Symptoms of Overtraining

Last week I wrote about the victory I won over my mind. I was really tired and didn't feel like running, but I pushed myself further than I've gone since I started my Three in Three Challenge. However, in hindsight, I think my mind was trying to tell me something… I am guilty of overtraining.

I’ve heard the term “overtraining” in the past, but to be perfectly honest, I really didn’t understand what it meant or how to tell if I was doing it! So I decided to do a little research on the topic. The following is a summary of what I discovered.

Overtraining is "the state where the athlete has been repeatedly stressed by training to the point where rest is no longer adequate to allow for recovery" (Jenkins, 1998). Some of the symptoms of overtraining can include ongoing fatigue, restless sleep, irritability, loss of enthusiasm, and loss of weight. Tim Noakes provides a more comprehensive list, but these are the items that jumped out as issues I've struggled with over the last week or so. I will expand on each.

1. Ongoing Fatigue. It seems over the last couple of weeks I am tired all the time. I noticed tiredness starting a couple of weeks back, after my run with the North Texas Trail Runners. I know the run I did with them was longer than I was scheduled for and in hindsight I think I probably overdid it. I was also mountain biking on my rest days and did an even longer run the following weekend. It seems that I've been tired ever since and haven't been able to get to a point that I feel refreshed.

2. Restless Sleep. I also haven't been sleeping very well. I have been waking up at night and at times have found it difficult to get back to sleep. Usually I sleep like a baby, so this is unusual for me. I am also waking up early in the morning, and instead of just laying in bed, I get up and start my day. I think the restless sleep has contributed to the feeling of ongoing fatigue.

3. Irritability. I am a pretty laid-back person. I don't get to excited about things and not much bothers me. That personality trait works great for my work as a project manager and it helps keep things calm in the home. However, over the last week or so I have found that the smallest of things have been irritating me, both at work and at home. Nothing has really changed in either environment. The only thing that has changed is my increased training and my focus on losing weight (will cover this below).

4. Loss of Enthusiasm. As a laid-back person, my enthusiasm level for just about anything is lower than most, but I do get enthusiastic about the goals that I am pursuing. I am typically excited to go for my run or to talk with others (and writing blog entries) about my goals. But I've seen the enthusiasm dwindle over the last couple of weeks.

5. Loss of Weight. This last one is a little more difficult to evaluate for me because I am actively seeking to lose weight. I mention it here as a warning sign for others. Still, I am also concerned about my own weight loss--not about losing the weight (that's a good thing), but instead about trying to train and lose weight at the same time. I am wondering if my reduced calorie intake to support my diet is contributing to the other four symptoms.

So how do you fix overtraining? Based on my reading, the answer is pretty clear. Stop training! That's not what I really want to hear. But I realize that if I don't let my body recover to the point that it is ready to resume training, the symptoms will continue or even increase in severity. Once the above symptoms pass (excluding the last one), I should be able to resume training. In addition, I am now better equipped to avoid overtraining in the future.

What are your thoughts? Have you experienced these symptoms of overtraining? What other symptoms have you experience? What advice would you give someone with these symptoms?