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5 signs you’re racing too much

Some warning signs that you may be overtraining

beer mile

The cheering crowds, the high-fives, the pre-race excitement; these might have you signing up for every race this season that fits into your calendar.  Here, we give you a few warning signs that you may have overcommitted yourself this season.

You don’t have time to taper, or to build.

If you’re running a half marathon distance or longer, allow time in your running calendar to train properly, including building blocks with increasingly challenging workouts and recovery time. You’ll also want to have two to three weeks to taper, or to cut back on distance in order to give your body time to recover for the big day.

You can’t shake fatigue during the day or in workouts.

Finding yourself hitting that snooze button repeatedly? Lingering fatigue can be a sign of overreaching or overtraining. While it’s normal to feel a bit more tired that usual as you enter a challenging training block, persistent tiredness should be something to take note of. If a few extra recovery days doesn’t get some pep back in your step, make some adjustments to your schedule and check in with your physician or a registered dietician.

Tired student girl with glasses sleeping on books in library

You find yourself tempted to push through intense pain to make it to that starting line (or finishing line).

You’ve trained for months, and suddenly some niggling soreness is causing you to question your capabilities. You’re tempted to lace up and run, even when the pain becomes more than just background noise. If the pain you’re feeling is causing you to change your gait, it may be time to check in with a sports doctor or physiotherapist. Similarly, if you’re feeling debilitating pain rather than just muscle soreness after a hard workout, take some time off. Missing one race or taking a few weeks off to tend to an injury is far preferable to missing entire seasons.

You don’t have time for anything else.

Your partner and pets or children haven’t seen you in days, and you can’t remember the last time you stayed awake past the opening credits of a television show. It’s important to maintain downtime, connections with your loved ones and to allow for rest and relaxation in your daily schedule.

You lose that excited feeling about your upcoming event (or events).

If you’ve stopped looking forward to that big race you’ve been training for for months, it’s time for some self-reflection. While a lack of motivation can be a sign of a more significant problem, like overtraining, it can also simply mean you simply need to tinker with your intensity. While runners can recover fairly quickly from 5km or even 10km races, longer distances may need significant recovery periods. Having only one or two key longer races in a season is ideal. Consider following a structured training plan, hiring a coach, or using a less important race as an extra fun long training run.

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