Post-Race Blues
The post-race blues is a phenomenon that leaves athletes with a feeling of emptiness, directionless, or low mood after the completion of a goal in which they trained for months to complete. With training consuming a lot of physical and mental energy as well as time throughout the weeks, it is common to feel some sort of sadness or feeling lost once the race is behind you.
Especially for goal-oriented people who pour their heart and soul into training and potentially obsess over every statistic and detail of every workout leading up to their race, it makes sense to have a void in their routine post-race. Not to mention all the freed up hours in the day one might have or the extra amount of hours to sleep. One may feel extra fatigued, worn down, hungry, and experience low motivation. This is all completely normal and is part of the process in training and racing. This feeling will pass soon!
Everyone deals with the post-race blues in a slightly different manner. Some athletes immediately sign up for another race to have another goal to work towards, while others prefer to distract themselves from training by focusing on non-running related activities. There is no right or wrong way to cope with this feeling but here are a few suggestions to help get you through the “low” period. Remember that this is part of the process and you’ll be back to training and racing before you know it!
Recognize and accept that this is just a phase and it will pass. Reflect on your journey to get to your race and the race itself. Meditating, journalling, or speaking about your experience are great ways to fully reflect on your feelings.
Think about new goals that excite you and create a road map for how you will get there. This is a great time to talk to your coach so you can map it out together. Oftentimes during the post-race blues, you may feel extra emotional so it’s good to have a second opinion to talk things through.
Focus on other aspects of your life like spending time with friends and family, going out for coffee or dinner, watching TV, playing board games, and sleeping more! It’s a great time to catch up with people who aren’t in your running circle and to talk about things other than running (let’s admit we’re all guilty of focusing every conversation around running!).
Allow yourself time to fully recover before jumping back into training. This is the time when your body is most vulnerable and prone to injuries. A few extra days off now will benefit you greatly in the long run (literally).
Typically post-race blues last for a couple weeks but it’s possible to experience symptoms for less or more time. Having a support system of loved ones and a coach is a great way to help you navigate this time. And trust me, you’ll be back soon and you aren’t losing fitness!