Walk through the flood waters

Post-race recovery, blues, and refocus.

The big event is done. Goals smashed. Afterglow fading faster than my self-control around food.

The weeks after something like the Ring Of Fire 100km are a weird place to be. For us humble battlers, it’s a mix of fatigue, insatiable hunger, and wandering around aimlessly without a goal. Meanwhile, social media is full of people who did the same race and are already back out there—running further and faster than I can currently comprehend.

My head knows this is normal. That post-event blues are part of the deal.
That when something you’ve obsessed over for months suddenly stops, there’s always a bit of a void.

My head also knows that jumping straight into a new goal is a terrible idea… a proven, repeatable, spectacularly bad idea.
And yet… here we are.

Because despite knowing all that, I still feel like I need to move. Like if I stop, I’ll somehow lose everything—fitness, momentum, identity… all of it. (Spoiler: I won’t. Still doesn’t stop the feeling.)

The Ring Of Fire 100km was the biggest and hardest thing I’ve ever done. And going in, I was ready. Properly ready. No fear, no nerves—just quiet confidence I’d get it done.

I’d dropped 12kg to a weight I hadn’t seen in 30 years. Trained as consistently as I ever have—only 12 days off since January, and that includes rest days. Followed my Squadrun plan religiously, tweaked only when the physio told me to. Ate well. Drank about 80% less beer (arguably the real miracle).

Since the race? I’ve been cooked.
Muscles pulled up great—no injuries beyond a couple of pathetic blisters—but the fatigue has lingered. And my appetite is currently set to infinite.

Week one: walking only.

Week two: a few walks, a couple of jogs, chasing dogs and kids around.

Now I’m at that dangerous point where I know I should rein things in… right after this pie. Maybe. Probably. We’ll see.

I’ve been back to the physio and started easing into the gym—working on Achilles and knees before running properly again. Lots of calf and glute work. Building things up so they don’t fall apart on the next adventure.

A new plan is starting to form in my head… but I’m deliberately keeping it there for now. No rush. No premature commitment. No inevitable crash (hopefully).

Plan for this week:
3 gym sessions
5–6 easy walk/wog/runs with the dog and/or kids

Resist the urge to do something stupid
Watch this space.