Train Smart Race Fast

Tuesday Wake Up with Mariah!

I am tardy again – My sister is the more prompt of the two, can you tell? Let’s dive right in this morning.

The conventional running wisdom is that the more mileage you run, the faster you will be on race day.  In college, most competitive runners put in well over 70 miles a week. That computes to 10 miles a day or more.  College coaches often stress mileage over strength and conditioning or cross-training. My experience in college was no different.  But I am here to tell you that more mileage does not necessarily translate into faster times. Ultimately, running more miles and neglecting strength training can lead to burnout, and even worse, stress-related injuries.  

Like many college runners, I completed all my running workouts. Some days I even went above and beyond by adding a second run to increase my weekly mileage.  In the middle of my first cross-country season, I felt strong and recorded my best times. After the mid-way mark, my times would start to decline. I even developed stress-related injuries like IT band syndrome and plantar fasciitis. By conference time, my immune system was compromised, leading to sickness.

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At first, I thought that my decreasing times were contributed to not running enough miles and taking care of my body. After the cross-country season, I increased my mileage, but my training did not translate into faster track times. The opposite was true.  I ran my fastest time the first track meet and then experienced a rapid decline. Within only a few weeks into the season, I developed mono and had to sit out the remainder of the season. The following year was the same story. I managed to avoid sickness, but still experienced burnout.  

Although a strong aerobic base is essential, doing too much too fast can lead to burnout.  That is precisely what happened to me. I did not have a strong aerobic base coming into my first cross-country season.  In fact, I had taken a three-year break from running. I only had a two-month base, which was not sufficient. My body could not withstand the high-stress interval sessions.  My limited strength training only contributed to my rapid muscle breakdown.

To avoid burnout, I now err on the side of caution.  If my legs feel sluggish or if I experience stagnate times, I allow my body time to rest and recover.  I have also amped up my strength training plan. My enhanced muscle strength increases my capacity to endure the difficult workouts. I have not suffered any major sicknesses and/or injuries for over two years.  My times also continue to improve. I credit my success to my newly-devised training plan.

All in all, if you are a new runner or even a veteran runner, train smart.  Focus on quality training, not quantity training. Add some cross-training and strength-training workouts into your plan.  Listen to your body and know your limitations. If you feel sluggish, give your body time to repair itself. Ultimately, if you avoid the pitfalls that lead to burnout, you will feel stronger and faster come race-day.

Bryanna Adds: Many young female athletes experience stress fractions within their first season of cross country and track in college, and this can be related to their high mileage. Female bodies adapt differently than male bodies to high workloads, thus their workouts shouldn’t be the same, nor their weekly mileage. A sign of over training, is restlessness, decline in fitness (even with the high mileage), burn out, missed periods, weight loss or gain, loss of appetite, chronic cold, other sickness and the always feeling cold feeling (never being able to get warm). Always remember every athlete is different and will respond differently to workouts/training.  

Until Next Time Be Whole and Be Fit

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