Skip to main content

Post-marathon blues are common: Here’s why they happen and what to do to bounce-back


With all the time energy, effort, hope, worry and expectation that goes into our marathon campaign, once we cross the finish line and the dust has settled, we can experience a post-marathon dip.  For some this dip is mild and not-too-significant and others, the post-marathon blues are more significant.
There are many reasons why we can have this experience. One of the main ones, which is often overlooked, is that when the body is physically tired, along with this can come at dip in mood. Another reason is that the marathon is such a big goal in our lives and when it passes we can feel somewhat lost without another goal to pursue. If we don't have another event planned, training can seem quite pointless. Or, if we have another goal, it can be difficult to get up for it.

So how do we remedy this and bounce-back after a spring marathon?

  1. If you feel the post-marathon blues, and recognise it as a common and normal experience.
  2. Rest up and recover, take it easy for a while.
  3. Do something different: planned another event in, a half-marathon, 10K, 5K, adventure race or something that is different to a marathon, that appears more fun and that makes you motivated and interested again in training for something.
  4. Mix things up in a training: if you haven't done hill reps for a while to some hill reps, if you haven't done speedwork for a while do some speedwork, the same goes for anything in your training: off-road running, running with buddies, doing shorter runs, whatever that it is interesting to you, that has variety. Just make sure that it's not like what your marathon training was in about – such as logging long miles, and always feeling fatigued.
Dr Victor Thompson
www.sportspsychologist.com
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to keep your motivation to run after you have signed-up to the event

What is it you want again? Think about what you want out of the event: to finish, to run/jog/walk it, to enjoy it or something else. This is important because it will help to keep you motivated and focused during training if you not only know what you are training for (the race) but also know what you want out of it (so you'll know how to run the event). It will also help to tell you what you need to do between now and then to reach your goal. Variety is the spice! Keep motivation high by keeping your runs varied and fun (or at least interesting). So, do runs of different lengths or durations, do some flat and hilly runs, runs with faster bits, road and off-road runs - variety will be good for keeping your interest high and give a good training effect on the body too. Try to run with other runners. See if you can get some of your non-running friends to run or join a running club. Knowing that there is someone expecting you at certain place and time will help get you out the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Golden teams: What surrounds you, counts too.

Imagine the scene: You’ve just won the Olympic gold medal in your sport. You can hear the adulation: “Well done.” “ You ’ve done it.” “ You ’ve done so well.” “How did you do it?” Yes, if you were that athlete, then you were the one to finish first. So they are right, you did do it. However, was it only you that got you there? I’m not so sure. First, even before you moved a muscle, there was Mum and Dad and their cocktail of genes that directed your development. Then there were opportunities at school and outside school to exercise and compete. Somehow, you managed not to give up competitive sport in your teens, when the majority of your peers quit. So, how did you get from there to the Olympics? I believe strongly that you did it because you had a good team around you. These are the unsung heroes, the people who are almost always in the background. Like in a theatre production, these are the people who built the stage and organise the lighting that allow the performer to perfor...
Post a Comment
Read more

Got an injury? Keep moving for your mind and body’s sake.

You know that sport, exercise and activity is good for your body and mind, so if you are injured, make sure that you keep up (when possible and not contraindicated) a good level of activity, even if you have to choose activities that you wouldn’t usually do. Can’t run? What about aqua jogging? Can’t cycle? What about swimming? No matter what, you most certainly can walk, stretch, do some gym work with weights or on core stability. Use the time to work on other components of health and fitness. Don’t give into the temptation to hit the sofa, biscuit tin and beer – or you’ll have a bigger challenge later when you try to get back to fitness. Dr Victor Thompson www.sportspsychologist.com
Post a Comment
Read more