Monday, November 5, 2012

Goal Achieved....NOW WHAT!?

So today, this post is less about my own thoughts, and more of a question for each of you who have had experience running a half or full marathon.  I would love some input from you all! 

As many of our readers know, I ran my first half marathon almost 2 weeks ago! It was a wonderful experience I loved training for it! I enjoyed so much the love for running that I gained, and the sense of accomplishment that I felt over myself after I achieved this goal. It was great! 


Then I guiltlessly planned to take Monday & Tuesday of that week off to recover.  I did a lot of stretching on those days, and if I didn't have to work so much I would have attended a yoga class on Monday. 

Then Wednesday rolled around and I did nothing, then Thursday, nothing, it wasn't until the following Sunday, a week later that I finally did something with myself.  I asked my husband to come on a short 2 mile run with me.  Just because I needed some motivation to actually do it.  

It was such a weird place to be because I had just run 13.1 miles, and yet didn't know what to do after that. It wasn't necessarily that I didn't want  to workout, but that I didn't know what to do. 

So my question for you readers, is how do you pick back up and continue working out after such a long run. 

 This definitely is not just a one time goal for me, I always work out, and already have my next half planned 16 weeks from now.  It was just a new thing to achieve such a big goal and then continue moving forward.  I am just interested to see what kind of runs/workouts you continue doing the week after a half.  And, do any of you struggle with this MENTAL SLUMP as I call it?? 

6 comments:

  1. Please don't beat yourself up for taking a week to rest! You've got to take care of yourself and listen to your body/mood. I've run a few half, but I don't really have any great advice for you - other than just do it! It's great you have your next race already scheduled. I think that will really help with the mental slump.

    I just ran a half this past Saturday. In order to aid in my recovery, I took a short walk later that afternoon. I planned to run a mile before work this morning, but I decided to finish writing my recap instead. lol.

    Sorry for rambling. I really just go for a walk and do light running to ease myself back into it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks so much for the encouragement and feedback! his helps a lot! I think a lot of the not doing anything had to do with how busy my work schedule was that week, even after the 8am-5pm hours!

      Delete
  2. That's a good question. I remember after I ran my first 5k, it was a HUGE accomplishment for me and I also took a week off to recover and soak in the excitement. I agree with Clarinda. Don't beat yourself up! Be proud of your accomplishment, recover and get back at it!! My first half is scheduled for 12/9. I'm SUPER excited!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the encouragement! And yay for your first half! It is such an amazing feeling to accomplish that!!! Good Luck!

      *Also, we sale lots of 13.1 stuff through our facebook page---headbands (bondi bands), mugs/tumblers/water bottles, decals for your car. Stop by and look when you are ready to flaunt your 13.1 accomplishments :-) www.facebook.com/naturallyfitsisters

      Delete
  3. I ran my 1st Half on September 30th. I took a week off, then started back training for my 2nd half that I am running this Sunday. I understand what you are saying. I kinda miss that initial training excitement. It's not the same. But such is life. I plan to just keep running. After this half, I am taking a couple weeks to just do some shorter runs and sleep in. Then I will get back to adding in longer runs. I have quite a few half marathons in my future! I also need to add back in my Power lift class. I think the variety will do me some good.

    Good luck with your future races and the mental slump!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome good luck this week! and yes I have 16 weeks until my next half so I'm taking it easy with fun short/medium runs and lots of weight training for the next few weeks until I kick it back into gear to start training up again!

      Hey if you need 13.1 stuff to flaunt your accomplishments we have tons of fun things on our facebook page! www.facebook.com/naturallyfitsisters

      Delete