5 Signs You’re Running Too Much

Imagine you’re sitting at a Krispy Kreme shop, and you’ll be there for the next two hours. You figure since you have to be there anyway, you might as well indulge in a freshly baked doughnut with icing and sprinkles on top. It tastes awesome, as doughnuts can do, and a couple of minutes pass before you want one more taste of that goodness. So you get another one. Then another. Then another…

What started as a single indulgence has officially become calorie and sugar intakes that are kind of ridiculous, and you could easily be suffering from a stomachache by the time your Krispy Kreme stay is over. You ignored moderation and sensible limits, and there are consequences!

Many things in life can be like that—where a reasonable amount is fine, but if you cross the line into too much, the effects could be unpleasant. In regard to running, this is a concept to take seriously since pushing yourself too strongly can cause physical complications and impact your enjoyment of running altogether. Neither of these issues are good things, and they can lower the quality of your runs! To keep yourself from existing in too-much territory for running, it helps to be aware of the warning signs that your body gives to let you know that you’ve run too much.

Your heart rate is up.

Of course, if you run for a couple miles, your heart rate will increase throughout the exertion, but for this detail, we’re talking about your regular, sitting-around-the-house heart rate. Running too much can cause stress that could result in your body being stressed and ready to deal with harsh scenarios even when you aren’t planning on going for a sprint. Check your heart rate first thing in the morning every day to keep tabs on its speed, and if you find that you’re experiencing a heightened rate on a regular basis, it’s a possible indication that you’re pushing yourself too hard with your running.

Your habits change.

Sleeping and hydration are key elements in health, particularly for an athlete or someone invested in a serious fitness regimen. But if you find that since you boosted your time on running trails, your sleep patterns and thirst levels have severely changed, those factors could be evidence that you’re running too much.

Think of the water situation like children waiting for candy to fall out of a piñata. The rules say that you should wait until the candy comes out, but children really, really want that candy! So any time a bit of it comes out of the piñata, children dive toward it to snatch it up, like they have to get as much as they can as quickly as they can. This is similar to what happens when your body has to burn through so much of its stored necessities because you’re running too much. Your body needs to be hydrated, so if your exercise schedule leads to a requirement for more water than you’re regularly giving it, don’t be surprised if your body is scrounging for replacements by increasing your thirst level!

Not being able to sufficiently sleep can show that you’ve endured too much stress, so much that your body’s circadian rhythm has been jumbled. If you can’t sleep when you typically would, your workout pattern could be too intense to keep you on a steady, regular pattern for your day-to-day life. If you can’t function normally, you might want to scale back on your running!

You keep getting sick.

Overexerting yourself on a run can also lower the effectiveness of your immune system. If your body is always in a catabolic state to get energy for the level of exertion you’re putting it through, it’s stressful enough to cause ramifications—like a lessened ability to combat illnesses. Due to the stress you’re inflicting on your body throughout your workout, too much is going on for your systems to keep everything in top shape. For that reason, your immune system could suffer—which means you could have to deal with extra runny noses and viruses! If you find that you just keep getting sick after you increase your workout schedule, you might want to pull that schedule back so you can have the energy and opportunity to take care of these basic functions.

Your moods and attitude are changing.

Running too much can additionally have mental and psychological consequences for you—ones that can affect you and those around you. For you, you might find that running doesn’t hold the same appeal as it used to, and your motivation has taken a drastic hit. You don’t want to run like you did before you increased your exercise plan, which could lead to you not running. In essence, over-pushing yourself could cause you to let go of running altogether.

For your friends and family, they might have to deal with mood swings and anger spurting from you in consequence to the over-stress you’re inflicting on your body. If you’re stressing your body too much physically, you’re like a ticking time bomb, and that stress could easily surface in mean comments or frustrated stand-offs with your companions! So if you’ve been hearing a lot about how you’ve been less happy or harder to deal with lately, you might want to ease back on those run times!

You rarely—if ever—feel okay.

As can be expected, there are physical discomforts that could be indications that you’re overdoing things. These discomforts could be simple injuries that you keep experiencing, new injuries, or a too-common sensation of being achy and sore. Such circumstances are to be expected for over-doing it through exercise routines as continuously pushing yourself too much and too consistently isn’t allowing your body the time it needs to recover from a run or an already-present injury. If you never seem to get over those aches and pains, it might be time to step back from so much running to allow your body to heal and rest!

Keep these signs of over-exertion in mind as you plan your workouts, and don’t be afraid to alter your running schedule to thrive on the healthy side of running—and away from that territory of too-much!