Are You Overtraining?

Since I'm relatively new to competitive running, I had no idea that overtraining was a thing in non-pro athletes. I mean how can someone running only 30 miles a week overtrain? Well it's actually a real thing and it can happen. As I learned, it's more about the intensity of the workouts than the mileage. I personally had too many intense "race pace" workouts back to back without letting my body have time to recover, so of course instead of getting faster I crashed and burned. That's why most running plans call for "easy" days after an intense speed session. It's important to run at slower paces to let your body recover. Recovery is key. Luckily I found this out before it was too late and was able to find a great training plan.

So what are some symptoms of training too much or too intensely? Here's a list of some common symptoms. 

1. Constant Fatigue
2. Emotional changes such as moodiness or depression
3. Poor performance including inability to get through a workout 
4. Elevated resting heart-rate
5. Muscle fatigue which includes "heavy legs"
6. More injuries
7. Changes in immune system such as more common colds
8. Running isn't fun for you anymore