How do you recover after a meet?

I take a vacation day Mondays after a 2-day meet. I'm usually not sore, just overall fatigued. It sets in after the adrenaline rush wears off. The longer events seem to take more out of me than the shorter stuff. 4 events a day for a 2-day meet, mostly 200's and up with a few 100's. Interestingly enough, I experienced the same fatigue (or worse) when I was in charge of computer ops at a kids meet. Sometimes that's like semi-managed chaos and my stress level would be very high. I read that Aussie swim legend Kieren Perkins could only swim the mile all-out very infrequently as he required bedrest for a few days afterwards. In 1994 he was coached to swim the mile at the Commonwealth Games going hard for the first 800 split for the world record, then just cruise to the 1500 gold medal to save himself for the World Championships. Perkins deliberately disobeyed and set a world record mile 14:41.66 but fell short of expectations in the event at World Championships where a sub-14:30 was planned.

I don't get all that tired from most meets, but it depends a lot on what I swim, how many days the meet is, the type of meet (eg trials/finals format is much more tiring, and "significant" meets at the end of a taper can be more mentally draining), and whether significant travel is involved. Absolutely agree with Allen that meets -- especially mid-season -- should be viewed in the context of training. They are like high-quality workouts. So if I train the next day I'll usually do something other than quality stuff, especially if it was a multi-day meet. And I agree with the poster (maybe multiple?) who suggested that doing nothing can sometimes be worse than getting in and doing something, even if it is all easy. As an aside: I remember watching the Tour de France when the commentators talked about what the riders would do on their rest days. What they would NOT do is just rest, they all went out for longish rides. They commented that if the riders took it too easy on the rest day, they would actually do worse on the following day. Of course, the TdF is not quite the same as masters swimming :) but I think there is something to the principle. Sometimes even during "heavy" training -- no meet involved -- I feel worse after a day off. If you are having a hard time recovering from meets -- more specifically, if you are getting very tired by the end of the meet, to the point that you think it is affecting your times in your last event(s) -- then in preparing for your main meet(s) of the season you need to do one of two things: reduce the number of events you enter, or change your training to improve your ability to recover from multiple all-out swims. Of course, there is the saying that nothing prepares you for racing quite like racing. That's true in practice, but it also means doing enough meets that you know what to expect at state champs, zones or nationals (or whatever). So doing meets is also "training" in that sense. As far as CP's comment that meet yardage is significantly less than practice, that's a little misleading. Even so, you might be suprised if you add up all the yards you typically swim in a meet, including the meet warmups, warmup & recovery for each race, etc. I think last summer at Sr Champs, between trials and finals I swam about 6000 LCM each day for 3 days, that's nothing to sneeze at. Much of that was low-intensity of course. But the reason I say it is misleading is that "yardage" alone is a poor metric of training volume anyway. They physical, mental and emotional toll of a meet is (or should be) greater than practices of the same length.

According to "its a slow show", Cheetos Cheese Puffs are the answer.

Cream Puff, before someone beats me to it, I would like to invite you to enjoy an In-n-Out with me at the next meet we both attend. No onions, please. --Your first and still most devoted stalker, Jimby. I think I can fit you in at some point after my greatly anticipated Obamagasm which I'm SURE will happen tonight! However, although I can make a concession and forgo the onions, I do have a nasty habit of slathering EVERYTHING in guacamole. Are you partial guac with a dollop of salsa? I'm feeling a gridge here of rather large magnitude. . . was *possibly* planning on a colonies zones meet in the LCM session. I will bet anything on a distance or fly event. :angel: BTW, best recovery meal EVER after my 25K - Don Pablo's Conquistador combo platter followed by several margaritas on the rocks and topped off with some fried ice cream. Oh - and this was the ONLY race in which I took 10 days off from swimming. Then back to normal.

I totally forgot to mention the perfect, post-meet meal: a double-double with grilled onions from In-n-Out burgers (www.in-n-out.com/menu.asp). Far better than Cheetos. For those of you heading from the east & midwest for Nationals, there are locations of this most awesome of fast food burger joints in Clovis and Fresno.

LOL - This thread really interests me. I'm never tired after a meet. I typically have great practices right after the meet. Interesting - same here and my practice times are typically fast for several weeks after a big meet and then I will fall back into more of a routine. I don't put in even half of your yardage so I attribute the faster hangover practices to actually remembering how to swim fast during the course of the taper/meet. Tim

1. hot shower, ceremonial drying and folding of the sacred tech-suit 2. dry, warm clothes that don't stink of chlorine 3. good meaty dinner, not too much liquor (pinot, burgundy, cotes du rhone), quiet with good friends, limited post-mortem 4. if you have to ask, well then....

Train hard far and often so you are in great shape going into the meet Do one practice every week or 2 that is like a meet Warm up before races and warm down after races Stay Hydrated (drink) Rest between events Lotion if you've got dry skin Massages Soak in a hot tub or bath Sleep Usually after a meet I am wiped out. I am looking for suggestions on how to prevent the post meet zombie effect.

- stay well hydrated with water during the meet - warm up and down after events (hopefully the outdoor pool is open for warm up/down) - cool down ~500yds if the outdoor pool is open - Endurox immediately after my last event - pack something to eat (peanut butter sandwich maybe) to tide me over until I can get some real food - eat a healthly meal washed down with water - hit the gym a little later for 1-2k yoga swim + hot tub - workout Sunday I try to do this, although I never cool down 500. But I force myself to cool down some after the last event, swim easy the next day and hot tub. If it's a one day in season meet, I'm OK in a day or so. If it's a 2 day taper meet and I've traveled, I just don't feel great for a few days. And I'm not exactly in horrible shape. Usually, I haven't slept well in the hotel and I'm exhausted from the mental/physical exertion. Plus, even though I drink mega water, I'm still somewhat dehydrated from the caffeine. Those of you with no ill effects, more power to you. I'm sure you're all younger than me.

I can remember doing a "recovery run" of 10 miles on Sunday after a hard 5k, 10k, or triathlon when I was 35 or 36. At that age, it wasn't unusual for me to do a 40 mile bike ride on Sunday as recovery and then do a 10 mile run in the afternoon as more recovery. If I did that now, no matter what kind of shape I am in, I think I'd have to stay in bed for a couple of days! Gotta admit, I never could do all that you listed above at ANY age - 18 or otherwise. I guess it's all relative. Pretty sure we've talked ad nauseam on this forum regarding more recovery is needed as we age. I see a huge difference (and not for the better) between 16 and 36. It flat out sux. And yes, when I hit 40 I've been told that I've got two feet in the grave at that point. :afraid::cane: