IRONMAN Blues - "Post IRONMAN Depression"

​Kia ora guys, this week I want to touch on a serious topic and I believe it is timely to highlight for a handful who have already shown me signs of what I experienced it 2015.

The Ironman Blues or something to highlight the impact it can make “post IRONMAN depression” is something that is real and believe me, it can affect you more than you know. Some begin to experience it 3-4 days after, saying they feel lost or they don’t know what they should do next, others will embrace the success and choose to take a break and say to themselves “I will get back into it” the depressing thing is that when you have taken this break which for most ends up being 3 months later and right away you end up comparing yourself to who you were on Ironman day and all you can feel is an uphill battle to try get back to that “old you” that fuels your own self judgment and without kicking that feeling back… it wins.

You need to remember, for the last 3+ months you have been training for that IRONMAN day, you have now crossed the finish line and achieved something you most probably never thought was possible. You’ve been in the spot light and Mike Riley has called your name across the line, you’ve had complete strangers lap after lap cheer you along and they share something special with you as for some you feel like you know them but now it’s been a week, you are sitting at home and potentially wondering… what now?

Well firstly…. I say rest up, don’t put on those runners just yet but, at the same time don’t do nothing and make up for lost time with your best friend Ronald McDonald. When I say rest up I think you should take a read of Rob Dallimore’s post on Foot Traffic Click Here which highlights the importance of taking a break and listening to your body as it will tell you when you should go for an easy swim or a ride to tick the body over and most importantly when the time is right.

Secondly take this time to reflect on your race, you are an ironman, it’s time to be proud of what you have accomplished no matter the result. Right now you are potentially the fittest you have ever been, so I say from experience why not utalise it? Enter a few fun events with your family or friends to remind yourself you can still do this without dedicating your life to it around work that you may have been doing for the last 6 weeks.

When I look back to 2015 when I finished my first IRONMAN, I decided to take a break and I always said I was going to get back into training in September for Taupo in December however, when September rolled around I found it really difficult to get back into training remembering I was the fittest I had ever been 6 months ago and now I feel as if I am nothing and through self-judgment I never got myself back into a routine, every time I would start it would last 3 days and I would stop again.

So this time around I have my race plan and budget sorted for the 2017/18 season, my body has recovered really well and I am ready to get back into training next week with a session a day adding up to a 10 hour training week but more importantly this weekend I have a fun event planned with Penny at the colour run/walk/dance in Auckland with her friend Alex and my good mate Christina which I look forward to having a bit of fun and showing Penny my appreciation for her being there for the last 3 ½ months when I've been really putting a lot of effort into training.

Until next time, I hope this is of some use to you and you realise the IRONMAN blues is something that is real, don't underestimate the impact that it can have on you but most importantly be proud!… you are now an IRONMAN!

Enjoy yourself, take it easy, have fun and when you do… train hard!

Robo