Well, this week was supposed to be a return to training after two weeks of tapering for my peak race, Half Vineman. You’d think after eight full seasons of triathlon as well as 11 half ironman races and four full distance races, I would remember that the week after a hard race I would be too sore to train seriously. That being said, while the training stress was low, recovery time is just as important to optimum performance as are the big workouts.

The pain I felt well into mid-week this week inspired the topic for this week’s blog. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is something that is familiar to beginners and pros alike in sports like distance running, triathlon, cycling and swimming etc. DOMS can be a painful and yet comforting and well deserved reminder of a big effort. If, however, DOMS is experienced during mid-season and not just after the key race, it can be a frustrating impediment to continued training. Because it can impede progress, a common athlete’s question is how to avoid DOMS and how to get over it once it does occur.

DOMS is most prevalent during the beginning of the sporting season when the athlete may be a bit out of condition and is starting to participate in activities that the body is currently unaccustomed to handling. Intensity and duration are also factors. So, even if an athlete has not ceased activity in the off-season, the lack of intensity and shorter duration makes DOMS more likely in the early season. Thus, it seems logical that to avoid early season DOMS the athlete should increase duration and intensity gradually. The number often used is 10% per week for duration. However, if your duration is very small (less than 30 -60 minutes), an increase of 20% is more reasonable.

There have been several theories about what causes DOMS, including: lactic acid build-up, muscle spasm, connective tissue damage, muscle damage, enzyme reflux and a recent focus on inflammation. In terms of types of exercise that have been implicated, those that involve eccentric muscle contractions, such as running downhill, have been thought to be causative factors.

Whatever the reason for DOMS there have been several treatment strategies proposed for alleviating DOMS such as: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), massage, stretching, ultrasound and other electrical modalities. Of these, a lot of attention has been paid to massage and NSAIDs. NSAIDs would seem a logical choice to treat DOMS since there is good evidence that inflammation is a big final pathway to the end result of muscle soreness. While NSAIDs can be largely innocuous in the days after exercise (that is if you have no gastric issues), NSAIDs have been shown to cause increased oxidative stress in those using them vs. those not using them in endurance races. Thus, I would not suggest their use during racing or intense training. In a study of “recovery modalities” out of New Zealand, modalities such as massage, electrical stimulation, contrast temperature water therapy, NSAIDs and others, rest alone was shown to be most consistent with returning blood lactate levels back to normal.

Considering all of these factors, this week was a week of rest for me. After completing Half Vineman on Sunday, I took Monday completely off and did only an easy swim on Tuesday. Since exercise helps me focus on my work, it is hard for me to take more than a day off in a row and since my legs were still sore, swimming was the most logical option. As Wednesday came around, I was finally able to get on the bike (one hour easy on the trainer). Thursday was another swim and I finally ran for the first time Friday, very easily. As for Saturday, I met with my bike riding buddies and rode a nice easy paced recovery ride.

So the bottom line when it comes to recovering from racing or a hard week of training is rest. If you are sore after a workout or race, you should avoid activity (especially those that focus on the muscles that are the most sore) for 1-2 days. Maintaining good nutrition and hydration is also key as is obtaining a proper amount of sleep. All of this leads to the endurance athletes motto of eat, sleep and train. Have fun, and we’ll see you next week.