I had heard and read about this thing that supposedly happens to triathletes after they finish an Ironman called Post IronMan Depression or PIMD.

There is suppose to be this big let down afterwards. I mean you’ve trained you’re butt off for close to one year, foregoing all relationships and forgetting about sleeping in until 7:00 on the weekends.

You’re constantly on the go either working or training. You’re life becomes defined by the last big workout you did and competing in an Ironman.

The let down can be huge, leading to depression. Next can come lethargy and the inability to motivate for any type of workout. And heck, while you’re at it, all those delicious foods you abstained from while training, you might as well start enjoying again.

And so the cycle begins…depression, no exercise, bad food choices…and then more depression.

PIMD - Say it ain't so!

So what’s a (newly) ordained Ironman to do?

I don’t know about anybody else but I can tell you what I’ve done to stave off  PIMD.  I gave myself some goals…..

1.  Sign up for next seasons Ironman.  About 3 months before Ironman Cozumel, I signed up for my second IM.  Not knowing if I would actually like this Ironman stuff, but pretty sure I was going to….

2.  Lose some FAT.  After training for a year, and never having the opportunity to restrict calories to reduce my weight in fat…Two weeks post IM I have begun a “diet” to drop fat during this down time.  After consulting with my sports nutritionist and coach, it was unannomous that this would be my only opportunity to do this.

3.  Embrace and Enjoy a month of no serious/planned training.  Since I had decided to restrict calories and now was the best time to relax on my training plan- I have opted to enjoy my friends, movies, sleeping in until 7:00 on the weekends, no 5:00 am Masters swims….you get the picture.  I just wake up and do a half to full hour of  WHATEVER I WANT!  How fun is that!  And the key here…is 6 days a week I do some type of exercise.

4.  Plan an early season Race. Get your first race of the season on the calendar.  I am kicking off 2010 with Rage Long Course Triathlon.  They will have two qualifiying spots per age group for the Worlds Long Course Team.  Now this is movitating me tremendously!  I am motivated to stay motivate!  I am motivated to lose fat!  I am motivated to kick butt when I get back to serious training in January…..You get the picture.

5. Try a New Sport- or get back to an Old Favorite.  I was an avid rock climber for 15 years, many years ago.  I say that climbing is my first love yet I haven’t taken time to climb in about 7 years.  So, in this down time I have dusted off my climbing harness and shoes and gotten out to the climbing gym.  It’s great cross training and I’m hoping to keep it in my training plan once January rolls around.

I have been able to stave off PIMD.  I’m over 3 weeks post Ironman and have not felt depressed nor unmotivate.  Actually, I am really looking forward to January 1st and getting back into serious training.  I have embraced this month off and looked for ways to use this time to my advantage…plus having the goal of qualifiying for Worlds is really, really motivating me!!!!

Don’t know if this will help anyone, but I hope it can….I know this game plan has kept me positive and hopefully lighter at the end of it all!

In the past 5 days I have been to 2 celebrations for women who have completed Ironman Arizona and Cozumel.  

You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It Too!

First up was a potluck at Bine’s house for 9 of us.  I had not meet all these women before but had become friends with them through Facebook.  It was fun to follow their endeavours as we trained our tails off in preparation for our big days!

 Everyone but me had competed at Ironman Arizona the week before my race so I had the chance to track them while they were racing.  It was so exciting to track all of them on that day!  I had a blast….and it also gave me quit a bit of nerves! 

The party was fantastic and hearing everyone’s stories of what the day was like for them was so cool.  Especially since it was all of our first times.   As we took our picture I was so overwhelmed with awe at how courageous all 9 of us were.  We had ALL just competed  in our first IRONMAN!  How amazing is that?  All these Ironman Goddesses!  I looked at each one of these new triathlon sisters and was inspired and in awe of each one of them.  To have 9 women, all in one room, who had just finished their first Ironman!  Friggin AWESOME and empowering!

9 Ironman Goddesses

The potluck food kinda cracked me up…..the meals that people brought to share where still as healthy as we all had become accustomed to eating….and then there was the cake and ice cream. And for the first time in months we were all able to enjoy dessert without worrying how it would affect our next days workout!  AHHHHH….the simple pleasures!  I had a marvelous night with everyone who was there!

What A Spread

Next I was invited to another friends house who I have become friends with at Masters Swimming.  She had introduced me to Christy who also did Ironman Cozumel.  Although Christy and I didn’t hang out much leading up to IMCZ we kept track of each other on Facebook. 

Christy and I ran into each other before the race and many times during the race.  I always enjoyed seeing her smiling face throughout the day….So it was especially nice to sit down to dinner with her and talk about the race we both did!  I hadn’t talked to anyone else yet who had done IMCZ and it was such a treat to share our stories of the day and the race and to know exactly what we were both talking about!

Basking in the Glow- post IMCZ

I must say I had a great time basking in the glow of my Post Ironman achievement!  I always get so excited when I get the chance to talk about my day and experience.  And to have so many wonderful strong women in my life who all have that same expeience of finishing and Ironman is such an honor!