Marathon’s over, now what?

3 comments May 21st, 2008

First, congratulations to everyone who even toed the starting line for Sunday’s Rockford Marathon. Finishing into that wind had to be nasty.

JOHN F. ELBERS | RRSTAR.COM
Darlene Carlson of Mokena cheers on her husband Craig near the finish of the Rockford Marathon on May 18 in downtown Rockford.

Second, unless runners have changed drastically since the last time I took leave of my senses for 26.2 miles at a time, chances are pretty good that many of you promised yourselves after crossing the finish line that you would never again do that to your body.

Physically, unless you’re a very experienced athlete who knows their body’s recovery time, you should be primarily in a resting mode for the next couple of weeks. Allow muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. the time to recover. When my wife and I were racing, the rule of thumb was usually to rest one day for every mile of the race.

But what about mentally?

Some of you will decide to break that finish-line promise about the first time one of your friends talks up another marathon. For those who don’t, the idea that you have put a very large goal behind you can be somewhat depressing.

Although I can never know for sure, I have often thought training for a marathon had to be something like being pregnant. It takes over your whole life for several months and every conversation you have eventually gets around to the topic. So, maybe, a letdown after finishing that big goal is a little like post-partum depression.

Runners generally being goal-oriented people, the best thing to do is to set another goal. It doesn’t have to be another running goal.

It could have to do with any aspect of your life as long as it’s reasonably attainable and it could help take your mind off all those aching muscles.