It's been almost a week since I finished my first Ironman. The primary feeling since the race has been joy. I spent the first week walking around with a stupid grin on my face. I was even overly friendly in the office which is not normal behavior for me (ie office nickname Ice Queen and The Hammer). The first few days were very painful. It took a few days before I could get out of a chair or off the toilet without using my arms to support myself. I walked like I was a 90 year old taking small baby steps at a snails pace. The soreness and pain subsided though. The scabs from my chaffing peeled away. My blisters heeled. Unfortunately the toenail I thought I was losing during the race which I assumed was only the pain from the blister turned out to be both. Toenail is hanging on by a thread and still waiting for that to fall off. I'm to chicken to pull it off mostly because I don't want to be without a toenail... it's very obvious with dark nail polish.
I spent the first week doing only a little movement to help my body recover. The next week some short very easy training. The next week I caught a cold from my husband who gets me sick every year. At least it was after the race. I'm finally getting back into a somewhat normal routine but the rides and runs are still short. I'm very happy to be moving again. I was starting to go a little crazy doing so little after the race. Riding is bringing me the most happiness right now. The weather in the morning is a perfect temperature, the leaves are changing and I can ride without my eyes glued on my Garmin. I take time to enjoy the scenery, take some pictures, even make friends with horses. I'm filled with so much joy on two wheels and my soul is at peace. My fitness still feels like it disappeared but it's coming back slowly. Running still feels like shit and my heart rate is out of control but I'm being patient. I don't expect much from my body right now and I'm pleasantly surprised with what it can do. I even got in a hard hike which is something I can't really do while deep into training.
My eating over the last four weeks has been out for control and I'm ok with that. I watched the scale jump up after the race as expected. Then it dropped once I lost the post race inflammation. Then it went back up from eating a thousand grams of sugar every-signal-day. I had several amazing friends and family members who congratulated me all in the form of sugar. I got fudge, boxes of chocolates, multiple bags of various chocolate and peanut butter candy and cupcakes.
That doesn't include all the crap I made for myself. I would wander through the grocery store and grab anything that looked good. I went on a heavy pumpkin kick. It only took a week before I couldn't handle feeling like crap from all the sugar and started putting veggies back into my diet. The last few weeks has been a more reasonable mix of healthy eating and eating and drinking whatever looks yummy. I even got drunk for the first time in verrrry long time at a wedding. It doesn't take many drinks these days. I'm about ready to get into the full blown training and healthy eating routine though. The Halloween candy is finally all gone after all.
Why am I so happy after this race then? I discussed before the race what makes a good race. To me there were many aspects that made it a great race. First and foremost, it was my first Ironman. That is a once in a lifetime experience and it was amazing. I had great support from my family in Louisville and support from other family and friends all over going into the race. Although I didn't go into the race with time goals, I finished faster than I guessed I would. I'm very happy with my times even though the race was not perfect. I don't care though, I wasn't looking for a perfect day. Ironman is simply too long of a day and too many things can go wrong that I believe it's very difficult to have a "perfect" day. To me though, it was perfect experience. I loved it all, even when I felt like complete shit. I am an Ironman... how can someone not be thrilled with that?
Many people have asked me since I finished, will I do another one. My response... yes, I'm already signed up for another. I told myself I wasn't going to make any discussions until I finished Louisville in case I ended up hating the distance. I knew deep down though that I wouldn't. Because of a vacation next summer, I was having a hard time finding a race that appealed to me and worked with that schedule. I jokingly suggested to my husband that New Zealand has an Ironman in March. New Zealand is my #1 destination I've wanted to visit for years. To my surprise, he agreed. So in February I will be traveling to New Zealand for the ultimate racecation! Let the countdown begin... 4 months exactly until race day!
