Few athletes achieved extra on the Paris Video games than swimmer Katie Ledecky. She received 4 medals, together with gold within the 1500-meter freestyle in a brand new Olympic file of 15:30.02. Within the course of, she turned probably the most embellished feminine Olympian ever to compete for Workforce USA, with 14 whole medals to her identify.
However probably the most significant accomplishment for her was her last one: successful gold within the 800 meters for the fourth time, making her the one lady ever to four-peat.
“It doesn’t get any simpler every time,” Ledecky tells SELF after coming back from Paris. “I felt a way of aid, a way of pleasure, all of the feelings on the finish of that one. You at all times wish to finish on be aware.”
So how, precisely, does an athlete wind down from such an unimaginable excessive? Right here’s how Ledecky is taking good care of her physique and thoughts post-competition, so she will be able to get again to coaching mentally and bodily refreshed.
1. “Pre-covery” is simply as necessary as what comes after.
The preventive recreation is very essential for Ledecky, who was recognized with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, in 2015. This situation causes blood to pool in her legs when she stands up, typically inflicting signs like dizziness, fainting, or exhaustion.
Along with staying hydrated and taking in additional sodium, Ledecky controls her signs with compression gear to enhance circulation. She has a shirt and leggings, however compression socks are what’s most necessary to maintain blood flowing by means of her legs. She at all times wears them when she’s touring lengthy distances (say, on flights from america to Paris).
“Lots of people use compression socks on flights anyway,” she says. “Particularly as an athlete, it simply helps the legs really feel higher and helps begin the restoration on the aircraft earlier than you even land.”
2. Fueling between races turns into much more important throughout a stacked schedule.
Ledecky’s Olympic schedule was grueling—between heats and finals, she swam eight completely different races throughout six days, for a complete of almost 6,000 meters. After each, she did straightforward laps to “heat down,” swimmer-speak for cooldown.
As well as, she centered on getting protein, carbs, and electrolytes to replenish and put together for her subsequent race. One of the best ways to do it: in grab-and-go type, as a result of who’s obtained time for a sit-down meal when the race schedule is beckoning? Ledecky chooses protein shakes—she’s been partnered with Core Energy for years—for coaching and competitors.
“It was straightforward to seize a type of proper after my race,” she says. “I might drink it as I used to be warming down.” Chocolate is her favourite taste, however she combined it up with vanilla occasionally. (Luckily, Workforce USA had shipped 11,000 Core Energy bottles to Paris forward of time and hauled big coolers on to the pool, so one was at all times proper inside attain.)
3. Find time for enjoyable and have a good time all the good things.
Though this was her fourth Olympics, Ledecky had by no means stayed for the second week of the Video games after swimming concluded. So for the primary time, she spectated different occasions, popping up at males’s and girls’s basketball video games and golf matches earlier than carrying the flag within the closing ceremony.