Commentary by Dan Ordaz, M.D.
For new and experienced runners, training too long or too hard can backfire, triggering injuries and hampering performance. On the flip side, adequate rest can help you outrun those over-trained runners a welcome advantage as summer races approach.
I average 60 to 70 miles each week running anything from 5Ks to marathons. I see plenty of injuries my role as a sports medicine physician. When runners come in with a complaint, the biggest problem we see is training error. In fact, it’s the No. 1, No.2 and No. 3 problems we see.
The biggest culprit? Pushing too hard and cutting corners on recovery. It’s usually something like, ‘I’ve increased my mileage, added a workout here and there, and I’m not sleeping as much as I used to.”
While overtraining is an issue among athletes of all levels, it’s particularly notable among high school athletes. Kids nowadays don’t get time off. They go from cross country to indoor track to outdoor track; they’re running over the summer, maybe participating in another sport. We often don’t see teens doing a good job at recovery. It’s a pity, considering rest enables the body to better absorb workouts and improve in ways it can’t when it’s constantly being pushed.
The impact of rest (or lack thereof) as a training strategy will be in full display at the approaching St.Vincent Geist Half Marathon, expected to gather nearly 7,000 runners on May 16 around the Geist Reservoir. In my role as the event’s medical director, I tell participants to take it easy in the days preceding this event, or any race. Understand that, at this point, you’re not going to improve your fitness much by race day, so don’t bury yourself in workouts over the last few days. Rather, get plenty of sleep.
Sleep well at least two nights before the race, in case pre-race jitters steal your sleep the night before. One night of poor sleep won’t sabotage your race, but successive nights will get to you.
Whether running for fun, fitness or a medal, this is one recommendation runners of all levels can manage with their eyes closed. Literally.
Dr. Dan Ordaz is a sports medicine physician for St.Vincent Sports Performance.
