Depression after a marathon/ultra?
CallMeRuPaul
Posts: 151 Member
This was posted on another site and was curious to know if others have felt the same way? Thanks. ~crg
Yesterday at 4:04pm · Edited.
I ran a 50 miler last weekend and have sunk into a slight depression over the last week. I'm fine and not suicidal or anything so nobody get all worried. This isn't the first time I have felt like this and I'm sure won't be the last. What I am asking is does anyone else go through something like a depression after running an ultra?
Yesterday at 4:04pm · Edited.
I ran a 50 miler last weekend and have sunk into a slight depression over the last week. I'm fine and not suicidal or anything so nobody get all worried. This isn't the first time I have felt like this and I'm sure won't be the last. What I am asking is does anyone else go through something like a depression after running an ultra?
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I've never done an ultra, but I know quite a few people who suffer 'post race depression' for a few days/weeks, or until they have another race pencilled in.0
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CallMeRuPaul wrote: »This was posted on another site and was curious to know if others have felt the same way? Thanks. ~crg
Yesterday at 4:04pm · Edited.
I ran a 50 miler last weekend and have sunk into a slight depression over the last week. I'm fine and not suicidal or anything so nobody get all worried. This isn't the first time I have felt like this and I'm sure won't be the last. What I am asking is does anyone else go through something like a depression after running an ultra?
I went through this for a while after my first ironman... it was the strangest thing.
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This is normal. Some people say it is from all the damage ultra running does at a cellular level...your body is dealing with the waste of lots of depleted cells. ( my liver always feels like a brick about 5 days afterward).0
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Very real and very normal. Seems to me that there is a correlation between the length of the training cycle and the length and severity of the post-race depression. The more time and energy that we put into preparing, the further we fall after the event is over.0
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Totally normal. It's happened to me after both my marathons. I was a college athlete (not track) and felt crappy every year when the season ended and I wasn't at practice/competing all the time. It feels to me like I lose a major part of my identity whenever a training cycle ends.
My best coping strategy is to switch focus and pursue a new athletic goal for a while. Last year I started doing Crossfit a few weeks after my marathon and that helped tremendously (and also exposed how noodley my little runner arms are). The only problem is now that it's time for me to start marathon training again I'm sad about losing my Crossfit routine
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I have not run an ultra but after finishing my marathon in January I felt lost. I was no longer in training mode and didn't really know what to do with my Sundays (no long training runs). I quickly signed up for two 1/2 marathons so I had some focus. I think that is totally normal.0
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For me... one of the things that went a long with the depression was a loss of desire to train. I signed up for races and then I didn't train for them... which made the depression worse. I think the loss of motivation was my body needing a rest.0
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snowflakesav wrote: »This is normal. Some people say it is from all the damage ultra running does at a cellular level...your body is dealing with the waste of lots of depleted cells. ( my liver always feels like a brick about 5 days afterward).
I wouldn't be surprised!! ... The mind-body connection remains such a mystery.
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I haven't experienced this too much; my first marathon was followed 2 weeks later by a half-marathon, and that was quickly followed by paper research/finals, so I just kept hopping from one thing to another. We'll see how I feel after this marathon on the 31st though. I won't have an official training plan again til almost August, so hopefully I can stay on track!0
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I finished a 44km last weekend, and I have definitely felt a bit like a part of my life is over and I guess a few days were like a downer.
I was randomly distraught and cried (out loud, ugly cry in front of people haha) at the 40km mark and I think that it was partially a physiological thing, because I mean logically at that distance most people would probably see that they're nearly there and not start crying. I could never figure out a reason for it.
Also yeah, with anything like that its often a huge part of your existence for ages, you think and talk and breathe it during your training. That's how it was for me in the past 20 weeks and even before that with pre training and signing up. I guess it is almost like being in a relationship where you speak to someone every day and then it ends all of the sudden and you're not sure how to fill that empty space in your heart.
What has helped since is just time, focus on nutrition, recovering a little bit and doing some weights (upper body) and gentle biking, thinking about what my next goal might be. And, actually spending some time letting it sink in, laying in bed and saying to myself "I did that, look at my medal up on that wall. I trained hard and I earned it and that's pretty awesome"0 -
Noshesnomore wrote: »For me... one of the things that went a long with the depression was a loss of desire to train. I signed up for races and then I didn't train for them... which made the depression worse. I think the loss of motivation was my body needing a rest.
I went through exactly this after my ultra in the fall. It didn't help that the race was pretty much immediately followed by 6 brutally cold, long winter months which made it even harder to want to go out and train. I've got a 50k coming up in June and only in recent weeks has it not been a total mental struggle to get out the door to run.0 -
i've heard this depression can be a result of cortisol being produced. running or any activity for extended periods of time puts great stress on our bodies.0
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very normal0
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It's PMS...postmarathon syndrome.0
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I just finished my first 100 miler a couple of weeks ago and was concerned about it but I don't think I've ever had that problem. I'm not really sure I can explain why. I don't put too high of a personal value on the accomplishment I guess. Running is important to me, it saved me from obesity among other things but the races don't mean much to me. I think if I were to every feel like I'm done, I can do no better, or I've reached my limit, then sure I'd be depressed. I keep it realistic in that I know it's going to be anti-climactic. A great accomplishment nonetheless but just another cool thing I've done. I get a little bummed as my body feels a bit broken after and my strength in the gym suffers but I think that's the meathead in me dying to recover quickly.0
