10 Ways To Fight The Post-Race Blues

You did it.

You trained hard all summer long. You got up early on weekends to finish those long runs. You had all your workouts scheduled and the big race came and went. It was exciting. You even set a PR or broke the world record for joggling an ultra marathon.

For a couple of days after you felt great, a bit sore, but great. You even got to be on TV, radio and in Sports Illustrated. But then the glow of the accomplishment starts to fade. You start to feel a little sad. Then you feel lost and unfocused. You feel like a good friend has left you and you know they’re never coming back.

You’ve got the post-race blues.

Handling the post-race blues

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit blue. I’ve got nothing to train for and if it weren’t for the joggling streak and the quest to joggle 44 marathons, I’d probably just stop working out. So, I went to the running forums to see if any other runners had some advice. Here’s what they said.

1. Find some new running goals. Good advice but it’s pretty obvious. Of course, right now, new ones are just not as motivating.
2. Enjoy your recovery time. This is not bad advice. But I really like joggling and taking too much time off worries me that I’ll lose the fitness levels I’ve built up.
3. Try a different type of racing. During your off time try a new sport like snowshoe racing. Interesting idea but there isn’t enough snow here in Chicago now that global warming has messed things up.
4. Indulge your diet. Have you been too strict with yourself on what you can eat? Well, reward yourself with a day of gluttony. Pizza, ice cream from McDonalds, donuts, beer, candy bars. Anything that you’ve avoided is fair game. Just make sure you know when to stop.
5. Buy yourself something. Reward yourself with some new cool item you’ve wanted. For some people it would be clothes or jewelry or juggling equipment. For me, I don’t really know…maybe a new book.
6. Get outside. It’s easy to get sucked into the inactive world of TV. Just being outside can help brighten your mood and keep you active. When you have to go to the store, just walk there. And bring your juggling balls to amuse yourself along the way.
7. Embrace the blues. While your body has to physically recover, you’ve also got to recover emotionally. Allow yourself to be blue and melancholy. Like I always say, “It’s good to feel bad because it helps remind you of how great it is to feel great.”
8. Donate your time. Since you don’t have to train much anymore,
   you’ll have some extra time on your hands. Maybe spending it helping
   other people or entertaining them with your juggling skills will help
   brighten your mood.
9. Set non-racing goals. Your life isn’t all about exercise and joggling right? Maybe you want to write a book or learn some new juggling tricks. Now is the time. Ya know, I’ve always wanted to learn to do a handstand. Maybe I can focus on that now.
10. Take time off from running. Just don’t think about it. Eventually, you’ll start to miss it more and more. Then you’ll be ready. This won’t work for me because I’m on a joggling streak but it does make some sense.

So what do you think JYAJ community? Do you have any other tips on beating the post-race blues? Does this even happen to you? Leave a comment and let us know.