It's no secret that many endurance
athletes have addictive personalities. In many cases they substitute the
seemingly healthy pursuit of exercise for alcohol, drug, or food abuse issues.
But at some point, too much of this good thing overwhelms the body physically
and emotionally, leading to burnout.
My story is the Hollywood cliché' from
central casting: the lifelong mouse potato who started exercising to get
healthy at 39, and fell in love with the alliance between feet and the earth.
Before I knew it, I'd been at it nearly 5 years. 54 races in 2011, then 60 two
years in a row. Like many runners, I always had an off-season where I kept up
my fitness with the elliptical, Zumba, and outside running when possible. But
there were few finish lines with hot chocolate and a banana waiting for me.
But this past winter was brutal. As the
snow got deeper, it became dangerous just to step outside for the newspaper. So
I turned to trail running's challenging northland cousin, snowshoeing. I joined
the Braveheart Racing series, and strapped 'em on for eleven races from January
to March. While it kept me in shape and gave me an excuse to see my buddies
every week, stomping around with big paddles on my feet while trying not to fall in a ravine
did not come easy to me. After our last race in the Lake Superior snowbelt (serious
snow country) my friend and I did nothing at the host resort for two days. As
someone who’s always on the go, this was unheard of for me.
No doubt, I was
fried. When I passed up a St. Patrick's weekend run at an Irish pub a week
later, I knew I was becoming a burnout victim. I had burned out of several
hobbies before by overdoing them (concertgoing, eBaying…) but I really didn’t
want to lose this one. I couldn’t. I had several health problems that were kept
under control through exercise. Doubt had already been creeping in. I wondered if
I should even keep racing, as a back-of-the-packer who places every once in a
blue moon.
Since I had been so
busy snowshoeing, I didn’t notice that I had missed a few deadlines for races I
normally did every year. I used that extra time off for a little self-examination,
and learned a few tidbits that can help anyone on the verge of burnout.
-Don't let the fear
of falling back into your old habits drive you past your personal point of
endurance. I thought that if I missed the Birch Breakout 10k once that my
fitness would be gone, I'd quit exercising and start eating the refrigerator
again. I happily discovered that it didn’t happen, when my formally stagnant times
started going down a little now that I wasn’t using my body for a battering
ram. Which lead to the next point…
-Give your body a rest and boost your
confidence with cross-training.
In June, my local pool started aqua
Zumba. It was a great break for my joints, but an even better one emotionally.
Here I wasn't the turtle that had to keep jumping off the trail to let faster
runners go by, but was one of the better athletes. All that kicking under
resistance made those snowshoeing legs even stronger, and along with the extra rest, I PR'd a few
weeks later.
-There's no shame in admitting you're not
Superman or Woman. It’s just another variation of the ole’ keeping-up-with-the-Joneses
syndrome. Just because other runners can do back-to-back 50k's every weekend,
you may have a a tougher work week, more family obligations, etc. Consider all
these factors when looking at potential burnout. Also, don’t forget to include
travel and race preparation time as well, and try to rotate between destination
races and the run on your local trail.
-Perhaps the most important key to
avoiding burnout is balance. I know people became concerned that I was too
obsessed when I’d skip dinner with friends or family to sneak in a second race
of the day. I decided I didn’t want to become one-dimensional either. So
instead of reading shoe reviews every night, I’d read something totally
off-beat on my Kindle, like beekeeping, or how to join the French Foreign
Legion.
Because of the snowshoe series, my total
number of races for the year will be the same, but foot races will be down
slightly. I skipped a few to go to aqua Zumba, and to go to a jazz festival.
Last week, I bailed out for a craft show. I must admit the best handiworks
there were the medal racks with 7 pegs and a bib holder. So the runner didn’t
run off entirely. But hey, it’s a start.
