I had breakfast with my cousin Saturday morning and he was telling me about his childhood best friend who did an Ironman. My cousin saw him a week or two after and mentioned to the guy that he must have had the best night of sleep after he finished. His friend told him that, in fact, "it was the worst night of his life". Apparently he had to keep getting up during the night to drink water because he was so dehydrated after the race. Also, apparently his body was just so shot that it made it hard for him to sleep.

A couple years ago after running the BCS marathon they gave me a fitted bed sheet (seriously wtf?) after crossing the finish line. It was around 50-55 degrees and I was soaking wet from the rain that had fallen for most of the run. The fitted sheet did nothing for me. I ended up hiding in the bathroom at Wolf Pen waiting for my sister and mom to come get me. By the time they got there I was pretty much shivering uncontrollably and had plantar fasciitis in both my feet.

What's the worst y'all have ever felt after a race?

That was the 2015 BCS. I remember them giving me the Scott & White hospital bed sheet and it was pretty much soaking wet already.

I think the worst I've felt post race was the Houston Marathon this year. That humidity/heat combo crushed me and I even backed it off about halfway into the race. They weighed us before and after the race and I lost nearly 10 lbs (I sweat a ton). We went back to my hotel and I sat in an ice bath for nearly an hour while draining my water bottle every 15 minutes before I got up to drive back to Dallas.

I've raced the Texas Water Safari 10 times....as much as I hurt afterwards, it always felt better when the sea wall was reached!

That Ironman story is dead on the money. I've done 3, and after all 3 of them I slept terrible/didn't sleep. That said, Monday night I slept for a solid 12+ hours all 3 times. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with all the suger (i.e. gels & Gatorade) that you take in during the race.

I've never felt that terrible after a race (guess I've never run hard enough), do have a humorous post-race experience story.

The day after my first 50-miler, I was quite startled when I used the bathroom, and it was red in the toilet. Later on, when I went again, it was still red. At this point I started to freak/worry a bit, thinking that I must have done something to wreck my kidneys.

That night we had leftovers for dinner, and I realized what had happened. Beets.

Don't remember the night after ironman much...lots of rising to pee though.

Worst was probably a headache after Houston Half marathon a few years back. Went with the kids to the Science Museum and laid on a bench with my eyes closed.

Best was after my race last month. Walked around NYC and even ran up a flight of stairs cause it seemed like a fun way to go up.

There were sheets at the 2015 BCS Marathon??? I was never offered one. (not that they would have helped if they were wet)

That was my first full. I'm pretty sure I was hypothermic afterwards. During the race I had to get a bystander to re-clip my iPod when it fell off because my fingers were so numb. I remember sitting at Chuy's that afternoon with my legs shaking uncontrollably.

Can't say it was TOO terrible, but after I finished my first 100 miler and took some pictures and such, i went over to where my crew had set up "base camp." I sat down, cracked open a belgian quadrupel to share with everyone (it was like 6am). I drank about half my cup of beer and immediately started hallucinating.

I did the RnR Nashville a few years ago and it was just so hot at the end. All I wanted to do was finish before they cancelled/stopped the race. Then after the race I had to climb a bunch of stairs to cross a main road to get back the the hotel. Made that and got to the hotel, and the elevator was broken. I just wanted to cry when I saw that sign. Climbed the 4 flights and sat in a cold shower a while.

Yup



My sister had done the half every year. And every year she got an emergency blanket (those silver ones) at the end. 2015 she got nothing when she crossed the line. She told me she immediately started shaking and by the time she found my mom her lips were blue.

Disney on Ice back in 2010. The Walt Disney World Marathon had a freeze come in for the weekend. During the half on Saturday, freezing rain and sleet. The water stops were sheets of ice, and water was freezing in the cups.

I finished about an hour before the rest of my party, and wound up "warming up" in the exhaust of a news van. Probably not healthy, but warmer than the wind.

The worst part was that, since it was so cold, everything had gone numb. I had no idea that I had chaffed in my nether regions until I got in the hot shower (it was my first race). I quickly discovered the magic of both diaper rash cream, and Body Glide.

After IMTX it was nice to get the massage tent to myself, I had a whole body cramp and then got three masseuses and an IV, that was nice. In all honestly after any hard half I did not have a solid poo for 2 days.

My body is always really warm the evening after a marathon.

I'll echo the previous replies about not sleeping very well after a marathon. For me, my legs just feel so terrible when I'm lying in bed after a marathon that it's really difficult to get comfortable and to fall asleep. I've never done anything at the level of an Ironman, but I imagine it's next-level pain.

This probably won't translate well from my phone, but I'll give it a shot. I had done an ironman in late September and felt pretty much invincible. I PRed a half marathon about 3 weeks later and then I found myself stuck in Chicago over Halloween weekend two weeks later. I found a half marathon and a 50k/50 mile race. I could not decide which one I wanted, so I packed all my potential gear, preparing for weather.

I obnoxiously chose the 50 miler (can't be harder than an IM, right?). I rented a car from O'hare for the day, so I took the hotel shuttle to ORD, got the car, and drove downtown. The race was 4 out/back laps (6.25 mi out) on the lakefront. I tried to take it easy, but my first lap was like 1:45. I was trying to go a little slower to stay fresh for later, but I had only slowed to 9 min miles during the out portion of lap 2, but I ran into the Halloween half marathon (that I did not choose). The costumed runners kept me entertained for a few miles back, and I even found a pace group to slow down a little. However, I knew it was over as I turned to head out for lap 3. By then it was raining and the temps were dropping below 40.

The race organizers were pretty cool with folks changing from 50 mi to 50k, so I thought I'd go out to the mid-point aid station and turn around. Sadly, it was 4 miles out. I was mostly walking by then, and when I turned to head in, the wind and rain stood me straight up. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to get back- longest 4 miles of my life. So sore. So cold. So stupid. When I got to the start/finish, I showed them by garmin with 33+ miles, they gave me the 50k medal. I sat in my rental with the heater running, just shivering. A lady in the car next to me rapped on my window and handed me a blanket- she could handle watching me shiver. Anyway, I was able to get some soup/warm food, curl up in the hotel and watch the Aggies struggle with a Sumlin swoon... not sure how I made it to the hotel or airport...

The morning after my Ironman I woke up starving. Go down to the hotel lobby for breakfast and get a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, and waffles. Take the first bite and literally couldn't swallow. No idea what it was but it was more weird than terrible.

I guess I've been pretty lucky. No bad after race stories.

After an Ironman I just want liquid but can't even think about food. I usually pass out for a decent sleep then wake up and devour all day and pass out for a good hibernation.

Jim01 said:

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I guess I've been pretty lucky. No bad after race stories.

After an Ironman I just want liquid but can't even think about food. I usually pass out for a decent sleep then wake up and devour all day and pass out for a good hibernation.

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yeah, i've never had any issues sleeping after races, regardless of length.

I still haven't had a great sleep BEFORE a race. Either nerves, neighborhood parties, or whatever. Will be interesting to see if I perform better when that finally happens.

Haven't done anything long enough to warp me like the above posters...yet. Pretty foggy after a hard half.

rasher said:

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I still haven't had a great sleep BEFORE a race. Either nerves, neighborhood parties, or whatever. Will be interesting to see if I perform better when that finally happens.

Haven't done anything long enough to warp me like the above posters...yet. Pretty foggy after a hard half.

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i've done enough races that i've occasionally gotten a good night's sleep beforehand, but its rare. Just shoot for a good sleep in the week leading up. I've not really noticed any difference.

To be honest, the best nights sleep I've gotten before races is when I have a couple beers. before sleeping. Not enough to dehydrate, but enough to relax and fall asleep.

I passed out one year in the heat after the hotter 'n hell 100 (bike race in Witchita Falls). It got up to 106 that year. But I wouldn't say that's the worst I felt. I feel like the roughest race for me was a 70.3 IM in buffalo springs. I feel like I felt worse after that (again, the unrelentless heat) than after a full ironman. That heat illness feeling; dizzy, nausea, weak, headache, body ache.

After finishing the Safari in 2000 I had to go looking for my truck, which had been driven to the finish by some friends. We finished at about 2am (40+ hours without sleep), so the truck was a half mile away in the gravel parking lot of the hotel. I had to crawl underneath it to fetch my spare key, and I remember noting how warm the ground was, so I relaxed....next thing I know my teammates were dragging me out by my feet! Yeah, sleeping ain't a problem after Safari!

harge57 said:

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The morning after my Ironman I woke up starving. Go down to the hotel lobby for breakfast and get a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, and waffles. Take the first bite and literally couldn't swallow. No idea what it was but it was more weird than terrible.

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This has happened to me before. And the roof of my mouth hurt like hell as well.

htxag09 said:

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harge57 said:

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The morning after my Ironman I woke up starving. Go down to the hotel lobby for breakfast and get a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, and waffles. Take the first bite and literally couldn't swallow. No idea what it was but it was more weird than terrible.

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This has happened to me before. And the roof of my mouth hurt like hell as well.

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its from all the sugar.

i get it after IM, but not after ultras. In IM, I end up using a lot of gels and other sugary crap. In ultras, I eat mostly real food. Makes a massive difference.

That cracks me up. Favorite story so far.

AggieOO said:

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rasher said:

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I still haven't had a great sleep BEFORE a race. Either nerves, neighborhood parties, or whatever. Will be interesting to see if I perform better when that finally happens.

Haven't done anything long enough to warp me like the above posters...yet. Pretty foggy after a hard half.

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i've done enough races that i've occasionally gotten a good night's sleep beforehand, but its rare. Just shoot for a good sleep in the week leading up. I've not really noticed any difference.

To be honest, the best nights sleep I've gotten before races is when I have a couple beers. before sleeping. Not enough to dehydrate, but enough to relax and fall asleep.

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I've gotten to the point where I'll have a beer before longer distances. Seems to take the edge off at least a little bit

I can always keep it together during the actual event. After any ultra 100k and above, I've got about 30 minutes to eat, shower, move around a bit, and then I start to crater mentally and physically. This year after RR100 I had hallucinations of chickens outside the state park bathrooms. Usually it's just staring at the wall, brain dead.

I usually do wake up the night after in pain. It's the immobility during sleep that makes me stiffen up and get painful.