Tag: burnout

Running Addiction: Are We Just Rats on a Wheel?
Posted by on 10 Comments


We’ve all made the comparison between running and drugs before, that ubiquitous term “runner’s high” refers to that rush of endorphins our brains release during or after a run. It’s that feeling that keeps us pounding the pavement in search of more.

We need our daily fix, we freak out if we can’t run, and we do all sorts of crazy things to fit the miles in, like getting up in essentially the middle of the night to run, missing out on girls’ night out, or skipping a shower … again.

But is running actually addictive like that? Do we love running or are we hooked on our own feel-good chemicals, chasing an ever-harder-to-reach high as the miles increase our tolerance, so we constantly need to go further, or faster, or on new terrain to obtain that same buzz?

The research is out there, and the answer is yes. That edgy, moody, fidgety feeling you experience if you’ve gone too long without running is called withdrawal. Read more >>

On the 7th Day of Christmas, Running Gave to Me: Overtraining Syndrome
Posted by on 5 Comments

I still can’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened. I don’t remember a specific day or run where it hit me. There was no voice in my head, no doctor or coach or friend telling me what was happening. It just happened. I was burnt out, overtrained and sick of running.

It all happened gradually, a slippery slope. I had come off an amazing 2014, when I had several podium finishes at ultras and even a win at my first 100K. It was Christmastime and life seemed pretty good. I was starting to bump up the mileage again in anticipation for the Sean O’Brien 50 mile in early February. It was going to be my first time in California and first time out west. I was pretty excited to crush it. Then at our annual waterfalls run, a local trail run in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park along which runners take photos with waterfalls and enjoy the day after Christmas running with friends, I was finishing up the run and started feeling a sharp pain in my right hip. By New Year’s Eve, I could barely walk, sit, stand, put on pants or do anything without pain. It should have been a sign; I needed a break. Worse still, I was on the brink of overtraining.

Read more >>