Recognize when enough is enough.

We all know how to spot a compulsive Type A overachiever--perfection and excess in every corner. Never known to just relax, these folks must not waste a minute--work-aholics. But can we spot the problem in ourselves, the tendency to be workout-aholics? Overtraining can be a problem for some people as the passion to train and run takes over good reason and sensible limits. For competitive athletes, discipline must balance the drive to push for better results in order to avoid diminishing returns and potentially serious health consequences. According to a new study, as many as 65% of long distance runners will suffer overtraining at some point in their career.

The symptoms of overtraining, which include fatigue, negative moods, frequent upper respiratory tract infections, overuse injuries, and poor performance, are thought to arise from an accumulation of stress to the hypothalamic-pituitary system located at the base of the brain. Researchers are looking to find ways to formally diagnose overtraining and to find an objective laboratory test for the disorder. Several possibilities are being examined including salivary IgA (an immunological protein produced by the body) and plasma glutamine (a blood marker).

Here's the good news in this report: the most promising tool currently available to fend off overtraining isn't complicated or expensive, and it doesn't require a sophisticated laboratory or highly trained personnel. It is simply an evaluation of your mood. Be aware of your own mood as you train and improve and push yourself to longer distances and faster paces. If you feel depressed and irritable for no good reason, or have trouble sleeping, think about your workout schedule and plan more time for recovery. It could save you a lot of trouble, and help you to accomplish just what your hard training is aimed at--better performance in the long run.

(Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 1999, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 66-73)

RELATED ARTICLE: Record mood in your training log. A negative trend can alert you to cut back a bit. It's not always easy to have the perspective necessary to see a pattern. Keeping a log gives you the distance you need.