Now What? | A Mild Case of Post-Race Blues

I’d heard of the post-race blues before, but I’d never experienced it.  I certainly didn’t expect to experience it after a marathon. I thought regardless of the outcome that I would be happy, and welcome a break before starting training for a spring race. But by Tuesday, I found myself feeling inexplicably sad.  It made no sense.  I’d already planned on focusing on my half marathon time in the spring.  Usually I’m grateful for that two month break.

I think the problem was that I didn’t realize how much time I’d spent thinking about the race in addition to the time I spent actually running.  Now that I don’t have those thoughts consuming my time, I’m back to focusing on some of life’s frustrations that I don’t have much control over.  It doesn’t help that the days are getting shorter, we’re in the middle of dreary November (except this weekend’s weather was perfect), and I just pulled out all my winter running gear. I hate this time of year (I mean winter generally – not the upcoming holidays!).

While I’m feeling a bit lost without a detailed calendar telling me how far I should be running when, I know it’s best to take this time to recover.  While I usually take an entire week off post-race, I went out three times this week (although I looked at my husband like he was crazy when he said he thought we’d run around 8 miles this morning – we did 5).  I need to enjoy the easy runs because my spring goal is ambitious and will definitely require hard work.

In an attempt to get over the blues but avoid injury and burnout, I’ve been thinking about all of the races I might run next year.  My outlook on racing has definitely changed after completing marathon training.  I used to think that I would never run more than two half marathons in a year.  After running near that distance or more on a weekly basis for almost two-and-a-half months, it doesn’t seem nearly as intimidating.  So this is what I’m thinking about:

1. Santa Hustle 5K or Jingle Bell Run 10K (I’d like to do a short race in an attempt to get into Level 3 seeding for the Mini Marathon)

2. Butler Bulldog Jog 5K

3. Carmel Half Marathon (with a goal of 1:45. I may do another early spring race so that I can run this one with Back on My Feet team members).

4. 500 Festival Mini Marathon (this race is just too crowded to attempt a PR and the weather is unpredictable.  I’ve decided that it will just be a fun run).

5. San Francisco Marathon half (I would probably do the first half since it goes over the Golden Gate Bridge.  This is right before my birthday, and I thought it would be a good birthday trip.  Clearly not a race to set a PR).

6. Nike Women’s Half Marathon (It’s a lottery to get into this race, but the medals are Tiffany necklaces! And another excuse to go back to San Francisco).

I haven’t decided yet whether I will try another marathon next fall, or wait until the spring.  Not that I have to decide now, obviously.  I don’t plan on starting a formal training plan until the first of the year.  In the meantime, I’m just going to run whenever and however far I want.  I want to feel good and strong going into half training, which means I need to work on strengthening my core and dropping about ten pounds. I think I’m going to try to incorporate yoga into my routine, even though my balance and flexibility are terrible.  Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

I’m already starting to feel better after outlining a plan.  If anyone has any tips for getting over the post-race blues, I’d love to hear them.  Suggestions for races to add to my calendar? Let me hear about those too!