Advertisement - Continue Reading Below DAA Industry Opt Out workouts, and probably sacrificing your social life for a time. You do this all to cross the finish line and accomplish the coveted 26.2-mile feat, which leaves you floating on cloud nine and basking in that postrace glory.
Then Monday rolls around. And the rest of the week. And you might start to feel some post-marathon depression creep in. Running may even lose its appeal for a while. You might feel lost, or like you don’t have a purpose any longer. Don’t worry! It’s certainly not uncommon to experience these postrace blues.
Indeed, thousands of runners feel this each year. And for good reason. It’s really tough to suddenly shift from a four- to six-month training plan back to the routine of everyday life without something big to look forward to or drive you. The higher your emotions soar on the day of achievement, the lower you tend to feel afterward. Rest assured though, we have the tips you need to navigate this time and get you through that post-marathon depression.
What is post-marathon depression?
Post-marathon depression may not be a clinical diagnosis, but it’s real. To put it into context, when you accomplish any goal that you’ve been targeting for months, it’s only normal that a letdown of some sort occurs when it’s over. The past five or six months of your life have been dedicated to achieving this goal, and marathon training These tips will help you navigate the blues you might feel after crossing the finish line.
Nutrition, sleep patterns, and even socializing has revolved around and been guided by your training. Basically, you’ve been living, breathing, and eating marathon training for months, so now that it’s over, is it really any wonder you feel lost?
Here are the positives: You now have the freedom to sleep in, eat, drink, and socialize as you please. There are no more long runs or early wake-up calls. You have more time to dedicate to another hobby or your family or whatever it is that’s calling your name.
What are the signs of post-marathon depression?
Post-race depression signs include feeling a little lost, experiencing a lack of motivation to run, yearning for something to look forward to, feeling eager to set a new goal, feeling down, anti-social, sad, or disappointed—even if you hit your goal.
How can you ease post-marathon depression?
The good news: You can get through this slump. All you need are the right strategies to feel mentally and spiritually energized. Here’s what works.
1. Register for another race
Signing up for another race while still training for your big day or immediately after can build a motivational bridge through the difficult period of postrace blues. It doesn’t matter what the distance or your new goal is, because it’s okay to change it later. Plotting out your training in a training log or using a training app can help you figure out the best timing and distance for you. Most runners receive a sense of motivational security from this process.
Having a “next event” on the calendar keeps something on the horizon. If you choose this strategy, just be sure not to compromise your recovery time between events to help you avoid poor performances, burn out, or injury.
2. Shift gears
If your first mission was to finish a marathon, for example, choose a different type of challenge afterward, such as a scenic running trip, We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back vacation, time between events to help you avoid poor performances, burn out, or.
The logistics of planning it will engage your creativity skills. Each mission should provide a touch of challenge, lots of fun, and a workout that will help you accomplish your next goal.
3. Rehearse yourself back to running
Thinking about running goes a long way toward getting you back out the door. The more you can rehearse each run after the big day, the easier it will be to run as planned.
requires months of dedication and energy. It calls for logging long miles, putting in hard marathon, you want to give yourself enough time to recover Give A Gift walking for just 30 minutes slowly. Two days later, see yourself out there for 40 minutes, possibly with friends. Pencil it into your calendar to hold yourself accountable, but think about it as active recovery Your Marathon Training Plan.
4. Gain 20/20 hindsight
has, in large part, dictated your lifestyle racing strategy. What did you do right? What should you have done differently? Analyzing a successful performance will help you replicate it again in the future.
Visualize what you’d do next time to make the training experience even better, faster, and more fun. Analyzing a disappointing performance will help you pinpoint key problem areas that need more work. Write down these notes, and the path to your next goal will be smoother and straighter. By doing some fine-tuning, you’ll learn more about yourself and your running, and you’ll get over the race more quickly if you need to.
5. Cross train
While training for a marathon or similar big race is good exercise, the repetitive nature of it is bound to result in some imbalances. Use this time after your race to identify those tight spots (looking at you quads) and weak areas (hello, glutes). Doing so will prep your body and balance your muscles for the next big goal ahead.
6. Run with a group
How to Run Twice a Day Without Injury running group to run with afterward. Social runs can entertain you as you share jokes, gossip, and running goals. Many recovering marathoners find it motivational to work out with new runners. By running slower Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
Regardless of what method you choose, find a way to incorporate what you learned from marathon training into your daily life. Try applying the same structure, organization, focus, and goal-setting to every day tasks. If you can do this, you’ll find that life and running can be just as exciting and fulfilling whether marathon training or not.
Susan Paul has coached more than 2,000 runners and is an exercise physiologist and program director for the Orlando Track Shack Foundation. For more information, visit www.trackshack.com.
