What to do after a race

Right now I’m in between races. The only race I’m signed up for is the Chicago Marathon which isn’t until October. But I would like to do a 24 hour race (there’s one in September I’m considering) and there are a couple of half marathons in Chicago that I’d like to do. But I’m finding it difficult to get motivated.  

Sure, the joggling streak keeps me going every day, but I’m not running too hard. And if you train to run slow, you end up running slow.

In a recent issue of Runner’s World they gave a list of post race Do’s and Don’ts. Let’s see whether I have followed them.

1. Debrief

Review your race and talk about whether it went well or not. I guess I did this with my race write-up. Overall the Shamrock Shuffle was ok. I felt good and didn’t have any drops but my time was not a PR. However, I didn’t train for a PR so I couldn’t really expect one right?

2. Don’t wait

According to RW you should plan a new goal right away. I haven’t done this. I’m feeling rather blase about my running. Planning a new goal just isn’t giving me the spark that I’m in need of. Perhaps the problem is that I’m wishy-washy about the 24 hour run. I want to do it but the prospect of hours of training is daunting. I guess that’s why there haven’t been many people who have done it.

3. Reward yourself

I rarely reward myself after any races or accomplishments. I did get a new pair of shoes after the race but not so much as a reward but more of a necessity. Perhaps I should come up with some reward idea and just reward myself. The problem is I don’t know what this would be.

4. Don’t slack

Once you recover from the race you need to get back out there and run. This hasn’t been a problem with me because the joggling every day streak keeps me out there every day. But I should start going farther and increase the speed a bit. It’s very easy to lose the endurance and speed you built up if you don’t keep at it.

Overall, my running and juggling are at a lower point than usual. I need to do something to get me motivated again. Any ideas?

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Phil

For me personally, I have to have a race in the near future to be motivated to run. Luckily, I live in the Bay Area and there are races every weekend. Generally, I take the winter months easy and then sign up for a race every month and even more in the fall.

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