HOW TO RECOVER FROM A HALF IRONMAN?

I'm a big believer in active recovery the day after a race. You would think that after swimming 1.2 miles, riding 56 miles and running 13.1 miles the last thing you would want to do is get on your bike the next day and go for ride, but I've found that a nice easy ride the day after an event helps to flush the legs out and keeps you from being stiff the next few days. My wife Liz and I both had Monday off after my Half Ironman and we decided to ride a course that has been on our to do list for some time. The ride is mostly flat around the streets of Irvine, CA where we then get on to a bike path that winds thru the city and conveniently passes a Del Taco right next to the path. Our route would take us 18.6 miles with a lunch stop at Del Taco.
With my metabolism still on overdrive from the day before, I placed the following order including a Coke. ( I rarely drink soda)
Double Del Cheeseburger 560 Calories
Deluxe Combo Burrito 570 Calories
Small Fries 270
Small Coke 250
TOTAL 1,650 Calories
I'm an Ironman Rookie who is learning things as I go and I'm sure this meal is not a wise choice for recovery and continued training, however I've been in the "zone" and focused for five months now. Once in awhile I need to step outside of the discipline of becoming an Ironman, eating wheat pasta, brown rice, fish, chicken and vegetables. I need to celebrate that even if I don't become an Ironman, at this moment in my life I can eat nearly 2,000 calories of fast food for lunch without any guilt what so ever.
Yo Quiero Del Taco!

EATING FOR AN IRONMAN

As I continue to rack up the mileage and hours of training for Ironman Arizona I'm amazed at how much fuel I burn and how much I need to take in. With my wife Liz training for a marathon at the same time as my Ironman training, our nightly dinner table is loaded with thousands of calories which usually includes lots of pasta, steamed rice, or potatoes with fish or chicken a vegetable and of course our staple of a loaf of warm bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A tasty meal for sure but basically this is what we eat every night...except for last night. Sunday night we decided to take our recovery meal to a new level and go to In N Out. First we had to complete our training plans which for me was a 12 mile run followed by an hour on the bike. For Liz it was a 16 mile run. There's nothing like a Double Double after a long workout!

ITEMS ORDERED
2- Cheese Burgers
3 - Double Doubles
3 - French Fries
 

TOTAL CALORIES - 4,110

It sounds like a lot of calories until you compare it with these numbers. 

TOTAL REPLACEMENT CALORIES NEEDED FOR IRONMAN ARIZONA - 3,323
ANTICIPATED CALORIES BURNED AT IMAZ - 8,664