Post Marathon Blues

It's that time year where I find myself floundering. The marathon is over and frankly I'm just so damn tired. With nothing to train for, sleeping in and skipping workouts is easily done without guilt. And unfortunately my body still is in marathon training/eating mode, so peanut butter by the spoonfuls while returning emails is the norm. So here are my thoughts and ideas in beating the "post marathon training depression," because it's the real deal. And it sucks.

Do something different. It's a great time to try something out new that you always say you don't have time for because it would interfer with training. Groupon, Living Social, or Amazon Local are a great way to try something new for a month or so and stay on a budget.

Strength train. Strength always gets thrown to the back burner. With many days stuck inside, the opportunity is perfect. Right now I'm loving dropping in at VFIT a few days a week and taking what I've learned back to the gym. (And BTW Morris pretty awesome there.)

The obvious. Train for something. Even though it's the off season, there are so many fun races to sign up for. The hubs and I are doing a cross country 5K this week, which gives me a reason to throw in some fun with running sprints for giggles. And a beer and appetizer for all the finishers at the Stacked Pickle?! Double score. For more info on the Dirty Santa 5K, check them out at RaceMaker Productions, they never disappoint and the swag rocks.

Track your food. I would love to say I'm religiously doing this right now, but I'm trying. When you are running 40-50 miles a week plus cross training, I don't really worry about how much or what I eat. But the only time I really loose weight is when I'm tracking, and I'm a big fan of My Fitness Pal. It has EVERY food possible (even Starbucks cake pops), and if you have a Garmon with Garmon Connect, it's can automatically add your calories burned. And when I'm religious, I track EVERYTHING. Even though it's hard, it's important to see that you consumed the 600 calories after dinner or the 440 on Sun King beers.

And with this, I challenge you and myself to get it together. Life is tough sometimes, especially at the holidays. Don't ask for an easier life; instead ask for the strength to live the one you have.