Soften the landing

 It's been almost 3 weeks since Tally in the Valley, and I'm still in the process of recovery.

It took rather a lot out of me, so it's sort of to be expected

My feet are healing up nicely - I've been able to wear lace-up footwear since a week after the race, and the last of the dressings (on the deepest abrasion on the inside of my right heel) was no longer necessary by Wednesday of this week.

There's still a bit of dead skin hanging around the edges of former blisters, but the new skin is strong enough to handle regular wear & tear

Almost everyone knows the basics of post-race recovery - and how that looks for each person or event is going to be a little different - but I thought I'd give you some thoughts on some less-obvious tools than epsom salt baths, massage guns, and foam rollers that I have used to help make the few days post-race a little less uncomfortable.

1. A Cane

Seriously

This is something every household should have on hand, whether they run absurdly long distances or not - almost all of us will twist an ankle or do some other bit of damage that needs a bit of assistance with walking at some point. It took me until Thursday after the race before I could hobble around without one, and it was a great help with anything that required bending at the knee: getting up and down stairs (and my house is seemingly nothing but stairs), or even getting on or off the toilet. Choose utility over looks here - we have a cool cane with a dragon head grip, but it's absolute murder on my hand if I try to actually use it to take weight off my feet. The one pictured above has a comfortable, smooth wooden grip, a sturdy rubber foot, and conveniently breaks down (like a trekking pole) to easily fit in a bag when not needed. I will often bring this to the race with me if I suspect it'll be a tough one, and I've frequently been grateful I did.

2. A plastic chair

Any cheap patio chair will do, as long as it fits in your tub or shower enclosure.

I think you know where I'm going with this

I can't tell you how many times a shower would not have happened after a race if I actually had to stand there. It can be a bit of a challenge to get all of your bits clean while seated, but if the choice is between mostly clean with a bit of fussing or utterly filthy and smelly, I'll do my best in the chair every time.

3. A laundry basket

This one is a bit more esoteric - I used a small laundry basket with a couple of towels inside underneath the covers to keep anything from touching my feet while I slept, because they looked like this (WARNING: I highly suggest you are not eating or drinking anything if you click that link. It's super gross).

I wrapped a large towel under the front edge of the basket to pad it - the smaller towel was mostly to absorb any leakage from the dressings

4. Leak protection

Ok now this is going to be a little gross, and probably more for the ladies, but here we are. I wore a pair of period panties (my favourites are made by Bambody and I purchased through amazon.ca) for a few days - ok a different pair each day folks, I'm not that disgusting (when I'm not on the trail) - after the race, for two reasons: 

                a) In really long races, all of your muscles get worn out...including those that control when things exit your body...and may take a day or two to start functioning properly again.

                b) I was so ridiculously slow moving that I could not be guaranteed to make it to the bathroom in time.

You could also use a maxi pad inside regular underwear for this purpose, but I find that my period panties give much better coverage and are less likely to leak. Better to wash a pair of underoos than have to try to spot-clean the furniture or the carpet on the way to the washroom!

..and here's a picture of a pretty sunset to try to cleanse your mind a little.

5. Shoes that are too big for you

Because of the horrible blisters and abrasions that I suffered during Tally, it wasn't possible for me to wear socks at all for a few days, let alone compression socks. The same damage to my feet also made it difficult for me to put them up at all during my workday, and as a result the swelling in my feet and ankles was astonishing!

Left is after they returned to normal size - right is Wednesday after the race

I ended up wearing Tanker's sandals for a few days. 

My usual shoe size is men's 7.5-8ish, whereas his is men's 11.5-12ish

If you don't have a big-footed person in your home willing to lend you their footwear, it might be worthwhile to invest in a pair of extra-big sandals in case this sort of thing happens to you. I highly recommend buying something easily washable (the above are EVA Birkenstocks, which are non-porous and can be scrubbed up simply with soap and water, then dried with a towel) in case of blister or wound leakage.

You may also want to buy a pair or two of socks that are too big as well. I used a pair of oversize non-compressive (diabetic) socks over the gauze wrap on my feet to try to keep everything in place during the night, and another pair of larger-than-I-usually-need socks on my swollen feet to keep them warm when I went to hang out on the bench at a hockey game the Thursday after the race.

..as I was still stuck in Tank's sandals

6. Hydrocolloid dressings

I've talked about these in the past for blisters, but they're honestly great for any kind of wound (including tattoos - most shops are now using these dressings instead of the old plastic wrap or absorbent pad). These self-adhesive dressings are waterproof and can stay on for multiple days - I've left them for up to a week at times - and prevent infection by sealing the wound, allowing it to heal without disturbing the body's own processes.

They're also thin and flexible to conform to contours, have a bit of stretch to accommodate swelling, and can be overlapped to cover large areas

My preferred brand is 3M Nexcare Tegaderm (link to amazon.ca - I purchased at Zehrs) but I have used Life Brand, Elastoplast, and Band-Aid brand dressings with varying success in the past. 

These dressings will even hold up to running!

So there you have it - my pro tips for making the few days after a race that has absolutely destroyed you a little more comfortable. Do you have any unusual tricks you use when recovering from a big race? Let me know in the comments!

..and be kind to yourselves out there <3