I’d heard a lot about the Pre-Marathon Blues – a stage of the taper where lack of miles and worries about the race combine to make you feel dreadful.
Last Saturday I felt it.
After running so many miles, relieving stress and bumping up the endorphins, a lot of people find the taper mentally challenging. According to my research, it’s common to feel a range of emotions in this last week before the race: irritability, tiredness, depression, to name a few.
That – combined with the anxiety of running your first marathon – can put you at rock bottom. And so on Saturday I lay in bed until noon, worrying that I’d not be able to make it round or thinking I didn’t want to. I knew I had to get up. I knew I had to go running that day, but it was just easier to lie there and while away the hours. Even when I made it out of bed I couldn’t seem to carry on. I had no motivation for getting out of bed and no motivation for running.
Eventually I managed five slow miles but the feeling wouldn’t go away. And it’s still lingering even now.
They say these feelings can be relieved through “focused relaxation” which includes stretching, yoga, herbal teas and breathing exercises. Really I can’t see how any of those will help. I am trying to run a little, sleep a lot and stay in a positive frame of mind...
Last Saturday I felt it.
After running so many miles, relieving stress and bumping up the endorphins, a lot of people find the taper mentally challenging. According to my research, it’s common to feel a range of emotions in this last week before the race: irritability, tiredness, depression, to name a few.
That – combined with the anxiety of running your first marathon – can put you at rock bottom. And so on Saturday I lay in bed until noon, worrying that I’d not be able to make it round or thinking I didn’t want to. I knew I had to get up. I knew I had to go running that day, but it was just easier to lie there and while away the hours. Even when I made it out of bed I couldn’t seem to carry on. I had no motivation for getting out of bed and no motivation for running.
Eventually I managed five slow miles but the feeling wouldn’t go away. And it’s still lingering even now.
They say these feelings can be relieved through “focused relaxation” which includes stretching, yoga, herbal teas and breathing exercises. Really I can’t see how any of those will help. I am trying to run a little, sleep a lot and stay in a positive frame of mind...
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