Ironman Fallout - Symptoms, Thoughts, Recovery

- The first 3 days after the race weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Walking was definitely difficult, especially going down stairs. My ankle swelled to softball proportions on the plane ride home, but was fine after a round of ice and rest. I did the RTB Relay as part of a 6-man team once, and was definetely more sore afterwards.

- I have slept far less than I thought I would. I normally can sleep 10 hours per night, no problem. Post race I couldn't make it past the 7 hour mark. Only the past few nights have I been able to make it to 9-10 hours of sleep.

- I basically have no appetite, counterintuitive, yes, but I've had to force feed myself over the past 2 weeks. What's the deal?? The past few days have been a bit better, and it's been helped by some good home cooking. Tonight we made some rice noodles, broccoli, carrots, fried tofu, and a sweet peanut sauce:

- 4 days post race I was bombarded with a serious sinus congestion type cold. Runny nose, mild cough, crazy sinus pressure/headache. It has waxed and waned, but a week later is still lingering around. My immune system hasn't been bombarded like this since Feb '07.

- PTSD. Pretty much every night since the race I've had a dream (more like a nightmare) about it. Last night for example I dreamed Mike had to do 3 - 56 mile laps because he forgot his running clothes in his bike special needs bag. For some reason I was riding with him. What?!? My mind doesn't seem to want to relax.

- 2 weeks out, my muscles are feeling pretty normal. I haven't done any sort of exercise, and am willing to guess that if I did, my legs would put up a bit of a fight. I plan to wait until this cold fully clears to do any sort of exercise.