Did I overtrain today? (Running)

In My Humble Opinion
21

Zsofia, I still hate running, too. Since I have started running in October, I can count on one hand the times I actually liked it.

  1. Running on the boardwalk in San Diego on a perfect day with surfers and the Pacific Ocean on one side.

  2. Running in Las Vegas on the Strip on a beautiful morning.

Maybe once or twice in the normal times.

But now if I don’t run regularly, I feel off. And I am pretty much sore all the time, though not excessively. I’m working on trying to keep around a ten minute mile, with limited success. If I keep it to under 12, I’m ok. My best for three miles is 36 minutes. But hey, I’m actually doing a 3k a couple of times a week. That in itself is amazing.

Keep trying.

I’m working on getting over the mental hurdle on not relying on the breaks of walking. It’s hard.

22

As far as basic aerobic conditioning is concerned, any activity at roughly the same heart rate will have the same benefit. Swimming and cycling will use a slightly lower HR for the same perceived effort levels.

Calorie burn is appx. the same at similar heart rates. I used to bike as cross- training and I could do about 2.5 miles in the same time as I ran a mile at the same effort. 40cal/per mile bike vs.100 cal/per mile running. (2.5 x 40 =100)

23

I’ve run a bunch of marathons and ultramarathons and helped a lot of people get started in running.

The most important thing you need to keep asking yourself about overtraining is “is this good pain or bad pain?” If you’re experiencing bad pain, joints and such, you need to stop and take some time off.

You’re still in the ramping up stage, and your chances of injuring or hurting yourself are pretty high if you are not careful. Once you reach the point where you are running 30 miles or more week, or can run comfortably for five miles without stopping four or five times a week you’ve turned the corner.

Your body is still getting used to running. Listen to it when it tells you to lighten up. That being said, if you’re feeling good and not experiencing pain or excessive soreness you’re probably not overtraining at this point.

Typically you shouldn’t plan on increasing your weekly mileage by more than 10% a week.

Go for quality over quantity, and listen to your body. I have a Garmin, and I love it, but I don’t let it tell me what to do. You shouldn’t be walking every half mile if you feel good. You shouldn’t be pushing yourself to finish half a mile if you need to walk before that point.

We all have good days and bad days. I’ve been doing my long with the same guy every Sunday for about five years. Some days he kicks my ass, somedays I’m waiting for him at the car for ten minutes before he finishes. You can hurt yourself by trying to adhere to a schedule you’re not ready for, or hold yourself back by adhering to one you’ve outgrown.

I’d say use your training shedule as a guideline, but don’t be married to it.

Your goal should be to feel good. I feel good when I run, a little suffering releases dopamine and I enjoy it while I’m running.

You should seek to run at a pace and distance that lets you work hard and feel good simultaneously.

You should be seeking that zone. When you find it, that’s when you really start to improve and fall in love with the sport.

Good luck!

24

It’s difficult for me to get my heart rate into the same level biking as it is running, simply because around here, we have a hilly terrain. It’s hard to keep your heart rate up if you’re going downhill. If I had a steady 30 minute uphill bike ride, I’m sure I could get my heart rate at or equal to running, but such a thing doesn’t in my area.

I’ve used heart rate monitors and am pretty good at measuring energy expenditure. Running is an extremely efficient workout. That’s why I do it.

And I forgot to mention above - if I’m sufficiently distracted (iPod), it’s usually OK. It’s just not fun, like a bike ride can be.

25

My highly unscientific approach is that if I don’t feel worse in the last 10% than I did in the first 10% then I didn’t overdo it.

26

Ahtena, an efficient alternate workout that I cross train with is a rowing machine.

Also, if ‘it’s hard to keep your heart rate up if you’re going downhill’, maybe try riding in the other direction? Also, change gears and go fast. I can easily get my HR to my running HR on a flat if I’m going 40 km/h.

27

Well, I don’t know. Last Thursday I crapped out and didn’t run. Sunday I did do the 4 mile long run (albeit with walk breaks) essentially with no trouble - I mean, it was hard, but I could do it. But today was 3 miles, and I hauled my ass out of bed at 6 AM before the sun got up, and it was 28 degrees, and I SUCKED. I don’t think I ever managed to run faster than 16 minute miles - it wasn’t my joints, and it wasn’t mental, and it wasn’t that heavy leg thing I’ve gotten on occaision - it’s just that my legs couldn’t do it. I took a shortcut home and only ran probably a mile and a half, maybe a mile and three quarters, not counting the walking (which I started to do a lot of after the first mile.) I mean, yeah, Sunday I ran farther than I’ve ever run in my life, but that’s going to be pretty much every Sunday until May. I just don’t understand why I couldn’t make it work this morning. It was very discouraging.

I didn’t even smile when I saw the tree with the amusingly shaped projection, which is a first. :slight_smile:

28

I find it very hard to run outdoors when it’s below freezing out. It’s hard to breathe, and my lungs start to hurt. It’s also much, much harder for my body/muscles to warm up enough to get a good pace, my legs feel heavy the whole time. Combine that with a 4 mile run, the farthest you’ve ever done on Sunday, and it’s understandable that you’d have trouble.

I also have trouble if I go first thing in the AM, without eating anything. Some people can work out on an empty stomach, right out of bed, but if I do that I drag ass, no matter what exercise I’m doing.

29

I ate a nice big bowl of steel cut oatmeal first, and I was running so slow I didn’t even get out of breath. It’s the only time I’ve run when it’s under 40 or so that my throat hasn’t hurt because of the cold air coming in, because I could breathe through my nose the whole time. My legs did feel oddly stiff, though, which I guess could have been the cold. Usually once I start running I warm up, but this time my hands never quite made it and they hurt in the shower.

30

Zsofia, don’t worry about it. As I mentioned upthread Tuesday is do what you can. You’re still recovering from a big stress on Sunday. As you add mileage on Sunday, your overall fitness will improve and the rest of the week will get easier.

31

Oh I cross train all to hell. Spin bike/run/bicycle/snowshoe/ski/etc etc.

Our terrain here is up & down hilly. So just turning around doesn’t really help; you go up that hill then go down it then up the next hill, etc.

I’m not saying I can’t get a good workout on the bike - I can - but if I just want something quick & effective, running wins hands down. Maybe it’s just because I don’t like it as much as other stuff that it seems to be more effective to me (if I hate it THAT MUCH, it MUST be good for me!)

And really, I don’t hate it THAT MUCH, as long as I have my distractions. Riding the spin bike can be just as dull in a different way.

I think I just don’t much like exercise, but I force myself to do it for the health benefits. As I explained to my husband (who is much more of a jock than I am) - he looks at workouts mainly as play that can occasionally be work, I look at them mainly as work that can occasionally be play.

I’d much prefer it if they’d come out with a pill you could take that would make sitting on the couch & reading as much of a health benefit as a workout.