nikholas 
good morning all –
[Fitzie’s note: This hoddle was written on sunday. fitzie is better today, but i have decided to leave this hoddle as is]
One day after work recently, I was standing in my kitchen eating out of a bag of white cheddar popcorn. I asked myself, “What do I do now?”
I didn’t really have an answer to that question.
It isn’t easy navigating the post-marathon world. Afternoons and mornings stuffed with training plans now open themselves up. But what to do with all that time? And with what energy?
It takes about four weeks to appropriately recover from a marathon physically. In the days immediately the race, your HIC could barely walk without every step hurting. Since race day I’ve gone to the gym four times and went on a run four times.
Leg day, even though it was a light exercise, left me hobbling this weekend.
Clearly my body is not physically recovered.
As my training for the race was nearing its peak, I recognised how thin I was stretching myself. Working a nine-hour shift with a commute home, running up to 12 miles after work, and then needing to cook dinner and hoddle. I asked of myself, “Please body, just hold on for a little longer.”
And it did. And now that tiredness has caught up with me.
A lethargy has taken over me lately. The kind whose force kick me, and leave me, on my backside. Days where I am ready to take a nap before noon, almost every night ready to go to sleep before 9 pm.
It’s a cruel cycle. The less time I spend active, the more sluggish I feel. But now, any activity I undertake -regardless of effort or duration – renders me exhausted.
Your classic lose-lose. Your typical post-marathon blues.
What many don’t realise about running a marathon is how quickly euphoria fades. When I crossed the finish line last month I could barely even register my joy as I wheezed, as I keeled over, as I clung onto the metal railing for physical support.
The time spent on your feet appears daunting for many people. For me, it felt only a fraction of the hundreds of hours and many months I spent in preparation. Honestly, it felt like no time at all.
And this doesn’t take into account the chemical compounds in your brain associated with the process. It’s an unfortunate part of the long recovery process.
This all leads to a post-marathon crash. A feeling of listlessness. On more than two occasions I found myself wandering nowhere.
New goals are easy to make. But dangerous. It’s why I push back anyone asking when my next race is. What I really want to do is regain the weight I had lost during training. But before I take the gym seriously again I have to physically recover first. I am still a week or two away.
I did enjoy running without any goal or time to aspire to. It was an odd sensation – freeing and confusing. Why was I running? I knew the answer (because I enjoy it) but I knew I also grew apprehensive that I would not be going the distances needed to reach some of my favourite running places.
And then I went to the gym two days in a row – a leg day and a shoulders/arms day. The third day I went for a run again, only to cut it short at three miles because of the discomfort my legs were in. Leg day was a mistake.
So I skipped Sunday’s run. It was maybe just the third time this year I did not run on a Sunday.
It’s close to three weeks later and I am still tired. I hope I won’t be soon. I must be patient.
Fitzie’s track of the day: Sunflower, by Vampire Weekend
And now for your links:
How to overcome the signs of a post-marathon depression
Heung-min Son pictured training in face mask
Ivan Toney charged with 232 alleged breaches of betting rules
