Ah, the postrace blues. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Surely someone must have written a poem or a song about this. Haiku anyone?
It’s that feeling you have when you’ve focused all your energy for months on one week, one day, one moment, and then it’s over in a flash. Reality comes back to bite you in the butt.
Don’t get me wrong. It was an amazing day and I loved every second of it. I’ve managed clearly to already forget those moments when running my second marathon hurt and I wanted to cry. At least this time I didn’t want to fall down and die!
But the great thing is after a whole 1 mile recovery run today, I’m bouncing off walls. So, it’s time to get over it and move on.
Races, adventures and back to the real world for me. So I’m putting a plan of action in place ….
Getting over the postrace blues
Review lessons learned
I didn’t get the time I wanted but it’s OK. Given Parkrun felt tough on New Year’s Day, I’m realistic on this one. But what about for future runs and races? What could I achieve and what do I need to do? Better diet, more miles, more strength training. I sometimes forget that this takes time to build.
Signing up to new adventures
This is done and I’m signed up to my first ever ultra marathon in July. A sign of insanity perhaps?
Remembering why I run
My initial reasons for running were to lose weight, get fitter and meet some new folks. I’ve done a pretty damn good job on the last two. Now it’s about experiencing the world as a runner and to keep meeting fab folks. I run because I run – simple as that. No higher meaning. It doesn’t make me a ‘better’ or ‘improved’ version of myself. It’s just part of who I am and I love it!
Get distracted from the postrace blues
And I don’t mean by Netflix. I have a couple of projects I’m kicking off. Now time to focus on other things in my life.
I’d love to know if you’ve the experienced the postrace blues and how you moved on.
Suggestions for post-race blues songs also welcome! I’d love to put together a bit of a playlist!
(April 2017)
