POST RACE FUNK

I know it's been a while since I posted on here, so I feel the need to to go back and cover what's been going on over the last month since Kona. Coming home from Hawaii and getting into the recovery mode was easy at first...until i entered the past-race-funk. And this is no joke! About a week after the race, when the most important thing I can do is sleep and rest and the bulk of training was a 4mile run, I slipped into this depression and didn't know what to do. I mean, I was so excited about what I did in Kona, how could I get so bummed out? I was really bad off - but at the same time I laughed about it, but it was a serious issue.

So after a few days of this, I had to figure out what was going on, and how I could fix it- if I could. I went online and found all kinds of info on this from other athletes personal blogs to medical studies done on endurance athletes and the hormone shifts that occur due to the sudden decrease in physical activity we see in a taper and recovery period. I learned a lot, and at the time I felt like the poster child for this condition...then and after talking to some others after Kona - I found out they were going through the same thing too.

So - what was the solution? Recover smart. And the formula varies from person to person. For me....i felt like I had to get moving. I needed a goal. And Clearwater was 3 weeks away so I needed to look forward and not dwell on the past - like the year was over. It was a tricky situation, because I had to juggle recovery from Kona with maintaining fitness levels and tapering for Clearwater....so that day, I went out for an 8 mile run. Some may argue it was too long too soon and I shouldn't have done it. Even my body said no to some degree - but I did it anyway -easy and stopping a lot. I didn't care about time, I just wanted to move. and boy, did I feel good afterwards. Like the hormones in my body were back to the levels I needed - and my mind was clear. Like I was back on my drug. What a great feeling.

So, basically, that was the day i nipped it in the bud and was back on track. I was no longer bummed and I just hoped to hold on long enough to make it to Clearwater....