The same day I found out that I had a stress fracture after months of marathon training I signed up for my first triathlon. Clearly, I’m someone who thrives on training for an event. I was not always this way, however.
After my first half-marathon in March 2008, I was completely burnt out from training. I followed Hal Higdon’s beginner half-marathon plan religiously. After the race, I was sick of running and was only running 5-15 miles a week. I focused on other exercise routines instead.
Yet, this winter I used Hal’s beginner marathon plan and wanted to pick the next marathon to train for before the race was even over. Obviously this time training was a bigger time commitment and involved A LOT more running – so what was the difference this time around?
Here are some tips I have found helped me avoid training burnout:
- Figure out what YOU like. In the last few years, it seems to have become the “it” thing to run a marathon. That doesn’t mean you have to do it! Maybe you like to bike ride, or swim, or run shorter distances. If you hate what you are doing, burnout is practically inevitable.
- Appreciate what your body can do. A lot of my early training runs took me past Walter Reed Hospital. I would see disabled vets and realize how lucky I was that I CAN run. Now that I’ve been injured for a few months I suspect that I will appreciate this more than ever.
- Cut yourself some slack. Of course with any endurance event, proper training is important to avoid injury and to prepare for a race. However, you don’t need to beat yourself up if you miss a training run. Sure, for marathon training you should hit all your long runs if possible. But if a record-breaking blizzard happens to hit, it’s OK to not train for a few days.
- Be flexible. Life WILL get in the way of your workout plan. It just happens. Be willing to move your training plan around life events (seeing friends, your job, etc).
- Fight boredom. I know, I know – this is easier said than done. Try new playlists and podcasts. Find a workout buddy. Try different routes and trails. Incorporate interval training, strength training and cross-training.
- Fuel properly. During my first half marathon, I was in a place in my life where I was terrified of gaining weight. I never ate enough to recover the calories I was burning and was always tired. Obviously this is no way to treat your body or properly train for a race. Don’t be scared to eat!
- Reward yourself. It takes a lot of discipline to follow a training plan – and you should be proud of yourself for doing so! Let yourself have that glass of wine, or treat yourself to a manicure now and then. (Or a pedicure if you start getting nasty running feet!)
- Visualize crossing the finish line. In the weeks leading up to my marathon I read tons of articles in Runner’s World and on various websites about marathons. I would imagine myself crossing the finish line and almost tear up just thinking about it. I knew it would be an amazing feat and how proud I would be when it was done. Now I’m applying that thinking to finishing the triathlon.
Speaking of being flexible, it looks like I will have to switch my workouts and do my swim tomorrow night. It’s Neil’s little brother’s birthday and his family is planning something last minute so I may be on dog duty.
If I’m stuck home tonight, I’ll be sure to do a workout video (review coming soon!) and hopefully experiment in the kitchen and post a recipe.