Dealing With The Post-Marathon Blues

Have you ever put so much into your training? All of this time and energy, day-in and day-out. You dedicated yourself to it for months – all for this one goal, this one race. Then, after the race you start to feel down and feel like you don’t have a sense of worth. You aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself. It doesn’t matter whether the race went really well or not, the feelings after are the same. This happens to me a lot after marathons! 

I do really well with routine and a schedule. I may complain about it sometimes, but having a consistent schedule works for me. It keeps me grounded and keeps my anxiety level in check because I know what’s coming. Once you finish a big race like a marathon or a different distance, your routine is thrown for a loop. You can’t necessarily train like you did before because your body most likely needs a break. And if you don’t have another race scheduled or your next race isn’t for months, you can feel a sort of lost feeling. This is the post-marathon blues.

Please know you are not alone. This happens to a lot of us.

I didn’t feel the post-marathon blues after my big personal record at the Chicago Marathon, but I did experience it after New York because that was my last marathon for the year and I had put so much into my training for those fall races. For the full week after the NYC marathon I would come home after work and just sit on the couch and eat junk. This would last until my stomach would be so full that I felt uncomfortable. While I do eat these things in moderation because I believe in balance, I went overboard. I would binge watch random shows on Netflix or Hulu (not necessarily a bad thing!), but doing it every night for hours can get a little depressing. I kept trying to break this cycle throughout the week and get some projects done that I had been neglecting, but it kept repeating itself. I was able to pull myself out of the abyss eventually! This is how I did it:

Sign up for something, whether it be a race or something else to look forward to.

I had the Boston Marathon scheduled in April 2020, however, that seemed so far away! Of course, I didn’t want to put my body through another marathon between now and then since I had just ran one in October and one in November. I signed up for a half that would take place about four weeks after NYC. Currently, I don’t have plans to race it because my body is still recovering, but just wanted to get back in the race setting. I love the atmosphere of a race and just being there helps me. You could also try out volunteering for a race, attending someone else’s race to cheer them on, or possibly doing a 5K or 10K.

Apart from physically running, I decided to embark on this journey into blogging. I had no idea what I was doing when I started. This gave me something new to learn and look forward to! It took me a while to learn all about building my own website and get it into a place that I could share with the world. If I can’t run, I might as well write about running! It has given me something to focus my energy on. I’ve thought about blogging before, but just recently took the plunge. With all the extra time on my hands, I was able to dedicate more of myself to get it started! 

Make time for friends and make plans.

I have to admit that, in the height of training cycles, a lot of times I’m too tired to go to dinner or go out with friends. During this period of not running much and recovering, when someone would ask me to hang out, I would say yes. This got me out of the house and around other people. I am a total introvert and, while I do like my alone time to recharge, too much alone time can make me feel a bit depressed and lonely.

Don’t obsess about the race.

Whenever I run a marathon, whether I smash my personal record or have a horrible day, I always dwell over how I could have done better. I always want more out of myself. I would sit there and think about every little thing I could have done differently. I had to stop myself from that line of thinking because the race is over: whatever happened, happened!! There is no point in wasting energy thinking about what could have been. You’ve got to make a conscious effort to move on. Let it fuel your fire for the next time! If your race didn’t go well, learn your lesson and grow from it. I don’t have this whole executing a perfect marathon thing figured out and I doubt many people do. That’s what makes it so great –  it’s figuring out that puzzle!

Mix things up.

I like to try going to different classes at the gym that I don’t have time for during marathon training. You can check out yoga, strength classes, or spin classes. Make sure your body is recovered though. You have to listen to your body first, then make the decision. Usually when I need a break from the pounding of running, mixing up my workouts with spin or barre classes seems to be something I can handle. My dogs also love all the extra long walks they get!

The post-marathon blues will pass. It may take a while for some of us, but they will pass. If they aren’t going away, it may be a good idea to make an appointment with a therapist to help you get back to feeling like yourself again. The important thing is to not jump right back into another long, intense training cycle before you have given yourself time to recover fully and mentally process the race you just ran!