Know when to back off in training with these telltale signs
It's important to know when to back off in training, however hard it may be in the moment. Here are some signs you can look out for...
WEEKLY WISDOM: SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES
WE CAN BE VERY STUBBORN PEOPLE
Oftentimes, we as runners make the mistake of going deep into training with little to no variance from the plan, despite what our bodies may tell us along the way. We think that any deviation from the plan is a sign of weakness and/or that we’ve messed up the training. For users of running media (like Strava), this ignorance may be exacerbated by worrying about how we come off to our followers and/or how our training looks at the end of the week (e.g., how our mileage chart looks). We may have thoughts like “If I don’t do this workout, then I’m not going to look good on Strava,” or “I have to run X miles today or else I won’t hit Y miles for the week and my mileage chart will be messed up.” Because of these contributing factors, we often ignore our bodies’ warnings and push onward, putting ourselves at a much higher risk of injury in the process. Make this mistake once and you’ll probably be fine, but do this repeatedly and you may find yourself in a deep hole which could take a while to climb out of. I myself have fallen prey to this, resulting in many of the injuries that I’ve faced during my time as a competitive runner. If I had to guess, probably 75-80% of my injuries can be attributed to this often-detrimental type A stubbornness. If I’d just consistently listened to my body and taken the necessary time off to heal, that percentage would likely be MUCH lower and I’d be able to train much more consistently, seeing more improvement as a result.
SIGNS TO CHILL OUT
So, I’ve gone on a personally-relevant tangent there that may or may not be relevant to you, but you probably all want to hear what those warning signs to pay attention to are…
Extended fatigue/soreness
If you’ve been feeling overly fatigued/sore for an extended period of time, say a week or more, that probably means you’ve cooked yourself a bit and need to back off/decrease training load to get back to a good spot physically.
Mental exhaustion; little to no motivation to train
If you’ve repeatedly felt mentally drained and/or it becomes hard to get out the door for runs, you’re probably mentally burnt out and need some time to mentally reset before returning to full-on training. This post here talks more about burnout so check this one out after reading this post:
Consistently rough runs
If it’s becoming really hard to dial in on and/or hit planned paces/times in workouts, you’re probably physically cooked.
If paces you normally hit feel much more difficult in easy runs and/or long runs, you’re probably physically gassed.
In both workouts and non-workouts alike, a telltale sign is if you feel like your legs have no pop/snap and/or feel like jello/bricks. Furthermore, physiological indicators would be if your heart rate is abnormally high during runs, it takes longer to return to resting heart rate post-run, and/or your HRV is low.1
Weird (or familiar) aches/pains
If you’re feeling aches/pains in areas you’ve rarely (if ever) experienced issues before, then you’ve probably pushed your body a bit too hard in training and need to back off for some time. Similarly, this goes for aches/pains in areas of previous injuries, too.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I BACK OFF?
Ultimately, knowing how much to back off will come down to your individual situation and the severity of the sign(s) you’re experiencing. This could look like a variety of adjustments: going from two workouts a week to one (or three to two or one to zero or whatever), decreasing the intensity/duration of one or multiple upcoming workouts, dropping all workouts and sticking to short and easy mileages, doing zero running for some amount of time, etc. I wish I could tell you one solidified answer but, unfortunately, the answer to questions like this one is most often “It depends.” This is where I see a lot of value in having others to go to, such as a physical therapist or coach, who can guide you to the right decision.
WHEN SHOULD I RETURN TO FULL-ON TRAINING?
A good rule of thumb is to return to full-on training once you no longer feel the original symptoms for two to three days straight. I suggest this two to three day buffer because although the sign(s) may no longer be felt initially, that doesn’t mean your body has completely healed itself. Giving your body an extra day or two to seal the deal is a safe and smart bet. Furthermore, I’d advise against going right into workouts of a similar intensity/duration from before the back-off period. Rather, test the body out with some lighter strides (e.g., 4-6x20-second progressive strides reaching ~3k effort) and/or hill sprints (e.g., 4-6x15” hill sprints at ~95% effort on 90-second cycles) to start. If the body responds well to that smaller stimulus, do one or two lighter workouts to ease into things. If those go well, then you’re well-positioned to return to workouts of a similar intensity/duration from before and build from there.
If you have further questions, please ask me of course! See my contact information at the bottom of this post; I would love to help.
Also, sorry about the lack of posts the last couple of weeks. To be honest, I was on vacation and not in the mood to write anything (lol). I’ll be returning to the bi-weekly schedule going forward.
Next up on All Things Running… Funnel periodization: A high-success modern training approach.
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If you want personalized coaching and/or training advice, I’d be happy to help. You can email me at jacobreesmontgomery@gmail.com or send me a direct message on Instagram.
One athlete I coach, Patrick Lister, actually uses a finger monitor to capture his HRV, or heart rate variability, every morning before starting his day. This is one tool he uses, alongside how he’s feeling personally, to gauge how recovered he is from day to day.