The Cost of the Royal 162

Fear.  I realize, now that it has finally gone, that the actual manifestation of the 'recovery' needed after the Royal was 'the fear'.  Six plus weeks worth of 'it'.  To be fair it certainly didn't help falling on the road, when my post slipped or when the temperature soared...  but I certainly wasn't free from "it" until the last few days.  I sometimes rode well, even had some great results and enjoyable rides but never like before.  Always I played the reacting/waiting game, never the aggressor in the way I had.  I wondered if everyone else was catching up a bit as they had more time to train.  I worried that I was over doing it.  There were moments where I lost the feeling of gathering momentum that has been building since early 2011.

I don't know for sure what I gained in the Royal or if it was worth it.

It feels good mentally to be on the attack again.  I wonder how much of this recovery has been mental.  I think it's mostly physical because mentally I'm as disappointed as the moment I realized I was to be walking.

How long does it take you to recover from ultra events?  Where is the line between normal recovery and ultra?  What makes the difference?  I know for me it lies somewhere around the 8-10 hr mark without stops for real food or in warm temperatures.  Thoughts?