Being a sloth

Exactly 4 weeks ago today I was finishing off Ironman Frankfurt doing an impersonation of Quasimodo for the last 13 miles of the marathon.  I was in extreme pain as the muscles in my back had gone into spasm.  But I got through it with the mantra "the pain of failure would be worse than the pain I was suffering".  At the same time I was determined to finish my final ironman on a high and in the end I raised more than £6,000 for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres so a big thank you to everyone who supported me.  It really helps having a reason that drives you to give your all.
The next step in the journey is the recovery; both physical and mental.  I had a plan with my coach to do nothing for 2 weeks except some light yoga and I stuck to that.  The following week I went out on my bike but it was a windy day and my legs felt like lead weights so 30 mins was enough.  Then I headed off to Portugal for a weeks holiday with the family.  The temperature was in the mid 30s so I rested the whole week not wanting to push my body which was still fatigued.  Even been back four days I'm still tired.
On Friday I went out for a 30 minute run and loved every minute of it.  I didn't push the pace I just ran.  I had a quick look at my stats and my higher than normal heart rate showed I've lost some fitness and shouldn't be rushing back.  Yoga the following day gave my tired legs a stretch but other than that  I've been resting.  I'm really turning into a sloth!
Mentally the "ironman blues" haven't set in yet and hopefully with next year's target already set and my training plan about to start again, I can skip that stage.  I've got a focus and this "time out" is all part of the master plan.
I've put on some of the lost weight and I tried on my suit which I'll be wearing to work tomorrow and it fits better so that's a good sign.  My appetite is certainly not sloth like as I am eating as though I was training but I don't take 1 month to eat a meal which sloths sometime do.  After 10 months of training 6 days a week I think taking my time in coming back will best best for my physical and mental state.
My blog is entitled "Derek Mission Ironman" and when I stated it 7 years ago my aim was to complete an ironman which I thought almost impossible.  Despite now having completed 3 ironman events and other extreme ultra events like Marathon des Sables, I'm going to keep the blog title to remind me of where this journey started.  The next chapter is about to begin.  Bring on the Grand Canyon September 2017.