Having problems recovering from races

running 15 fasted while your body is still experiencing a stress response to the race might not be the best way to recover...plus, the 4 hours sleep doesn't help

Describe your routine in the 90 minutes after you race please.

Immediately after I drink a few small cups of water, walk/stand around for 5-10 minutes and then do a 20 minute cool down, stretch a little, eat a peanut butter sandwich and sit around while watching other events.

Sometimes I will have a protein carb sports drink, but not regularly.

anemic?

I have had trouble with that in the past and my iron tends to be on the low side, but I am already on supplements.

1. At a minimum, bring a gatorade or caffeine-free sugary drink (fruit punch, grapeade, etc) plus one of the many protein or meal replacement bars on the market in a cooler to the meet. The protein bar should have at least 25g of protein, not the smaller (12g to 18g) ones. As soon as possible after the race, drink the gatorade (or sugary drink) followed by the protein bar.

2. You can follow step 1 with water.

3. Have more carbs and protein if you are hungry later.

4. Check that you are not getting too much or too little salt in your diet.

5. Check for any environmental or food allergies.

Thank you very much I will try this

Sounds like you are a high strung guy, which is nice for races since you can get amped for the big ones. I recommend patience; wait to eat when you are hungry (even if that is hours and hours after you race). Wait to sleep when you are tired, dont force yourself into bed, and if you can sleep in as long as you can. Other recommendations include lifting upper body after the race for a long session until you feel tired.

Well, I am a girl and I do tend to get pretty amped from races. I dont want to force eating either, but I feel like I have to eat to recover...