Overtraining. It might be my middle name. Kidding, kind of. I have been running for 20+ years and have had more than 20 injuries, for sure. I bring up the topic because I see it often, I have done it often and I’m working on a race season of staying healthy and training smart. (Pretty sure you are, too)! When most people think of the drawback to overtraining, injury is the first to come to mind. But there are actually some other drawbacks to overtraining you may have experienced or may be experiencing now. Hopefully, you haven’t and are just one of those people who trains smart all the time and your body responds accordingly, but something tells me if you are reading this, then you’ve overtrained or worried you may be about to. (ugh I hate ending sentences in prepositions! But I digress…) Anyhow, the following are other things to consider when you want to push through 8+ days of non stop training….

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If you’re new to running or have never incorporated speed, tempo or fartlek running into your workouts you may be unfamiliar with the running lingo. Since dropping down to 3 runs a week, my coach has me focusing on QUALITY over QUANTITY and on my typical tempo day doing a fartlek run instead. Why??? Because I’m trying to get some of my old speed back (rather than build on the speed I already have like I recommend for others who are actually improving), and fartleks are definitely helpful if you are stagnant or getting slower.READ MORE