Are We Running Too Much?
Of course, many runners are running too much, and this can undo all of our hard work and limit our results.
Pushing our body too much can limit our performance and eventually cause injury and burnout.
Whether we’re training for a 5K race or are training for a long-distance race, we should know if we are running too much and how to detect it before things get worse.
How Much Is Too Much Running?
Though logging the kilometres is efficient, taking it too far can negatively impact our physical and mental health.
The range of too much running depends on our fitness goals and fitness level. It’s not easy to define what is over-running. After all, elite runners will log in endless kms every week.
For example, if we’re chronically sore after a long run, we probably logged in too many kms than we should.
The Signs of Doing Too Much
Overtraining symptoms differ from runner to runner, but the key is to pay attention to our own body and listen to what our body is telling us.
1. You Feel Weak
The most common sign that we’re running too much is physical exhaustion. This is why plantar fasciitis is a common sign of overtraining in the runner. The condition is caused by inflammation due to weakened muscles in the foot.
2. Bad Form
Running more than we should can also impact our running form. We will stop paying attention to proper form since we’re more focused on surviving our distance.
Unfortunately, running with bad form makes us more prone to common injuries such as Achilles tendonitis, ITBS, plantar fasciitis, also our performance is also limited.
3. Chronic Soreness
Chronic soreness refers to any lingering muscular discomfort or pains that won’t disappear after three days or more. This, again, is a sign that we’re running too much.
4. You Feel Sick
Logging in too many kms, which can wear our immunity system and cause our body to become compromised. This sets the stage for all types of common illnesses.
5. You’re Getting Injured
If we are experiencing injuries like runners knee or shin splints, then it might be because we’re running too much. Inflammation, muscle pulls, strains, and stress fractures are common conditions that can occur with too much exercise.
6. You Feel Tired
A decrease in running performance is one of the clearest and earliest signs of overload.
Just like getting weak, another side effect of overtraining is the relentless weight of fatigue following us around.
We feel sleepy, are in constant need of coffee, we have drained all of our energy, and we will need to wait a while.
7. Appetite Changes
Running does our appetite good, but doing too much can cause hormonal imbalances that impact how hungry or full we feel. This can cause chronic fatigue, increased or decreased appetite, and weight fluctuations.
8. You Feel Moody
Again, running can give our endorphins a boost at the right dose, it can trigger a positive response.
However, running too much, these good-feel chemicals get outperformed by fatigue resulting from overtraining. Confusion, anger, depression, irritability, anxiety are common when we overstress our body.
9. Bad Sleep
If we’re having trouble sleeping through the night, it might be a sign that we are running too much.
Just like other unwanted side effects of overtraining, this can be caused by changes in hormones that make it harder to relax.
Sleep plays a major role in recovery, and if we’re running too much, the quality of sleep can be compromised by the extra stress and not enough downtime.
That is a common side effect from running and Ultra, especially 100K. Usually, the first night we can’t sleep more than a couple of hours.
10. Increased Heart Rate
Our heart rate can say a lot about our current fitness and health levels. For example, an increase of heart rate could indicate that we are dealing with an unusual amount of stress.
An increase in heart rate, from 55 to 68 beats per minute, usually signals our body struggling to recover.
Conclusion
If we’re experiencing more than one symptom, it might be time to take a break from training and let our body catch up. The break could be for three days, a week, or two.
It’s really up to our body type and how fast our body can recover.
During our downtime, we should focus on sleeping well, eating a nutritious diet, and doing plenty of stretching and foam rolling work to maintain proper muscular and mobility health.
Recommendation
We should also mix up our running routine. As a rule, our runs should vary from day to day. We shouldn’t be performing a quality session or speedwork every day.
Run The Perfect Training Distances, Not Too Much, But Enough to Feel Good, Strong And A Great Runner!
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