How to Identify – and Recover From – Overtraining

WE RUNNERS TEND TO BE A LITTLE OBSESSIVE, DOING TOO MUCH, TOO QUICKLY, TOO INTENSELY. HERE’S HOW TO STOP OVERTRAINING BEFORE IT CRIPPLES YOU.

- Dr Jordan D. Metzl

HERE’S SOMETHING TO THINK about this summer: autumn is the busiest time of year in my office. Like clockwork, the phone starts ringing off the hook: “Dr Metzl, I’ve got a twinge, and my marathon is in a month. Please help!” Day after day, the same calls come in.

Why? As my friend Ramon, a running coach, says, “Marathon runners 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 thousands of runners training for big late summer events like Two Oceans and Comrades, peak running mileage hits between spring and mid-summer. After months of pushing ahead, the body, if not trained properly, starts to break down. There’s a fine line in endurance sports between achieving maximum fitness and going overboard.