IMFL - After the Finish

So after the hugs and tears I stood in line for my finisher photo and then easily found my family. While I was out on the run Andy and my Dad collected my gear bags and my bike so there wasn't anything I needed to collect when I was done. We stood around for only a few minutes getting some pictures and then we headed back to the car. I was feeling really good but my stomach was a little funny. It was hard walking back to the car and seeing people just heading out for their second loop; it was going to be a long night for a lot of people. I had wanted to stick around for the midnight finish but I never wanted to take a shower and brush my teeth so badly so I headed home.

Once home I immediately started to feel sick. I hopped in the shower and my skin hurt so badly to touch. I couldn't even put the bar of soap to my skin. I hurt EVERYWHERE. I also had some pretty good chafing so that stung horribly. Mid way through the shower my vision got cloudy, I started yawning like nuts and I thought I was going to throw up. I turned off the shower and sat on the edge, all covered in soap and shampoo, for a few minutes. It eventually subsided enough that I was able to rinse off. I managed to get some ginger ale and saltines in me and that made me feel so much better.

I have never been able to sleep after a long race or long workout but this night, I was exhausted! I fell right to sleep around 11pm but woke up at 1:30 still sore to touch and starving. I got an Ensure and laid in bed until everyone else woke up. I felt pretty good on Sunday; I was slow moving but I still took the stairs at the condo...and we were on the 4th floor! We laid around all day at the pool and I relaxed in the hot tub a few times to loosen things up.

I was less sore after this than I have been after racing a marathon, which I thought was pretty crazy. In fact, my body has felt fine all week. The only thing that's keeping me from doing much is that I'm exhausted. Exhausted like I've never felt before. I've been getting 9-10 hours of sleep and I still can't wake up in the morning. I did manage to get to the gym on Thursday and did 45 minutes on the elliptical, which felt really good. But I was slow and sluggish. I took today off again and will do a little bit more tomorrow. It feels really weird to not be living by a training plan right now.

Hard to believe that this time last week I was dropping off my bike and gear bags. I really wish I was there right now, getting ready to do it all over again. It all happened way too fast.