Overtraining

This overtraining article in NYT provided some much needed insight on the problem that occurs when athletes train too hard for too long. With overtraining, athletes feel sluggish, irritable, and notice performance decreases. The article discusses that it cannot happen with people who are running 20 miles a week, and that it only occurs when training with high mileage (or training) over long periods of time. This may be true, but I would argue then, that you can feel the effects of overtraining in a short period of time, no matter what your fitness. If you are feeling tired and sluggish and maintain a high volume, you may want to evaluate your training.

Something that is neglected in the article is the importance of recovery. When training with high mileage, you need more sleep, to eat more, and be able to recover better. If you decrease your recovery time, it has the same effect as increasing your training. Sometimes rest and sleep is more important than some of the training runs.