The STP: Recovery

In my infinite wisdom I did not take the day off from work. I stayed at my folk’s place Sunday night so that I wouldn’t have to drive back to my place so late. Crawling out of bed, I was remarkably surprised at how little I hurt. Sure, I was sore, but my joints, bones and back all felt really good. I was walking normally, had full range of motion with all my extremities, and while tired, not totally exhausted. I was having trouble gripping things, shampoo bottle, make up brushes, steering wheel, wallet, pens, pencils, anything really. It wasn’t until I got to work that I realized I had no function in my pinkies. Which, although seems minor, is kind of a annoying when you’re typing.

I eventually made it to work, slow moving, but moving. I even rocked the heels for most of the day. By the end of the day I was pretty exhausted and really just wanted to curl up in bed with a lighthearted movie and something sinfully delicious. Instead I went to the grocery store for some tiger balm (aka magic goodness in a jar) and fruits and veggies and rented Revolutionary Road. So, by the end of the evening, my body ached, my sould ached, I was hopped up on pain killers (well…Tylenol), and found no comfort in my healthy food. Consider that poor execution of a plan.

Now, “they” say that the second day of recovery is often worse than the first. I found this to be true only in the sense of exhaustion. By Tuesday all the adrenaline evaporated from my system and I was running on fumes. I could not get enough to drink and just moving was labor intensive. My hands and shoulders were now both mildly numb and if I moved my head to the left there was a stabbing pain in my neck which was obviously uncomfortable. My muscles were still sore and I found that if I sat for too long it was difficult to move so I tried to keep moving as much as a desk job can allow for.

Over the next couple days, feeling began to be restored to my hands and all things are working their way back into place. I did make it to the gym for a swim and sauna which really made everything feel so much better. I’m aiming to get back on the bike on Wednesday evening or perhaps Thursday morning.

My last thoughts about the STP:

• “On your left,” are the 3 most important words one can hear. Please use them.
• Don’t pass on the right, it really freaks me out.
• Please don’t draft without asking. That’s my air, get off me.
• I am so glad I did it. I look forward to doing it again next year. One year, I’ll do it in one day. Next year? Maybe.
• Next year I hope to do it with clips. That seems much more efficient. Hazardous, but efficient.
• I’m quite certain I couldn’t have done it with all the physical support of drivers and people who I trained with. But more importantly the words of encouragement, texts, emails, prayers, etc. really made all the difference in the world. Thank you.

That’s a wrap!