Overtraining is a trap to which many runners – experienced and newbie – easily fall prey.
Many runners have the mistaken belief that if they’re running under 20 miles a week, or their long runs never exceed 5 miles that overtraining is not even a possibility. Nothing could be further from the truth. Overtraining occurs in athletes of all experience and fitness levels and can have a devastating impact on training, the ability to achieve your goals and, most importantly, your overall health.
So, what exactly is “overtraining syndrome” and how do you avoid it?
Identification
You might think that the signs of overtraining would be easy to identify, but this isn’t so. Most serious runners, especially when training for a marathon or other demanding race, will experience symptoms that look like overtraining as they extend beyond their normal ability in an effort to adapt and improve over progressively longer distances or improved pace.
Keep in mind that overtraining is not symptomatic of increasingly harder workouts; it’s symptomatic of an imbalance in the fundamental equation of training:
Proper Training = Workout + Adequate Recovery
In other words, overtraining may not be a problem of too much training, but of too little rest! Without proper recovery time, even lower-intensity workouts can result in overtraining syndrome.
So how do you know if you are overtraining?
7 Signs you May Be Crossing the Line
As you cross over from normal training discomforts into the first stage of overtraining you may experience one or more of these symptoms:
- Intense fatigue
- Elevated heart rate – especially upon waking
- Craving of sweets, constant hunger
- Severe Irritability – especially after a workout
- Slight dizziness upon standing
- Changes in your menstrual cycle
- Injury
In he beginning stages of overtraining, it’s hard for many of us to admit that there is anything wrong. In fact, many runners experiencing these symptoms will have a tendency to push themselves even harder. This is a bad move.
Persisting in a too-aggressive training schedule is ultimately going to affect your performance and symptoms will become more intense…and possibly lead to a season-threatening injury.
You’ve Crossed Over Into Overtraining
Unchecked, symptoms of overtraining become more pronounced and include:
- Susceptibility to colds, headache, and infections; allergies or asthma are exacerbated
- Very heavy legs that persist longer than usual™ after a hard workout or race.
- Resting heart rate is high – 5-10 beats higher than usual
- Heart rate during exercise is higher than normal
- Your normally comfortable pace leaves you breathless
- Persistent lack of appetite
- Difficulty sleeping or restless sleep/wakefulness
- Lack of enthusiasm for running
- Very low energy, hard to get out of bed in the morning
- Irritability and persistent bad mood or depression
Prevention – Early Detection is Key
The key to dealing with overtraining syndrome is to get very good at tracking how you feel throughout the week.
Jack Raglin, a researcher in sports psychology at Indiana University suggests that monitoring your psychological state may be an even better determinate in identifying overtraining symptoms than physical factors. According to Raglin, “Changes in demeanor are an early sign of overtraining, so if a runner recognizes this symptom, she can adjust her training to prevent physical damage.”
It’s interesting to note here that the great Grete Waitz credited the consistency in her running career to her ability to detect the early emotional signs of overtraining. She wrote,
“I judge my fatigue more by my moods. If it’s hard to sleep or I am cranky, impatient or annoyed, I am probably overtraining. In my case, my family and friends often know I am overtraining even before I do. When I begin to snap at Jack (her husband), he knows it is time to analyze my training and probably cut back.”
To help monitor your moods, keep track of how you feel in your training log. Alternatively, ask your running partner, BFF or spouse to give you feedback on how you seem to them. Irritability during increasing training intensity is normal – but it shouldn’t last for more than a day or two.
Raglin actually developed a questionnaire to help prevent overtraining. Take this quiz once a week to see if you have crossed the line from hard training to overtraining syndrome. A score of 40 or more means rest more, run less. A score of 15 or less suggests you’re balancing your training well.
The Raglin Overtraining Test
1) How is your mood today?
Very, very good (-2 points)
Very good (-1 point)
Good (0 points)
Average (1 point)
Bad (3 points)
Very bad (5 points)
Very, very bad (7 points)
2) How many hours did you sleep last night?
More than nine (-1 point)
Eight or nine (0 points)
Seven (1 point)
Five to six (3 points)
Less than five (5 points)
3) Last night I slept:
Same as normal (0 points)
One hour more than normal (1 point)
Two or more hours more than normal (3 points)
One hour less than normal (1 point)
Two hours less than normal (3 points)
Three or more hours less than normal (5 points)
4) Have you been sick the past week?
Yes (5 points)
No (0 points)
5) How would you rate yesterday's workout?
Very, very easy (-3 points)
Very easy (-1 point)
Easy (0 points)
Average (1 point)
Hard (3 points)
Very hard (5 points)
Very, very hard (7 points)
6) How do your muscles feel?
Very, very good (-3 points)
Very good (-1 point)
Good (0 points)
Tender, but not sore (1 point)
Sore (3 points)
Very sore (5 points)
Very, very sore (7 points)
7) Do your legs feel "heavy"?
No (0 points)
A little (1 point)
Somewhat (3 points)
Very (7 points)
Treatment
OK, so http://www.runtex.com/web/1-2295.asp what do you do if it’s pretty clear that you’re overtraining? Give up your goals? Abandon your training regimen? Not at all! What you’ve got to do is get real with yourself; and that means adjusting your training AND your life.
If you find yourself experiencing overtraining symptoms, cut yourself some slack and do the following:
- Forego the tempo or speed workouts for a week and take an extra day of full rest. Do this periodically if necessary.
- Take a good hard look at your schedule. Are you running a lot of “junk miles”? Numerous studies have shown that additional rest can actually improve performance. Cut back on weekly mileage 10-30% and monitor how you feel.
- If you incorporate racing as part of your training, cut back on the number of races you have planned.
- If you are experiencing injury, follow the prescribed method of treatment and allow ample time for full recovery before hitting the road again. It’s hard, I know.
- Hydrate sufficiently, eat a good breakfast, and properly fuel with whole foods and healthy, frequent snacks.
- Get ample sleep (8-9 hours) during heavy training.
Sound simple? Here’s the harder part. You are human and you have a life outside of running. Handling work, the kids’ activities and social obligations all put emotional stress on a runner’s life. It may be that your book club or poker night has got to go so that you can turn in early.
Women’s lives are stressful enough. Have the same commitment towards recovery as you have towards your training. It’s just as important – and can make a HUGE positive difference in your performance – and in the prevention of overtraining syndrome.
