No, you don’t.
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Well this post is timely. Had my first race of the season yesterday. Actually did really well. It was a C event so mostly just an early season crit to get back into it and used to moving around a pack and race tactics. Went in with no results goals, just wanted to move around the pack, work on positioning, cornering, etc. And I ended up with a top 10. Which is amazing seeing as I just finished a big build block with a hard VO2 workout on Friday. All of this to say that I should be over the moon with how I’m coming into the season. But I’m just down.
To put it a little more in context, this isn’t a new feeling. I’ve gotten these almost depression like symptoms after races. Like, when you say exercise releases endorphins and you should feel happy after exercise, I feel the opposite. I feel hopeless and despair. Like I just want to go crawl into a dark hole and not interact with anybody. I’ve quit stage races mid-race in the past because after a hard stage, I “quit cycling” and give up riding for days at a time. And it’s not results based or anything tied to the race. It’s like I’m a different person and I just have zero interest in cycling or any other hobby or anything. The only thing I feel like doing is laying in bed under my blanket. I’ve called in sick to work the next day sometimes it’s so bad. And I’ve never had these feelings or thoughts at other points in my life. It’s weirdly unique to races and/or big hard workouts. Like a paradoxical response to exercise/endorphins. Or my body is shutting down.
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I’m not sure my experience has any relationship to yours, but I have had similar emotions following races and hard workouts and I was pumping myself up for. I’ve found two things that have helped me (not cured me). 1: Consuming a boat load of carbs during workouts and races has actually impacted my emotions following the end of the said workout/race quite significantly. I feel more alive/alert and less depleted. I’m more willing to interact with other people…been a very big help. If I allow myself to get anywhere close to bonking, I become reclusive, question my participation in the sport all together and want nothing to do with anyone. 2: This is more of a “between the ears” type of work, but recognizing that the joy is in the process. Racing means nothing without the preparation. If I focus on the preparation and find more ways to enjoy it, the racing just becomes the cherry on top…I could do or do without.
It’s the 99/1 theory, essentially. 99% of life is about the process, the grind, the highs and lows. 1% is about the actual victories and successes. If my happiness relies solely on the outcomes of events, then 99% of the time I’m going to be a disappointed and ungrateful person. If I put emphasis on finding joy in the day to day, I’m overall a much happier human.
Again, what I’m explaining isn’t apple to apples with what you’re experiencing, but I do feel there are some similarities so I felt like my .02 could be of some worth.
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I also feel basically depressed following a VO2 block. Tons of fatigue can do that to you.
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Totally. Threshold even more so for me. I have be careful with a bunch of high intensity. Endurance work as the opposite effect…
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I also find threshold work far more depleting than VO2 work.
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