BASS PRO MIDWEEK MOTIVATION - Now What?

Hello runner friends!

Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series

MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog!

Now let's get started by talking about a question that many runners who crossed the Bass Pro finish line on Sunday are asking today.. "What now? Now that I've reached my goal, what's next?" These are legitimate questions when you stop and think about what your life has been like for the past several months. Training (and everything that goes along with it) has been a high priority and your body has been flooded with feel-good chemicals. You now have lots of free time and are coming down from the "high" of  achieving your desired aim and result. So what do you do? 

As a longtime runner, this is a question I had to answer for myself many years ago after completing my first 26.2 mile race. I was riding "high" for a few days and then a cloud of depression started to make its way in. I remember thinking to myself, "What's going on here? Why am I feeling down?" And then it dawned on me. My dream of finishing a marathon had led me to embark on six months of intense training that had changed the way I was living. I went to bed earlier, I ate better, I developed better time-management strategies, and I spent more time with friends who would help me reach my goal. So, as you can imagine, I was left with sense of being lost after I crossed the finish line—a feeling I named PMDD (Post Marathon Depression Disorder).

Thankfully, though, PMDD has a cure and I was glad I found it! And the cure was to find another goal and then to work towards it. For me, it was to sign up for another marathon. Once I registered and started a new training cycle, the fog lifted and I was back in business! That being said, as a runner and running coach, this "disorder" is something I like to warn runners about so they, like me, aren't left wondering why they might be feeling down days after crossing the finish line. 

Which is one of the reasons I love pacing the Bass Pro Marathon so much. The vast majority of those who join our pace group (Jody Rhoades, pictured above with me, has been my longtime co-pacer) are first timers. Which means Jody and I not only get the blessing of encouraging them to finish but have the opportunity to pass on recovery tips as well. This was something we did with Callie Baxley and the two other first-timers in her group. Jody and I came upon them at mile 24 as they were walking. As we neared, we yelled, "Come and join us!" When they said they just didn't have anything left in the tank, we assured them that they did--they only needed some motivation to bring it out. And sure enough they followed us, enjoying the walk/run intervals we were doing, and had a great time over the course of the next two miles before we kicked them out of the nest and told them to sprint to the finish line. 

Before they went on their way, though, I told them that they should all sign up for another marathon soon (and for next year's BP Marathon as soon as registration opened back up as well) so they could avoid the dreaded PMDD. To that, they all said, "No way!" Laughing, I said, "I will personally lay down a Benjamin right now betting that at least one of you will run another marathon." Boy did we all have a laugh over that one!!! I also told them to, in anticipation that I would be proven correct, write down everything they did right, what went wrong, and how they could have a better experience WHEN (not if) they ran their next marathon. 

I was laughing once again when I received a DM from Callie early Monday morning that read: 

Okay, I don’t know if you remember me but you picked me up at mile 24 of the marathon yesterday. You got me through that race and I’m so thankful for you and Jody! You guys were so fun and really are the reason I finished that race in the time I did. I’m sitting at work talking with my friend that did the full as well with me and we are already like okay we did all these things wrong…. We need to do another one the right way and are very intrigued by your pacing strategy. Was wondering what exactly you did for the pacing because our 5 minute running 1 minute walking made us hit a wall at 18 miles. Hasn’t even been 24 hours and already thinking what I could have done differently and rolling my eyes at myself thinking about you saying “I’d put a Benjamin down that one of you will do another one” and I was like absolutely not. 

My response? "Oh my goodness I totally remember you! This made me laugh!! we were so meant to run into you and your gang. What fun we had!! And I knew I would win that bet on the Benjamins lol”

After chatting some more, Callie said, "For my new goal I would say I learned a lot through my first marathon! There’s lots of things I would do differently. I would change up my training a bit. I didn’t do any strength training and I think that was part of the reason my legs were as sore as they were. I’d incorporate more strength training on my legs with the running. As far as the marathon itself I love the pacing strategy you and Jody used. I would like to try that strategy from the beginning. Your energy, enthusiasm and just the pace you used from the beginning I think could help me a lot for next years bass pro marathon and hopefully keep me from hitting that wall I hit at mile 16. Honestly I would love to just run with you guys the whole time. Then if I have anything left in the tank at the end take off." 

Do you just love that or what? Did you notice that Callie is already geared up for next years Bass Pro Marathon? And I have no doubt that she will use what she's learned from this years BP Marathon (and will learn from the races she will do before the 2026 event) to help her finish with less pain. And I do hope she will join our pace group next year! I told her that she could stay with us until mile 25.5 and then Jody and I would kick her out of the nest again so she could sprint down the finish line! Funny right? Speaking of funny, check out Callie's video documenting her experience. As she said in her post, "Enjoy this little video clip — one for each mile. You can literally watch the giggles and smiles fade as the race went on. Let’s not do that again… lol." 

And there you have it friends. Whether you completed the 5k, the Half Marathon or the Full Marathon on Sunday, I hope you'll make a new goal and begin to work towards it. You'll not only keep the upward spiral of fitness going, you'll avoid the pitfalls of falling into a running rut and staying there. So, get moving this week and get signed up for another event.... And, of course, be on the lookout for when the 2026 event registration opens up and get registered! Happy Running!