Post-Race Blues: The Bonk No One Talks About

Congratulations! You’ve just crossed the finish line of your race. You trained for weeks, maybe months, gave it everything, and celebrated with that much-deserved pizza or sushi. You’re sore but proud. Life is good.

And then the next day… it hits.

Not a pulled muscle or DOMS (though, sure, that too). No, I’m talking about the full-body, full-brain shutdown known as the post-race blues. A severe case of the “I don’t want to’s.” You don't want to move. Don’t want to train. Don’t even want to care.

That’s what happened to me.

One day I was celebrating a PB in my half marathon — legs sore, sushi on the couch, full of dopamine and dreams. And then boom. Mental crash. Not sadness, exactly. Just... apathy. Like my entire motivation system quietly packed a bag and left town.

For the past week and a half, I’ve managed three 40-minute bike spins. Zone 1. Barely moving. Everything else — gone. No running. No structured training. Definitely no triathlon content on my feed (seriously, Instagram reels of people smiling mid-run make me want to delete the app).

And it’s not just the workouts — it’s food, too. When I’m training, I eat high-protein, low-sugar, and feel focused. But post-race? It’s like my body switched modes to “crave everything, prepare nothing.” Popcorn, ice cream, fast food, repeat. Cooking? Not a chance.

Work? Stressful. Social battery? Dead. Mental health? Hanging by a vanilla Skyr.

And the worst part? Guilt. That whisper that says, You should be back to it by now. You’ve got a half Ironman in five weeks. Why aren’t you training? Why do you feel like a lazy imposter athlete who can’t even look at her bike?

So, I asked ChatGPT. The advice? Be “gentle” with myself. Take “small steps.” Which is great and probably true… but I wanted a switch to flip. I wanted to snap out of it — not gradually crawl my way out.

Still, some things helped:

• Massage gun on sore legs? Magic.
• Stretching? Surprisingly good.
• Writing this post? I guess we’ll see.

But I want to be honest: I’m not “back” yet. The soreness faded fast, but the fatigue didn’t. The apathy didn’t. Even the joy I usually find in the sport — in planning workouts, tracking metrics, nerding out over gear — just isn’t there right now.

And that’s scary. But also maybe normal?

So here’s where I’m at: A little lost, a lot tired, and kind of annoyed about it. I know I’ll bounce back (eventually), but right now? Right now I’m just trying to eat something other than dumplings and scroll a little less.

If you’re in this same post-race pit: Hi. I see you. You’re not alone. And no, you're not lazy or broken. You just ran a damn race — and your body (and mind) is trying to land again.

Let’s give ourselves a minute. Or a week. Or however long it takes.