still, few weeks of high quality sleep with facilitate your fastest and complete recovery and rejuvenation.

**  Nutrition and hydration:  Your body has taken a beating, albeit self-induced, and the weeks following an Ironman is a time to focus on maintaining hydration, as well as quality foods.  Don’t fall off the nutrient wagon, focus on proteins, good oils and plenty of vegetables throughout the day.

**  Step back:  A quick return to training will not give you the needed break and emotional recovery.  It will always catch up with you.  Take a step back, relax, and don’t be in a rush to train heavily again.  Two to three weeks of focusing on something else, and forgetting your goals, is seldom a long-term negative.  This does not mean you need to be lazy or inactive, but turn the focus off for a couple of weeks.  You will return with vigor.

As I am on the subject, it is worth me noting that I sometimes have athletes complete Ironman races very close together (such as CycleOps professional, Meredith Kessler).  This is very possible, and requires an evolved protocol, but the necessity for full recovery following both events still exists.  You cannot beat physiology, so recovery following the second event is as, if not more, critical.

Matt Dixon is an exercise physiologist, former professional triathlete, elite coach and the owner of the San Francisco-based professional coaching company Purplepatch Fitness. He is coach to numerous professional triathletes and Ironman Champions including CycleOps Powered athletes Chris Lieto, Linsey Corbin, Meredith Kessler, Luke Bell, and Matt Lieto.

Interested in attending a training camp? Join Matt Dixon and his team of pros for a Purplepatch Fitness camp. They are held throughout the year and focus on training, education, and skills.