Running a race distance for the second time is like having another child of the same gender a few years later. You can't help but compare them to each other, and I don't know about you, but I could spend days admiring how both are amazing in their own unique way. (talking about kids here, not races)
So here I am, a few days out from my race and I have taken a few minutes (try "20 hours/day" for 4 days) to reflect on it. I worried that with a few days to decompress I might start questioning my race strategy. I might wonder if I missed an opportunity. I might regret not running harder at mile 17. I might wish I had used different nutrition strategy...
Nope, still feeling pretty galactically bad a**. So much so that the word has become conversational from the people in my life. I'm waiting for my 4 year old to tell her teacher that her mother is a "galactic bad a(star)(star)".
Here's where I am at though.
I'm not sleeping. At all. Insomnia's not even a bother because frankly I'm not able to go to bed until after midnight, and 4 am is the latest I've managed to stay in bed for the last few days. My husband loves it. Yea ~ maybe love is a strong word.
I'm not eating. Much. I'd love to be all "oh I'm being healthy", but to be honest, I'm being nothing. Today I ate 2 meals and some snacks at a RRRC event. One of the meals was 1/2 an apple and some peanut butter. Is this normal? Does everyone else have a massive reaction of the sympathetic nervous system after a marathon PR?
I feel like... a teenage girl in love.
Do you remember that feeling? The loss of appetite. The restless nights. The aimless wandering of your mind as EVERYTHING in the world reminds you of the object of your love? That's what I feel like, only I am not obsessing about a person. I'm replaying the details of my run. I'm not hungry, because I wasn't hungry. I'm not sleeping, because I'm "using" the adrenaline of the race to get me through the run. I'm not able to focus because everything I see, hear, touch, do reminds me of what I saw, heard, touched or ran.
On top of it all, something HUGE has happened in my life, and I can't wait to share it all with you all, but keeping it bottled inside is not helping the situation! ((Check back here on Friday!))
4 comments:
Okay, I don't know how I've missed all of your recent posts. I'm caught up now. Wow! Congrats on your Awesome PR!! I can't really say that I relate to the not sleeping and eating part but I do know the part where you replay the awesomeness in your head for days on end. Congrats! So happy for you. And so curious about your Friday news.
I do the opposite, when I have adrenaline running through me and can't get my mind off of something like that I eat even when I'm not hungry, lol!
Maybe try writing all your thoughts down in a journal. I know when I did the marathon last month I kept replaying stuff in my head and felt like I didn't want to forget it, so it's nice to have it in writing. Plus it gets the emotions out again, instead of holding them in.
Congrats again and enjoy the rest of your marathon high, you earned it!
i couldn't eat last week and when I was hungry I was craving junk. things with salt etc...because i was dehydrated maybe? i also had a horrible sore throat, maybe from all of the mouth breathing at the end of the race.
finally, i am starting to get anxious for your announcement tomorrow. what is it and will you be announcing in the am or do i have to wait? your causing me to lose sleep:) (hahahaha!!!)
Great Post! I too keep rehashing in my head. I feel so motivated I want to do get in a run but I know I need to recover a little longer. So I've been looking up races and thinking about training plans.
Way to have the energy to throw your child a birthday party! That is amazing.
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