Is there such a thing as too much running?

Question

I'm on a cross country team, and i have REALLY hard, REALLY intense work-outs six days a week. Ever since these workouts started, i have constantly been exhausted and sore. I NEVER feel 100%. I even WAKE up feeling exhausted, and a lot of time i dread running because i know how much pain i will go thru when i run. I almost feel like all this running is HURTING my endurance, because im so exhausted that is harder to run. I have also developed conditions such as exercise induced asthma and severe shin splints because of these workouts. Is all this working out too much for my body to handle? Is this HEALTHY or is it just too much?

Answer 1

its too much you should scale back the workouts to 5 or 4 a week and you should also scale back the difficulty of the workouts and make sure you stretch properly and talk to your school trainer about any pains

Answer 2

People who run have the highest risk of becoming over hydrated. Not many people know, but you can actually die of drinking too much water. Runners are a good example. Do you drink water while running? You should switch to something else, like vitamin water. You need something with minerals in it, not just pure water.

Or on a more simple matter, you could just be pushing yourself too much. Take a break once in awhile.

Answer 3

No this is not healthy.  I have done body building for 2 years and I was CONSTANTLY putting my muscles under extreme conditions and any good weight lifter who knows what he or she is doing will tell you just how important recovery is.

Running obviously is not body building but it does'nt change the fact that you need to PROPERLY recover your muscles.  

You are not superhuman.  With out the use of steriods your body cannot repair your muscles at superhuman speeds.

So basically, when you were training everyday your muscles were most likely still damaged and not ready for training and you went ahead and just trained more which basically created more damage.

I can tell you right now that if you keep this up you will be on your way to serious injury.  I don't care what sport it is....if you are not getting PROPER REST to recover your damaged muscles you are reversing progress and increasing your chances of seriously injuring yourself.

Even ask a doctor and they will tell you that your on a path to really hurting yourself.

Anyways GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

If you have REALLY intense work-outs 6 days a week that is stupid.  Way too hard.  Cross country usually has 2 races per week, and having 4 other hard work-outs is just ridiculous.

Answer 5

Its is not bad to run but you are hurting yourself I would take a break from running for a few days or at least spread it out and try to just relax you might hurt yourslef and never be able to run again if you keep going. try to take a break!

Hope I oculd help<3 x*x

Answer 6

Yes, you body needs time to repair itself- personally I prefer to run a good distance 3-4 days a week and I am working on balancing my diet so that I am getting adequate protein to repair broken down tissue. Air quality is horrid mid-day. Run for fun instead of for competition and listen to your body.  

Answer 7

I have coached hs Cross country (xc) in California for several years now and I am a true believer in summer base running is must.  This preseason (summer) training is a great team builder and gets the kids in shape for the serious fall xc training. The strength this build up prevents shin splint from developing.  Your posting does not state if you have run xc before or not. Nor does it tell me if you ran during the summer. Nevertheless. go to a doctor and have him/her look at your shins or the school athletic trainer (if you’re running at the hs level). They will decide and give you a note excusing you from the xc workouts, if they feel it its needed.

Your coach(es) will hate it but they will not have a choice in the matter. Be sure to keep the original fro your records and give a COPY to the coach, school nurse, or whoever is supposed to get. But get it in writing

Based on your posting you are overtraining. It sounds like there are some problems in the overall scheduling of workouts.  

To maintain your conditioning try swimming , biking and weight training to maintain your conditioning. But the best way to maintain your condition is to run in the pool whic is commonly refered to as Deep Water Running (DWR). DWR will help you recover from your injuries faster and you come out of the poll in even BETTER shape than when you went in.  This is part of my summer base work with my xc runners here in CA and they love it, especially when it is in the high 90s to 100 degrees.  

Google Search:

Deep water running

Aquajogger.com

Answer 8

im in cross-country too. and i do work outs 6 days a week. too! but i make sure i dont injured. i stretch before and after practice "properly" i take my time with stretching. its REALLY REALLY important and also, i try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night and buy the right shoes. dont stomp when you are running.

good luck! :)

Answer 9

Is this your first week back with school? It takes time to get your body used to intense work outs.  Just keep it up! No pain no gain! Drink lots and lots of water. Talk to your coach and see what he/she says.  You know how far to push your body, and your body will tell you when you've had enough.  Goodluck!

Answer 10

tell your coach that it is too much

see if you can get some other people behind you

Answer 11

Be careful or you will become a cunning little runt.