First Century Recovery                                                      

There’s plenty of information out there on how to train for your first Century.  But how about your recovery plan?  They tell you how to train with limited time, how to get ready in 10 weeks or less and what type of workouts to do and when.

Most of these will get you through your first century just fine, but what happens when your done?  The next 24 to 48 hours after completing your event are just as important as the several weeks you spent training for it.

Completing a century, especially your first one, is hard on your system.  I have had a few cyclist tell me how they became ill a few days after completing their first century even though they felt fine immediately afterwards.  You must recover properly and have a recovery plan.

HOW TO START YOUR RECOVERY PLAN

First things first.  As soon as you finish the event, get a good recovery drink in your system.  Don’t chug it down but sip it down as you walk around a bit and unwind.  I recommend Endurox R4 recovery drink because of the right balance of post protein, carbs and electrolites.  Of course, if you have one you have been using, stick with it.  Main idea is to hydrate and replenish your system.  

FIRST 1 to 4 HOURS POST RIDE

The first 1 to 4 hours after the event is when your body will absorb the most nutrients.  During this time, any carbohydrates you eat will be converted into muscle glycogen at 3 times the normal rate.  It’s  been reported that there is a 50% reduced replenished rate after 2 hours with a return to normal replenishment time by 4 hours.

Most people want to go and celebrate with friends and family afterwards, which is fine.  However, make sure to replenish first as stated above and try to get to bed early.  You might want to take a quick nap before any post ride events.  If possible, get a recovery ride in the next morning.  Make it a short ride,  riding slowly with a higher than normal cadence.  Definitely make this part of your recovery plan.  If you ride with others, make sure you do your own pace and distance and do not get caught up with having to keep up with the other riders.  This recovery is for your body not theirs.

A good rule to follow, especially since it was your first century, is to take a day to recover for every hour it took you to complete the event.  Get plenty of rest, eat right and slowly rebuild your miles and intensity.  Sleep time is when muscles repair and rebuild themselves.  Replenish your glycogen stores and hydrate like you did in preparation for the event.

TAKING CARE OF ACHES AND PAINS IS PART OF THE RECOVERY PLAN

This is obviously  the time to take care of any post ride aches and pains and seek medical care for any lingering pains to any joints or muscles.  If you have time to get a message (men, women), go for it.  Studies have shown that a message, even 3 days after the event, can improve circulation.  The message also helps to loosen those nasty knots that can develop after a long endurance event.  The more of these events you complete the more you will get use to what you should feel like afterwards and be able to read into what your body is telling you.

Part Of The Training Plan

Make sure you add a recovery component to any century training program.  Use this article as a base line and make adjustments as necessary.  Developing a recovery program for your system will enable you to recover faster, healthier and get you on the road to train for that next event.  

Thanks for reading.
100 mile recovery plan

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