After the marathon

There’s no real primer out there for how to recover after a blogathon, so I looked up the next best thing. I don’t know if an actual marathon is the best analogy, because after I ran Rock and Roll in 2001 I hobbled home, hung my shoes up and swore NEVER AGAIN. But much of it is still applicable: rest, take it easy, don’t jump right on into another race, etc. But then I saw this:

The Day After the Race

Post race depression is quite common. You usually feel a real “high” after finishing especially if you’ve done well and can talk to other runners and share experiences. The next morning the fatigue and soreness may make you wonder if the marathon was worth it. This letdown is a normal response to meeting your goal and not having a new one. Don’t make any plans or predictions until the end of the week. Take time to assess your performance, see if you followed your plan and write down both the good and the bad things that happened. Review your training diary to see what worked well for you and try to pick out any mistakes.

Well, that’s not a problem here. I actually feel great! Thanks to you all the Bradyn Brigade exceeded last year’s fundraising- as of 8 pm on Sunday we raised $2400 for Bradyn! And with some other contributions that may be coming in, some generous contributions from sponsors and the like, the final total will likely be higher.

The Blogathon total will be EVEN HIGHER than that since we have 4 other bloggers who were fundraising for other causes. I know BZTAT is running an auction of her paintathon pictures this week, so be sure to check them out and bid!

For me the recovery phase will involve the following:

• Tallying up final totals
• Contacting all the giveaway winners
• Thanking sponsors and contributors
• Organizing the posts

There was so much blogging going on I could barely keep up. I need to organize and create a Table of Contents for all the wonderful guest contributions so they don’t get lost after today, and I also need to create a “Best Of” list from all the blogathon participants. Please feel free (actually, I encourage you!) to list some of your favorite links from the other bloggers in the comments.

This thing was so not mine- it belonged to everyone who helped- I’m talking 20 + writers, painters, cheerleaders, Tweeters, donators, commenters: so I hope you all realize that without you, this wouldn’t have happened and it would just be me talking to myself. I actually had more guest posts than posts by me this time- which was great, as it gave me more time to try and do the cat litter extravaganza and get all the giveaways together.

So bear with me as the wind-down happens this week- I probably won’t be back to the normal Brody, Koa and Apollo adventures for another week or so while I make sure this is properly concluded.