A lot of runners don’t understand how they cannot work hard and run hard at the same time. Running is and can be an additional cause of stress that when placed on top of an already stressful lifestyle can prove too much.
Many runners are involved in activities outside of running, mostly work, where they try to place the same level of perfection as they would with races and training. However once the total stress of all your various activities exceeds what you can cope with, you will in time break down.
This is why it is important to place running into perspective within life and to constantly evaluate it. If say, the personal stress from training for a marathon is resulting in less time spent with family, reduced sleep as you may have to wake up early to train before work, or cause you to get more frequent spells of illness from the pressure, you have to make a rational judgment whether this is beneficial to your greater wellbeing.
As runners we get so caught up in the addictive nature of running, we rarely stop to think rationally about how it is affecting our life and whether or not this is always good.
Make the most of the benefits running can bring you and exploit it, but if you find it becomes a chore, and adds to your stress levels, you will need to have an honest discussion about the way to go forward.
The best time to devote yourself to your training is not when business or personal pressures are on the increase, which can force you to make irrational decisions. The best time to train is when your life is least cluttered by all the other demands that can affect good performance in training and racing.
Cameron Harris- Head Coach