How to Identify and Recover From Overtraining Syndrome

Marathon runners—and runners in general—typically get hurt because they violate the rule of too’s: too much, too quickly, too intensely. In other words, these injuries are the result of overtraining. With runners’ peak mileage hitting when they are in the middle of training for spring races or those big fall events, the body, if not trained properly, can start to break down for a variety of reasons.

There’s a fine line in endurance sports between achieving maximum fitness and going overboard.

We all want a good result, and we ride the edge to get that result. But when we go overboard, we can end up with overtraining syndrome, a surprisingly common condition characterized by diminished performance. It mostly shows up in three key areas—mental, hormonal, and physical—and the tricky part is: You might not even realize you have it. Follow this guide to get a sense for what overtraining syndrome is, its main telltale signs, and what to do to get back on your feet quickly.

Master the Half mileage and/or intensity too quickly. You may not be refueling with enough calories to optimally recover for the next training run. It could also be that you’re not getting enough rest or sleep to allow adequate recovery. It could very well be a combination of all of these variables that is pulling you down rather than improving your performance.

If you're experiencing these symptoms, chances are you're overtraining:

• You feel consistently tired all day long. You struggle to get motivated to run and feel tired at the end of your runs.
• You have persistent.
• Your resting pulse is higher than normal for more than a few days. (It helps to have an average resting heart rate in your log so you can compare.
  
• Why Its Going to Be Harder to Get into Boston aches, You have persistent.
• You have gotten sick (cold, flu, etc.) or have had symptoms of an illness (elevated temperature, congestion, coughing) regularly and more than normal.

Master the Half burnout. A runner who puts so much stress on themself (think: poor sleep quality, caloric deficiency, and increased anxiety about an upcoming race) will feel spent. Mental fatigue is often overlooked, but it is an important part of training. A tired mind goes hand in hand with a tired body. When the energy is low, breakdown and injuries occur.

Beat burnout: To prevent mental burnout from getting the best of you, mind your mind. Get more sleep during long-mileage weeks—resting is when your mind and body have time to heal. Schedule activities that are relaxing, such as getting a massage or taking a “me” day. It’s okay to give yourself license to ease up. Skipping a long run to sleep in is more helpful than pushing yourself and ignoring your body’s cues.

Your body is a finely tuned machine. Hormones, produced by various glands, are responsible for maintaining homeostasis, the body’s delicate balance that controls many of our daily functions, from sleep cycles to hunger cues. When overtraining hits, the hormones get out of whack, some being produced too much and others not enough. This ends up causing problems including decreased immunity and abnormal hunger responses and cravings. It can even cause amenorrhea, Deal with injuries.

Stay ahead of hormonal changes: If you suspect a hormonal imbalance from possible overtraining syndrome, it’s time to talk to your doctor and maybe see a sports nutritionist. Your doc can perform blood tests to check for hormonal irregularities and iron levels that give clues for a diagnosis. The most common issues are nutritional—like not taking in enough calories for athletic expenditure—and can be fixed with a smart nutrition plan.

The most obvious component of overtraining is physical injury. Runners limp into a doctor’s office with injuries that worsen with higher mileage, including aches and pains in the feet, Achilles tendons, shins, knees, and hips. One of the most common symptoms of overtraining syndrome is stress fractures that can take several months to heal.

As with mental and hormonal overload, physical overtraining means you’re pushing too hard for your body. Remember that a 10-mile run is a different experience for each runner, depending on body type, gait mechanics, and previous injury history. Pain that changes the way you run and alters your gait mechanics needs to be checked out by a doctor. Small aches and pains can quickly turn into more serious problems if they aren’t properly diagnosed.

Deal with injuries: Runners with an injury often freak out about missing days or weeks of training. Our advice: Take a deep breath, do some cross training, and relax. It’s rare that an injury happens during a race—more than 90 percent of running injuries happen in the buildup phase of training—so it’s better to be slightly undertrained and healthy when you toe the line than develop or worsen an injury due to overtraining.

In the end, structured training plans, smart nutrition, and reliable gear are all important to runners. But they’ll all mean nothing if you don’t pay careful attention to your body. If the signs of overtraining syndrome are caught early, it’s more likely you’ll be on the starting line of the marathon and not in the doctor’s office.

One of the most common symptoms of overtraining syndrome is

Jordan Metzl is a sports medicine physician in New York City. He’s the author of three bestselling books and the creator of the Ironstrength Workout, a functional fitness program for runners.