Running On Empty

LOGGING KAYS AFTER A HARD DAY’S WORK MAY FEEL LIKE A STRESS-RELIEVER – BUT IT COULD BE SABOTAGING YOUR RUN.

- Samantha Lefave

THINK ABOUT THE last time you went for a run. What were you doing before it? Maybe you were waking up from a bad night’s sleep, or you’d just finished an intense project at work, or you’d spent the better part of an hour scrolling through Instagram. Though it may not feel immediately apparent, all of these things are mentally draining, and could be sending your brain’s fuel tank to ‘E’. Worse still, when you lace up for a few kays in this state of mind, research shows that your workout suffers.

A recent review of 11 studies published in the journal Sports Medicine found that when you’re mentally fatigued, your overall performance in endurance workouts and high-performance bouts – like a long run, or hill repeats – is negatively impacted. “We’re not able to continue to focus through the exercise session, because we’re tired from focusing so intensely prior to the workout,” says Angie Fifer, PhD, certified mental performance consultant with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.