Late fall means marathon racing! Congratulations to Ed Wallis and Frank Smith who raced marathons this past weekend!

Dallas Marathon, TX
Ed Wallis – 5:00

Kiawah Island Marathon, SC
Frank Smith – 5:20 – Frank’s wife, Phyllis also ran and finished fourth in her AG! His nephew also raced and finished in an impressive 3:19!

Joan McGue also raced the Phoenix 10K this past weekend and finished in 1:14. She placed 5th in her AG!

Your just finished an Ironman race, 100 mile run or other major objective of the year. Congratulations! You are still flush with endorphins and sense of accomplishment. The first week after the race feels surreal. You may think, wow, did I really just do that? Your mind might replay different segments of the experience as though you are watching a highlight reel in your head. A couple more weeks go by and then something strange happens, you become depressed. Your energy seems to be low, and life just doesn’t seem very interesting. Welcome to post achievement depression.

Post achievement depression is quite common among anyone who has completed a major achievement in life, especially in endurance sports. For months or even years, you have been focused on achieving a specific goal. The goal has captivated your mind because, not only is it physically and mentally hard, it may even be a bit scary, especially in the case of mountaineering or adventure sports. You have been diligent in waking up every day and executing the training. You don’t dare miss a session because you are so focused on this goal. Every waking moment is spent visualizing what it might actually feel and look like to be doing the event or crossing that finish line. You talk enthusiastically about the challenge ahead with others. People seem interested and intrigued by what you are about to attempt. This can really feed the ego and give you an Olympian view of the pedestrian world below.

Suddenly, in what seem like a blink of an eye, it’s over. This can leave the athlete feeling lost, confused and a bit untethered. The world goes on, nothing has changed, you haven’t achieved rock start status. You are just back at work, dealing with day-to-day issues and shopping for groceries. Back to reality.

Post achievement depression is real and it is totally normal. Almost everyone who has worked with singular purpose towards a goal feels like this once the goal is achieved. So, what to do about it?

First, know that this is a normal feeling and it will soon pass with time. Give yourself freedom to train or exercise in an unstructured, fun manner. This will help you find the joy of just being outside as well as letting your body and mind recover from the hard work you have been putting in. This can be a great time to let your mind wonder and daydream about future objectives. Once you have that future objective solidified, commit to it and, boom, you are right back in the saddle again! Signing up for a big race or committing to a big objective to work towards is the easiest way to get over post achievement depression.

Excited to start out this new year with some great running race results!

Kemp Conrad ran a 1-mile race in TN. Running one mile as hard as you can is brutal. Kemp ran an impressive 5:46 and took 1st place in the Grand Masters Division!

Alex Elhilal ran the San Tan 50K trail race in AZ. While not as fast as running one mile, running 50K is brutal in its own way! Alex finished in 7:51 finishing his first ultra marathon!

Have a great weekend and good luck to everyone running the Rock and Roll races in PHX!

Life is so crazy lately, it took one of our first athletes (that’s you, Sue Berliner!) to remind us that we just passed the 20-year mark for opening our coaching business.

No way this would have been possible without the support of our athletes, your word-of-mouth recommendations, and your return trips for coaching, sometimes 5, 10, or 15 years after the first time you signed with us.

I especially love seeing all the friends we’ve made over these past 20 years pass by and wave or chat while I’m coaching on the pool deck. Bill and I have coached you, your children, and sometimes, even your grandchildren! It’s nuts.

But it has been and continues to be an honor and a privilege to serve our endurance sports community. We are so blessed.

Here’s to 2024, and hopefully, many more years of helping all of you achieve your goals, whatever they may be!