Recovery is stated time and time again as the most important aspect of any training program; and often the one that gets short shrift. I wish I could chill out like this kitty here; that would help my recovery!

If you don’t allow yourself to recover properly, you won’t be able to go hard when the time to go hard arrives. Your risk of injury rises, and your energy/endurance wanes.

During holidays and vacations I don’t have to get up by 4:45 am if I’m to ride; and after a few days I start to feel like I’ve got a little more energy. I usually get about 7 hours’ sleep per night, which theoretically is adequate. Unfortunately it isn’t. My sleep is too broken to be truly refreshing.

Maybe that’s why I can’t go hard enough, often enough, to make real gains in my average speed. Being tired so much of the time doesn’t help me to maintain a proper diet. When I get home from work, of course I’m worn out; and I don’t want to go hustling around the kitchen. But it probably doesn’t do my energy levels much good when I don’t eat properly.

All that said, there’s my recovery drink for post-Sunday long ride. Chocolate whey protein powder in skim milk! To me this is a rather pricey product, so I usually save it for after a really long ride; or a ride during which I did “force” work. I don’t use it every day. It sure tastes good, though; and if it helps my muscles, so much the better.

Let’s all chill out now, and recover from that last hard ride!