Post-Ironman Despression Syndrome

Was reading an interesting article the other day that my sister sent along.

I am gonna go ahead and diagnose myself with PIDS (Post-Ironman Depression Syndrome). The funny thing about this article is that Justin and I had been talking about how we’ve been having these exact thoughts and feelings mentioned in the article just the day before reading it.

The article says that it is normal to feel “a bit of a letdown, kinda-lost feeling after an Ironman,” after all, you’ve been focusing on this one date for the last year and now that it has come and gone, you feel empty. “Your formerly-constant thoughts about training, racing, nutrition, transition bags, carbon aero widgets, and what-I-have-to-pack-for-my-workouts-tomorrow have now been replaced with a single, all-consuming thought: What do I do now?”

The week immediately after Ironman, it felt good to do nothing. I got to eat whatever I wanted, didn’t have to rush home for a workout, had all weekend to enjoy Boston rather than heading out of the city for long rides. That was nice. But now, it’s starting to catch up with us. Ok, the BBQ and cornbread was delicious but ugh, I don’t feel so great after eating it and I want to go for a run to feel a bit better but can’t. Walking around and shopping all day Saturday was nice, but now I have a high bill to pay and I suddenly remember why I hate living in a city filled with tourist. Coming home from work and taking time to make dinner, hang out and watch TV at regular hours is great but I’m starting to feel useless and lazy.

The article recommends that you have no races on the calendar for 8 weeks after the Ironman to ensure a proper recovery. From Lake Placid to my next race is 5 weeks apart. Justin would have been the same but decided a celebratory birthday tri was appropriate and signed up for the Sharon’s Back Sprint Triathlon on Aug 16^th, so he has 3 weeks. Neither of us wanted our season to end so early so we ended up signing up for the Pumpkinman Half on Sept. 13^th. Stupid? Probably, the article even says this is a no-no, but we’ll learn from our mistakes. Plus this race has an awesome post-race feast that includes apple and pumpkin pie – YUM!

As soon as I start to feel fresh, I’m going to begin my focus on running (unfortunately, running is the hardest on the body and therefore is the slowest to get back into). I’ll be running the Baystate Marathon with Jenny on October 18^th and we’ll both be aiming to run sub 3:45. I’m looking forward to the challenge! However, until I can start running normally again, I continue to be in limbo.