Forums >General Running>How do you deal with 'burn out'?
uncontrollable
I am assuming that is what I am dealing with at the moment. Only probably really felt like this once before, years ago, when I was training 'ad lib' for a marathon. I have no injury. It is mostly my lack of motivation or anything even slightly resembling enthusiasm for every run - pretty much the last two weeks.
Over did the pace last week - was on vaca, didn't feel like running as much as I do at home - but feeling 'obligated' to keep my mileage at 'acceptable' levels - I pushed pace to end workouts a little quicker while also hoping it would perk up my motivation by 'proving' that I am in decent shape.
Um yeah. So EVERY run this week SUCKED. Didn't do my track workout at all, which is unheard of for me, and my long run was shorter than planned, slower than planned, & downright torture (mentally).
Midweek on an easy run - I called my husband for a ride ... a mere 3 miles from home: unheard of ... he was shocked, I was shocked & completely irritated. Not to mention, the guy I saw running on the way out - comes running by me while I am sitting on the damn ground waiting for my husband - quiet, rural area which you rarely cross anyone else - and the kind "are you OK?" question is posed and I confirm "yes, I'm ok - bad run" while thinking "NO, I AM NOT OK - I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE F IS WRONG WITH ME AND I ALREADY FEEL LIKE A TOTAL LOSER WHICH WAS JUST MAGNIFIED BY HAVING YOU SEE ME SITTING HERE LIKE A FRIGGIN OUT OF SHAPE SLUG!"
So, I am 6 weeks out from my marathon and feeling really discouraged and confused by this sudden lack of motivation.
Hoping someone has some feedback either from personal experience or is familiar with this kind of thing.
Thanks!
peace
Feeling the growl again
Take a day off and do something fun...perhaps something you would normally not allow yourself to do when training for a marathon. Forget about the stupid marathon.
Then run two days at a ridiculously easy pace. Perhaps call up a friend too slow for you to normally run with and join them for a run at their conversational pace.
Then pick up your normal easy pace for another couple days....then jump back in where you left off. See if that brings the spark back. The mind often knows something your body hasn't gotten around to telling you yet. Nip it in the bud.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
You dish good advice. Thx.
Dead legs and fatigue even on short 30-40 min runs are common if I push the pace on too many workouts in a week. The post vacation tiredness is probably no help either, we don't realize how tiring fun vacations can be until the following week.
I don't remember the thread, but I think Nobby suggested a longish run at a easy pace can help to snap out of the dead legs syndrome, if that is a cause of your burnout.
There is physical burnout
Mental burnout
and sometimes just a low point in training
My suggestion ~ Next time on vacation ~ Get a few runs in and take a training vacation too. I do run on vacation ~ But never to the levels or intensity when not on vacation. I usually end up with 50-70% of mileage (Depending on our activities) and do only 1 workout. Even with this lower activity level my legs are usually pretty shot by the end of the week ... Why? Because I do not stay hydrated enough, eat not as good and drink a fair amount of vacations. Plus we are active - Usually boatig a lot + other stuff I am not use to doing.
So the cut-back vacation week usually takes me a week to recover from.
I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock
Dead legs and fatigue even on short 30-40 min runs are common if I push the pace on too many workouts in a week. The post vacation tiredness is probably no help either, we don't realize how tiring fun vacations can be until the following week. I don't remember the thread, but I think Nobby suggested a longish run at a easy pace can help to snap out of the dead legs syndrome, if that is a cause of your burnout.
+1
How do I deal with "burnout"?
nice & easy trail run or hike or maybe kayak
Why is it sideways?
I'll just echo the good points made here. I am the same way as flatlander--when on vacation, I never run well. Runners thrive on habit, and I think basically you are just exhausted.
Most runners do not pay enough attention to recovery in training. When we are training hard, we have a tendency to train too hard. 6 weeks out from your marathon, it is very likely that you have been training too hard and you just need a little bit of a break. Take that break, like others have suggested. I bet you will feel great in a couple of days.
Marathon training, to me, can turn into these 'slogfests' that just go on and on and on. I find my fun in racing shorter distance races from middle distance track races to 5K/10K/10mile road races quite often. I look forward to them and it makes the hard training worthwhile when you get results from races and swapping war stories after the races. When I was younger I used to race only once or maybe twice a year (both were marathons) and I knew hardly anyone in the running community. I remember it being so difficult to get myself out there day after day. I just got slower and slower and was running less and less until I started meeting other runners, having fun and racing. It might not be optimal training but I'm not burning out. Find something that makes it fun.
Kalsarikännit
It isn't such a bad idea to take your HR in the morning before popping out of bed. It's a nice little ego boost when it starts getting low, and when it starts creeping up it is a pretty clear sign that scaling it back a bit might be a smart plan.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
Options,Account, Forums
Maybe try something else, at least briefly - bicycling, walking, roller-blading, volleyball, ... Maybe absence will make the heart grow fonder.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
Take 2 days completely off. During this time try to get a lot of sleep and make a point to stay hydrated (drink several glasses of water each day).
On the third day do 2 miles @ easy pace followed by 7x150m building strides.
There are many reasons why you might be feeling extraordinarily tired, so try the easy things first (sleep and hydration).
The mind often knows something your body hasn't gotten around to telling you yet. Nip it in the bud.
Agree with Spaniel here. Training too hard usually manifests itself first as a lack of motivation. Look at your log. Have you been training at a high level for a long time?
I had a similar period to you about a month ago, I realized I'd had 3 high (for me 60+) mileage weeks in a row. While no particular run was a disaster there was this slow accumulation of fatigue that was almost imperceptible, to the point where I didn't want to get my shoes on. Took a day off, then as many easy days as I needed (3), and I felt the old spring in my stride come back.
Really make the easy days a game, see how slow you can go without driving yourself completely insane.
an amazing likeness
If only for cathartic reasons, I'll share that I can really empathize with what you're experiencing. I had a period last fall of just zero running mojo. I was running only to have log entries, and every evening's step out the door was the beginning of what felt like a death march. I took a full week off and expected bluebirds would circle me on my first run back after the break....nope. Worse, winter weather started and with it came the always running in the dark routine.
But as to what can be done to push through it, I didn't find anything magical. Just kept focusing on the rewards that come from the runs -- being able to eat more junk, fresh air, and every now and then having fleeting hints at the strength of legs and lungs and feeling like you're doing something that not every can or will. Anyway...I think it has passed. Time seems to have been the biggest help.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.