feeling down after a big race...

[rocknrollgirl]

I wanted to pull this thought out of one of the other threads that I was just reading. Yoda made a comment about feeling a bit down after a big race, or at the end of the season. I remember reading passing comments from other posters in regard to the same thing.

I thought it was important enough to start a discussion about the issue. I experienced this same thing at the end of my season last year, and I was completey unprepared for it. After being so focused for so long on one goal, I felt lost and confused when I had reached the goal. Although I was very tired of training and glad to be done, I did not know what to do with myself.

I know it sounds silly, I spent all of this time saying...after the race is over, I am going to do X, Y and Z, but I found that X, Y and Z did not fill the void. My lack of preparedness in this situation lead to me getting injured

We discuss our training and our recovery, and we plan, plan, plan, but it does not seem that anybody ever prepares for this, partly because nobody talks about it.

This year, although my season has not been focused on one big race, I am anticipating experiencing some form "discomfort" at the end. So my DH and I are already planning a smooth transition into a healthy and productive off season.

We are planning a camping weekend and a local kayak trip. We are going to start doing some hiking right away. Maybe a weeknd for foliage and wine. Although I will be out of the loop with my biking friends, I am ready this time to do what is right for me and my body.

I also plan to spend some time in the off season hitting the gym and really doing the rehab that needs to get done for my knee.

So ladies, newbies, and anybody else chasing goals, are you ready for a healthy end to your season or post race period?

[Veronica]

I'm planning a tri a month through at least Oct. I just signed up for September's. This next one is a Sprint distance. I haven't picked October's yet. Mostly, it's to keep focused on training and to have a stress outlet for when I go back to work.

Plus I'm working towards a RUSA R-12 award, so I'm cycling a 200 K a month. I'll be doing that through Feb. when it will be time to really crack the whip to get ready for "The World's Hardest Tri."

V.

[han-grrl]

I totally understand that feeling

the "now what" stage.

I did my solo 24 race
I raced Master Expert in the provincial cups

I wanted to work my way to elite, but i want to have a life too

so i'm not sure what racing i want to do..

I've joined a five person mixed team for the next 24 race...I really want to be around people again. A lot of my training left me riding alone. and LONG.

I am hoping to find a team to race regularly with, who are competitive in a fun way...

[Kimmyt]

I get this ALL THE TIME. And the weird thing is, I'm beginning to think that if I don't catch it early, it is bad even when I have goals still to meet.

Example. The only Tri I had scheduled was in June. I started getting the lowdowns after I completed it, so decided to schedule another tri for August. Except then I lost all motivation to do anything, and am currently feeling, well not depressed, but not in top shape. So I'm doing the August tri this weekend on a really crappy amount of training, and I'm just not caring. I think maybe I need to schedule my tri's all at once and have them in a progressive build so that the most important one is last of all, because there's something about completing an event that just has me wanting to change gears (get ready for my winter/fall sports, etc) and not mess with it anymore for the year.

After this I've told myself I may or may not do the originally planned half-marathon, depending on how I feel. Or maybe I'll just climb a whole lot and do the half marathon next year. *shrug*

[gnat23]

This is a very interesting post, thanks for bringing it up!

I was intrigued when I first flipped through Charmichael's book on Fitness Nutrition, and it brought up the whole concept of periodizing training throughout the year, which was new to me.

Here are some of the notes I took:

Foundation or Base
Coming out of winter, on the trainer, etc. Foundation strength, places a little more stress on the muscles to prepare the body for the heavier weights and greater forces to come in the next two periods.

Preparation or Pre-Competition
Using drills to increase strength and power, then speed using those strength gains. Increasing mileage and altitude.

Specialization or Competition
Strength Maintenance, with appropriate recovery. Peak time! This is where the big race or ride goes.

...And then, of course:

Transition or Off-Season: Aerobic
Recovery, light weights, faster cadence. Usually on the trainer.

After the big peak race with nothing else nearby on the horizon, maybe it's worth not pushing yourself too much. Take a week off, have some beers, relax, acknowledge your accomplishments (admittedly, I have the most trouble with this part). Looks like this is as much mental as physical.

When you're ready, start the cycle again, pick the thing you want to work for next year, and using the gains you've made, start light and build up that aerobic base so you can be even better next time.

-- gnat!

[Wahine]

RNR - brilliant idea starting this thread.

I think the important part here is recognizing when this feeling is going to hit. If you keep having goals and being able to work towards them, maybe you'll be fine but realistically, our bodies will put up with so much and everyone needs an "off season". My off season comes in Sept and runs all the way to Dec and I definitely plan for it. It works out much better if I have things set up before hand to help me through and allow me to escape the temptation to just keep pushing. So this year I'm going to windsurf, I have a trip planned to Hawaii and I'm planning on doing a lot of food prep and freezing during the fall harvest season. It's also a great time to host dinner parties and reconnect with friends.

[Tuckervill]

As you all know by now, I don't race at all. But I feel your pain!

I have several large projects and trips that I complete every year. By the end of the biggest project, I'm enmeshed in a deadly love/hate relationship with it, and I'm so worn out! One year an ovarian cyst burst in my abdomen at the exact moment that I handed out the last trophy of a tournament, which signaled the very end of my youth baseball season! Then the next week I spend it all depressed and unable to get out of bed. Same thing with big trips--I'll be gone the whole month of September (as usual) and in October I'll be a basket case.

It's a loss of focus, as well as the anti-climax that happens after any goal is reached. There's a vacuum in my life, with nothing to fill it. I'd say it is pretty normal. I need that rest time, too, to get ready for the new season or the next trip. Then the preparation starts all over again.

I guess if you never stop training (working towards the goal), you might never experience that letdown? I always NEED the rest, though.

Karen

[rocknrollgirl]

Glad you guys are enjoying the chat.

gnat, I found last season that a week off was not nearly enough. I did periodization training for 10 months, and what I really needed was a real off season.

I knew this in my heart, but getting myself to cooperate turned out to be a whole separate issue. That is why this year, I drew a line inthe sand, set a date for the last race, and then...off season. My race buddies keep trying to push the date further in to the fall, but I am planning on holding firm.

Yoda...they windsurf here, and I soooo want to learn. I can get a 4 hour lesson for around 100 dollars. I think I might treat myself before it gets to late in the season. I love to go fast.

[colby]

I'm honestly not sure what got me through my post-Ironman phase. I don't have anything on the schedule between that and mid-August (next weekend), which is something like 8 weeks. The first few weeks I was okay, I could tell myself that everything was hard because my body was recovering. That argument works for a while, but the next couple of weeks I started to worry, even though I knew it would happen, if I would ever want to do it again. I'm just coming out of it now, and excited for the next race, even though it's short in comparison (different kind of challenge!).

I also felt like I was talking about it all the time, but that was relatively therapeutic, too. Might have been annoying for those closest to me, but I appreciate that they didn't just put up with the training, but the post-Ironman "training" as well. I read about feeling down after the race, so I did expect it, but it really felt... empty. I'm a pretty "go with the flow" person, suck it up, adapt, and move on, but there were a few days I was really down.

I don't have anything else scheduled this year, but I'm thinking of adding some stuff in September if I can find it fairly close - maybe that Federal Way race someone else pointed out in the PNW thread (that's the formerly-Subaru womens triathlon series, I think?).

I have been running the Seattle Marathon, which is after Thanksgiving, and actually keeps my "down time" to about a month - the month of December, basically, which is usually miserable and busy anyway. I do whatever I feel like doing and try to get back into it... in time to start early Ironman training for June. When I wasn't doing Ironman (this was my first, duh), I did feel that same feeling of lack of direction.

I've discussed with my husband (and 'wife') what crazy personality trait it must take to do Ironman... but maybe it's something more than that, that all endurance people, focused people, and people who just really enjoy what they do, have. A feeling of lack of focus that is almost disorienting when you're so used to being focused...

[teigyr]

I can definitely relate. I like to have the focus of an event and when it's over, I feel a bit lost. While I don't have a lot of spare time, I LIKE having my weeks and months planned out. I also like having things to look forward to and, sometimes, obsess about.

This year I've signed up for a few things but when the marathon is over in October, I'm sure I'll go through a time of wondering what to do with myself.

Colby, I am thinking of running the half-marathon part of the Seattle Marathon Since I'm running the Portland Marathon in October, I think doing another one in November might be a bit much but I'd really like to participate and I like the half distance.

I'm already looking toward next year. I think I will work on swimming during the winter (of course I said that last year and didn't) and maybe think about finding an Oly tri. I'm thinking I'd like to make my way up to a HIM. So maybe that's how I get through the feeling lost period...I sign up for something else It's a strange kind of addiction, isn't it.

[colby]

Colby, I am thinking of running the half-marathon part of the Seattle Marathon Since I'm running the Portland Marathon in October, I think doing another one in November might be a bit much but I'd really like to participate and I like the half distance.

There might be enough time, though, since the Seattle Marathon is pretty much the very end of November. There's going to be a 5k this year, too, but there's a lot of room between a 5k and half marathon

The half marathon might actually cut out some of the crappy non-scenic miles, but still goes over some of the boring stuff (freeway miles = boring). Not sure if it includes the (short but brutal) hill that looks like a giant wall, but if not, you won't miss it. It's not a huge spectator race, especially along the middle segments of the course, but if you're pretty self-sufficient, it's a nice way to end the season. There are opportunities for car-enabled people to drive around and intercept the course, though, that's what my sherpa and his family do. I'll come around a corner and hear GOOOOOO COLLLBYYYYY!!! for a little while. They even have a cowbell. If you come, I'll have them cheer for you, if they happen upon you

When I ran my first half marathon, I knew I wanted to run a marathon. When I ran my first marathon, I knew (mostly) I wanted to do an Ironman. Now I just want to do MORE things, different things. It really never ends. I kind of like that.

[Skeezix]

I certainly get down after big races, there doesn't seem like much I'm able to do about it. It is hard adjusting to not having something to take up all of my time and energy I end up feeling lost and listless. So far the only thing that makes it better is time and allowing myself to readjust to a lighter workout schedule.

This year I've not decided when my last race is, it could be this Sunday or it could be in Sept. at the Akron Tri. I'm going to give myself a week or so after this weekend to make that decision. I have a little British sports car that I've been neglecting all summer and have only driven a handful of times, so I might plan some short little hop about road trips with that in order to fill up space if I decide to cut my season short.

[HillSlugger]

I had an especially trying time at the end of last season because I had planned to ease out of tri focus by focusing on training for a metric century. After that I planned to ease into the down season. Instead I went from tri season straight to rehab season, having to abandon the metric century ride, 5k runs, etc. What also made it difficult was that my partner didn't understand why I was upset about losing the ride and my ability to train. I ended up focusing all my energies on rehab and swimming and I managed to get through the depression (I also improved my swimming greatly).

[tjf9]

I've experienced this too - both the "let down" after a big race, and the "I don't want to train any more" of what, for me was probably over training and not taking a sufficient break.

I've only been competing for about a year and a half, so I'm still figuring out what a good rhythm is. I try to have at least one race (tri or running) a month, just so I don't let my fitness go completely. Racing is what motivates me to work out at all, so I always need that little carrot out there. But in the winter, those races are "C" races - just get out the door and have some fun.

After every "A" race, I try to take a week or two off. I may still do some working out during that time, but no watch, no HR monitor. During my off time I try to reconnect with the fun part of sport - enjoying the beauty of the outdoors, and how refreshing an easy, untimed run can be. I'm usually ready to start working toward that next big goal again after that.

[NbyNW]

I've been feeling winter coming on, and thought it might be a good time to revive this thread.

I've completely lost focus since doing my first tri in September. I know that I would like to do more next year and would like to improve on my swimming, but I feel like other aspects of life are crowding out my fitness goals -- mostly work, and a general propensity to obsess about the economy and the upcoming election, two things which I can do very little about.

I really need to figure out how I can motivate myself to get up early for an early morning swim workout. It may be as simple as writing it in my schedule and sticking to it, but it's kind of challenging without a specific goal in sight. Maybe I need to get more specific . . .

How are you all handling the change of seasons? What do you do to stay motivated in moving towards next year's goals? I can accept that my energy levels won't be as high, but I would love to hear some ideas about how you all make it through the winter. I grew up with winter, but in the Pacific Northwest it's particularly difficult. Would love to hear any tips/ideas anyone has to share!