I am in the middle of the "run faster" intermediate HM plan. So far I am loving the plan, I like the progressive element to the Long Run, the hills are fun, and the fartlecks are a nice change of pace. The threshold runs are challenging-they suck-but in a good way. I feel 'accomplished' when I complete these runs.

I have two days of easy runs around 6-8 miles each. I am getting very bored and have had a hard time finishing these runs. Part of me wants to think it is because there is no challenge to it, another part of me is worried that I might be putting too much out on the harder days-and I am left tired on the easy/recovery days, another thought is that I am more worried about work (tax season) and feel like I should not be out for an 8 mile recovery/easy run.

So...what say more experienced runners. Am I overtraining? Is it stress from work? Is it boredom? How can you/I tell?

My HR in the mornings is OK. Sleep is good, but could be better. Not sick. My legs do feel tired some days, but I think that is not extraordinary.

I think the company line in these parts is that none of us can ever really approach true over-training with the mileage we do.

If so the company line doesn't understand over-training. Consistently doing more than our fitness level supports and not allowing sufficient recovery can lead to over-training whether you're running 20 mpw or 120 mpw. It's the lack of recovery and growing chronic fatigue that leads to over-training. That can happen at any level.

I think I over trained last summer, most because I didn't slow down--running all the miles, easy or speedwork, way too fast in the heat. By fall when the weather got nicer and most runners got faster, my runs got slower and felt difficult.

I remember SueInTn once said that when your training gets more intense, your easy runs will get slower naturally. Don't fight it. You need to recover well for the hard workouts.

 

I disagree.  Holding at 20mpw is not going to kick someone into "overtraining".  If you hold at 20 mpw, most folks will adjust.  This is why plateauing at certain mileage levels for a little while is goodness... and why insistent adherence to the "10% rule" is bad news. Holding at that level for awhile allows for adjustment and then recovery.

It isn't extending slightly beyond the comfort zone that gets people in trouble, if one is allowed to adjust.  It is continually going beyond that does it.  This is why beginners need to understand that the 10% rule is not really a "rule" and has a darkside.  It isn't about the "level" (the mileage), it is about the slope of the line.  To a point.

 

Most people who declare "overtraining" while running 10-20 mpw aren't.  They need to put in a cut-back week... or plateau for a bit.

 

To be specific, I mean actual "overtraining syndrome".

 

But that's all I will say, except for... this is yet another one of those questions which is better served on the main board.  If yall are going to declare that the party line is shit, it would be a reasonable thing to allow the party to speak up about it.

Hey, great to see you!

I remember a few months ago there was this guy on rw who was saying that overtraining syndrome was something only elite runners ever experienced. He was talking about it like it was some badge of honor and a real sign that you were serious about your running. I don't remember who the poster was, but he sounded like the twin brother of broken radio.

So...what say more experienced runners. Am I overtraining? Is it stress from work? Is it boredom? How can you/I tell?

I'm not an experienced runner, but may I ask what your diet is like? If you're having a hard time getting through these runs, are you running out of steam?

I am in the middle of the "run faster" intermediate HM plan. So far I am loving the plan, I like the progressive element to the Long Run, the hills are fun, and the fartlecks are a nice change of pace. The threshold runs are challenging-they suck-but in a good way. I feel 'accomplished' when I complete these runs.

 

I have two days of easy runs around 6-8 miles each. I am getting very bored and have had a hard time finishing these runs. Part of me wants to think it is because there is no challenge to it, another part of me is worried that I might be putting too much out on the harder days-and I am left tired on the easy/recovery days, another thought is that I am more worried about work (tax season) and feel like I should not be out for an 8 mile recovery/easy run.

 

So...what say more experienced runners. Am I overtraining? Is it stress from work? Is it boredom? How can you/I tell?

 

My HR in the mornings is OK. Sleep is good, but could be better. Not sick. My legs do feel tired some days, but I think that is not extraordinary.

Isn't that why recovery days are in the schedule - to recover? IF you're still tired after your recovery day, then you may be doing too much on your recovery day.

You also may be feeling some pressure to get back to work and it's more of a "should I be out here running" or "should I be working" feeling - guilt complex.

When I was working, I'd work at the lab during the day, go for a run, eat dinner, and start working at home - always feeling pressured by a deadline. (That was also when I was having some AT issues, so not sure which really lead to keeping runs short. Retirement and healthy AT have done wonders for my running.)

 

I disagree.  Holding at 20mpw is not going to kick someone into "overtraining".  If you hold at 20 mpw, most folks will adjust.  This is why plateauing at certain mileage levels for a little while is goodness... and why insistent adherence to the "10% rule" is bad news. Holding at that level for awhile allows for adjustment and then recovery.

It isn't extending slightly beyond the comfort zone that gets people in trouble, if one is allowed to adjust.  It is continually going beyond that does it.  This is why beginners need to understand that the 10% rule is not really a "rule" and has a darkside.  It isn't about the "level" (the mileage), it is about the slope of the line.  To a point.

 

Most people who declare "overtraining" while running 10-20 mpw aren't.  They need to put in a cut-back week... or plateau for a bit.

 

To be specific, I mean actual "overtraining syndrome".

 

But that's all I will say, except for... this is yet another one of those questions which is better served on the main board.  If yall are going to declare that the party line is shit, it would be a reasonable thing to allow the party to speak up about it.

People want to equate overdoing it with overtraining and they are not the same thing.  "Overtraining" is a specific diagnosis and you don't recover from overtraining by taking a couple of days off.  It can take an athlete weeks or even a couple of months to recover from true overtraining.

To the OP, if you are a bit fatigued the day after a hard workout, it just means you did it right.  Too many people, me included, tend to run their hard runs too easy and their easy runs too hard.