My caveat to this blog entry: I hesitated to write a blog entry on this topic, but I am writing this entry for three main reasons. First, to help those who may have experiences a down time post marathon, second, to help others understand what some runners may experience post marathon, and third, as a thank you and explanation to all those who have been around me for the last month.
About a month ago, I ran a marathon. A marathon that was a big deal to me, and the race didn’t go my way. I processed the race, and was ready to move on. I made goals for the future, and expected to start training without any problems after a few weeks break. Things didn’t turn out as planned. I just could not seem to recover. My recovery felt like it was taking forever. I started to wonder, and probably fear, that I would never recover.
As my recovery took longer and I spent more time away from running, my mood took a turn for the worst. I was depressed, anxious, and sleep deprived. I am not going to put all the details on my blog, but I cried often, without warning or a compelling reason. I could pull it together for short periods of time, but even that was tough. I thought I was loosing it. I tried to keep myself distracted when I had to function in public settings. I couldn’t sleep very well. My productivity decreased. I felt like a burden to those who had to endure all my crying. I was a mess.
I tried to analysis my sadness and determine if I was sad because I could not run or if I was sad about different stresses in life. Running is a sacred time to me, and a major part of my daily life. I missed running with the girls in the park. Furthermore, running lets me get out my stress and gives me a social outlet to connect with my friends. I leave my stress in Golden Gate Park or on the track. Running just helps me process everyday life.
As I started to run more, something wonderful happened. My mood changed and I became happier. I started to smile again. I stared to hear joy in my voice. My old self was coming back and I was so thankful. I am now completely back to my "normal" mood. I still have stresses in life, but I can manage them. I can cope with life. I knew that people release endorphins during exercise, but I wanted to know more about the psychological affects of recovering from a marathon and not running.
Many of you may be thinking, “all this after a few weeks of not running?” My answer to that is “yes” and after doing some research I found evidence that regular runners taking time off from running can affect a person’s mood. Through doing a little research, I learned that I was not alone, and many other runners experienced some of the same affects. The endorphins (and other chemical released when I run) have a very real, and large impact on my mood. Here’s a summary of some of the research I found:
A research study done in 1990 and published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research studied men ages 18-52 years old that are regular runners. The study found that those who were deprived of running (the experiment group) “subjective physical state, sleep, and feelings of being able to cope deteriorated within 1 wk; levels of anxiety and depression increased during the 2nd wk.” Once this group started running again, they returned to normal.
Other journal articles I read found that exercise helps treat depression and has a positive affect on mood. One study published in Chinese Mental Health Journal (April, 2007) studied rats to test “the effect of low and moderate exercise on plasma β-EP and corticosterone in rats after mental stress.” This study found that “Low and medium exercise can bring down the stress reaction and protect the neuroendocrine function under mental stress.” Running publication also talk about the runner’s high. Runner’s World wrote a great article about the topic in June 2004 and discussed a runner’s personal experience with a runner’s high and the scientific side of the runner’s high (http://bit.ly/zEK0U9).
I am still looking for additional studies on this topic and hope to find some more specific studies that look at female runners and the effects of taking time off for an injury or recovery. If any of have information on this topic, please send it my way. I'd love to get a conversation started about this topic within the running community. Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.
Overall, I learned runners can have a strong reaction to time off from running. Recovery is important, especially after a marathon, and should be taken. Everyone handles recovery differently. Some runners do not experience sadness at all, and some experience a milder form. For people like me who may have a strong reaction to recovery times, I just need to be aware of my body reacts and realize this too will pass. I also now have a more proactive plan about how to manage the psychological affects during recovery. (That topic will have to wait until another blog entry.)
I know that running will not take away my problems, nor will be cure it all my anxious thoughts, but I do hope running will help me to process life and more effectively cope with the daily stresses of life. I end this with a thank you to all those in my support system. Thank you to those who checked on me to see how I was doing, gave me hugs, just let me talk, prayed for me, reminded me to take this in stride, and cooked me dinner. You were a tremendous help, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am sure I will go through periods where I cry again, but I hope to laugh more than cry, and reach out to ask for a hug during the happy and sad times.
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