Train, Don’t Overtrain
We are all prone to overtraining. We runners think the harder we train, the better we will perform. And there is truth to this, up to a point.
Alberto Salazar told me many years ago, “I ran 110 miles a week for months then ran 2:08 in the marathon. I thought if 110 miles a week got me to 2:08, then if I went to 130 miles a week I could run 2:07 or faster. That didn’t happen. I crossed the borderline between proper training and overtraining. My body broke and my performance really suffered.” His assumption was incorrect. More intensive training served to impair his future performances, not enhance them. So the extra effort was wasted. More training is not always better
There is a time to run and a time to rest. Training is often a test of what runner can get the work/rest balance right with the results only conferred on race day.
What’s tough about overtraining is the runner’s natural response to a series of poor races or workouts is to think that more training is in order. So we train harder and then run worse. And then we interpret our poor results as indictions that we’re undertrained. And so we go out and train even harder, further compounding our downward spiral.
The truth is once you are mildly overtrained, you are already past your best. More work is not needed, but a rest from work. Respect the signals your body is giving you when it’s letting you know you’ve done too much.
Train, don’t overtrain.