Day 217: Post-18k lethargy

The 18k runs are going well. Today was the second. But the post-18k lethargy is already something I need to watch out for.

It’s great to get the big run in, and be back at the house before 8:30, but the post-run day is… well, I’m tired. So I’ve had breakfast and coffee and read some comic books, and I’m just now getting to this. But I’ve still got a whole day ahead of me, and life doesn’t stop when you’ve run 18 kilometres. You just kind of feel like it can.

Post-18k lethargy settles in because you say “hey, I’ve already run 18k. I can eat, sleep, or do whatever I want. 18k, baby!”

But that’s not true. The exercise is there to enhance your life, not… own it. Or something.

So I need to find the balance between post-exercise satisfaction and laziness. Because it would be real easy to spend a day with video games and comic books and sparkling water. But stuff’s gotta get done, post-18k lethargy or not.

So I’m trying to figure out post-run fatigue. There must be ways to keep my energy up, or restore it, after a long run. Naps are probably a good idea… it’s just kind of weird to me to nap before noon. Naps are an early afternoon thing, to my thinking.

So maybe it’s power through the morning and do some house stuff… food projects, laundry, audio editing — then grab an hour of sleep after lunch, and see how the afternoon treats me.

Post-18k lethargy will soon be post-half-marathon lethargy. If all goes well. I need to start thinking ahead to winter runs… I’d love to keep this up year round, if I can find a way to beat the ice when the weather turns. The idea of a half-marathon on Sundays every few weeks sounds really good to me, if I can get to that level and sustain it.