Aftershock

many people have been asking me how long it takes to recover from one of these. i'm sure its different for everyone but for me i don't do anything for 2 weeks after besides some streching and walking around. i've noticed a few phases that follow these long races. first is the obvious soreness stage. it lasts for a few days and includes some good muscle tightness and soreness. after this race i got through this stage in the car for the most part which made it even more fun. after the soreness passes comes the joint pain stage. this is where i notice that all of my joints hurt. not intense pain but i notice, hey my knees certainly don't feel good. i think its more of a swelling and drainage effect coming from the muscle healing that gets backed-up in the joints. this is why i take so long off. after that it the tiredness phase where my body gets exhausted from all the healing and replacement its tring to do. i also eat alot during this stage becasue my body is using up so much energy to fix my muscles. after that i'm good to go. i'm in the tired stage right now and i have an awesome cold to go along with it. michael and dave both got colds too so i'm assuming its from the water and the decreases immune function that accompies that kind of exertion. i could feel the could lingering for a few days and yesterday my body finally lost the battle. Once i get well i'll start my off season training. lots of weights and flexibility stuff.