From time to time in my training I have experienced what I would call emotional low points. I’m not sure if this is common, but it is almost like a temporary depression I slip into. A lot of times I have found it is triggered by some new increase in training intensity or some long stretch of intense training with very little break up in my schedule. During these periods I might experience some bodily feelings of weakness or just physical soreness, which can cause me to question my ability as a runner. In addition, I find that my mental toughness comes into question too… for example can I sustain the increased mileage or will it be too boring for me to do everyday?
I recently just experienced this when I kicked my mileage up from 12 miles a day to 15 a day. I’ve been feeling quite sore, burned out, and just mentally weak as a result, which is actually quite normal for me as my body is adapting to the new stresses. But, yet I still slip into this short-term depression. Sort of wear I find myself questioning my training, what I am doing, the degree of my training, my time spent training, etc. I begin thinking about whether the effort I am putting forthe is really sustainable for me and if not is all my training pointless.
Anyway, my reason for writing this down, is in case anyone else is experiencing similar symptoms to increased training stress. I find that if I push through these emotional low points I eventually reach a point where I am mentally/emotionally balanced again and stronger as a result. It normally takes about a week to subside for me, but once the soreness starts going away and I start adapting to and getting used to my new training my emotional low subsides.