Overtrained or Unenthused?

You don’t want to workout, run or even remotely hear the word exscercise. What gives?

While a day here and there isn’t anything to really be too hard one. What do you do when that starts becoming weeks? It can be hard to tell if you are just bored and stuck in a rut or if it goes deeper and you’ve hit the dread overtraining stage.

Never fear, Coach Shelby is here with my type A checklist and quiz!

• Are you in the middle of training for a race or just going off of a big race?

• Are you sore and not feeling like you are physically feeling it?

• Are you extra tired, irritable and overall just “meh”?

• Are you answering these questions while low key eye rolling and calling me a butt head for asking too many questions?

If you said yes to all the above and didn’t even give a pitty chuckle at the last one then chances are you are right in that grey area between the two.

So how do you determine which applies? Ask and answer honestly to the below:

• Have you had more aches and pains lately?

• Are you feeling like EVERY run or workout is a chore?

• Are workouts or runs that usually feel “easy” feeling especially hard and labored?

If THOSE are yes’s then I’d lean more towards the OVERTRAINED mark. While it’s hard to completely know without knowing background, in general overtraining warning sides are lack of motivation, physically feeling labored and overall unwell (mentally counts too). My best advice? Take the break, take the pressure off and just move when it feels good. This isn’t an all out pass to just lounge around:

• Go try a new activity,

• Run or walk a route that you don’t normally because it’s not “ideal” conditions,

• Don’t sign up for any races or challenges that have set goals.

• Just take a step back from the grind and let yourself have the down time.

Now if you don’t fall into the over trained category that doesn’t mean you are off the hook. You, yes YOU, need to get back to having some fun as well.

• Plan a special playlist for your next run or even schedule it with a friend.

• Sign up for a race that seems like it will have cool scenery, a fun twist like a color run or even just a new distance.

• Try branching out to a new running group or friend who may be a little faster than you. While we are only in competition with ourselves some good clean rivalries can put an extra pep in our step and bring us back to out PE days with participation trophies, cold ice pops and sweaty hugs.

• Plan “theme days”. Taking a page out of @funnyrunner26.2 book and choose a different theme for every run or even just for the week. She recently won ALL of the Disney races and is just overall a fun elite follow so if it’s good enough for her, we can do it too!

Reminding ourselves that no matter the physical level we are at none of us are immune to feeling less than enthused. No ones standards stay the same all the time. If that was the case the same elites would win the same races year after year.

Take the break, have the fun and reel back on the pressure. Making yourself feel bad won't do anything other than make you feel crappier than what you already feel. Need some help? Reach out---I offer trouble 1 hr shooting calls where we can go over what your experiencing and work together to try to figure out how you should move forward.

Each call is 1hr and we will go over whatever is troubling you---Motivation, overtraining, just not really sure where to go? Let me help you love the run back!

Email me at info@runningandschmidt.com to schedule some time!