Struggling with exhaustion

tachyon_master

I don't know whether this is dietary or just overtraining, but I'd appreciate any advice.

I'm currently training 2-3 hours a day (split between a morning and evening session) and over the course of a week am running about 80-100km. Bearing in mind that as I'm female, a short *kitten* (5'2") and have low BF% (13-14%), my BMR is fairly low. I do most of my training at the gym for various reasons, and the treadmill readouts (which allow me to enter age and weight) have me apparently burning ~2200 calories a day. I know the calorie burn estimates are notoriously unreliable and have a propensity to overestimate, so I've not been eating all my calories back (I roughly aim for 50%).

Though I'm beginning to wonder if that's such a good idea.

I'm not hungry all the time by any means, I'm just exhausted. And I wonder if that's from lack of food, or whether it's more likely to be overtraining? I realise my diary is closed, and prefer to keep it that way. Just after some general advice

My macros are generally on the order of 65% carbs/15% fat/20% protein if that helps?

KeithAngilly

Imagine a rubber band..if stretch it back forth, sooner or later it breaks. If you are working out every day without taking a least one day of recovery (I take two), then eventually you will break down. Gains in fitness ONLY occur during periods of recovery. When work out, we are breaking things down so that they will made stronger. If all you do is work out every day, then you are in a constant state of being broken down. It sounds like classic over-training to me. It may be worth a googling over-training. There is lots of info out there.

Good luck!

ATT949

I don't know whether this is dietary or just overtraining, but I'd appreciate any advice.

I'm currently training 2-3 hours a day (split between a morning and evening session) and over the course of a week am running about 80-100km. Bearing in mind that as I'm female, a short *kitten* (5'2") and have low BF% (13-14%), my BMR is fairly low. I do most of my training at the gym for various reasons, and the treadmill readouts (which allow me to enter age and weight) have me apparently burning ~2200 calories a day. I know the calorie burn estimates are notoriously unreliable and have a propensity to overestimate, so I've not been eating all my calories back (I roughly aim for 50%).

Though I'm beginning to wonder if that's such a good idea.

I'm not hungry all the time by any means, I'm just exhausted. And I wonder if that's from lack of food, or whether it's more likely to be overtraining? I realise my diary is closed, and prefer to keep it that way. Just after some general advice

My macros are generally on the order of 65% carbs/15% fat/20% protein if that helps?

From what little info is available, Keith's conclusion is sound. You're doing a lot of miles and, even more, you're spending a lot of time running and, unless you've built up to it, you're might be forced to stop running due to an overuse injury.

I might suggest that you head over to Amazon and get the Runner's World book entitled a la "Beginner's Guide to Running". I buy my Amazon books used and that book is available for around $10.

Runner's World is a good source of data (the web site) though the Forums have been pretty much abandoned in favor of running ahead.com.

CarsonRuns

Take two days off and then resume your workouts. If you feel fantastic, then you were over-training. If you are still exhausted, try eating more. If that doesn't work, see your doctor to get a blood panel done.

jchite84

Sounds like over training. Don't be afraid of recovery days. If you don't want to not run on a recovery day then do an easy mile and call it good. I usually do a long slow run on Sunday, a short easy run on Monday (so I don't get too sore), and then nothing on Tuesday. Then Wednesday I can hit it hard again with HIIT and hills.

blackcloud13

That sounds like a lot - especially the every day part. I definitely second the advice to take a couple of days off, and see whether you perform a lot better.

My other question would be are you losing weight at this level of activity/eating?

GiddyupTim

It is quite common for women, especially thin women, to become iron deficient, with the most usual symptom being tiredness. Do you eat red meat? You might try a supplement.
That said, for me, the older I get the more recovery I need.

MelisRunning

I think every one hit the nail on the head.

The older I become, the more recovery time I need. I need that day off in between runs.

Be kind to yourself.

dorianaldyn

You've already received some good advice. I also think you need some rest days in there. I'm currently training for a marathon and the training program has 4 running days/week, 1 cross training day/week and two rest days/week. Your body needs the rest.

Also, as others have mentioned, fatigue is a common sign of anemia (low iron). When you're anemic your cells aren't getting the amount of oxygen they should be. If you aren't in the mood for a big steak, some other options for increasing your iron through your diet is: Legumes (lentils, soybeans, tofu, tempeh, lima beans); Grains (quinoa, fortified cereals, brown rice, oatmeal); Nuts and seeds (pumpkin, squash, pine, pistacio, sunflower, cashews, unhulled sesame); Vegetables (tomato sauce, swiss chard, collard greens); and Other (blackstrap molasses, prune juice).

I have similar stats to you (5'2", low body fat %) and I thought for sure with all this running I've been doing, plus the fact that I was anemic through one of my pregnancies that I would have iron issues. I went and got my blood tested and I was OK - probably because I have a healthy love of many of those foods I listed above :-).

Hope you feel better soon!

vmclach

Take two days off and then resume your workouts. If you feel fantastic, then you were over-training. If you are still exhausted, try eating more. If that doesn't work, see your doctor to get a blood panel done.

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alanlmarshall

Why are you training so much? What is your goal?

tachyon_master

Why are you training so much? What is your goal?

Fitness reasons mainly. I do half marathons and 12km fun runs with some regularity and recently ran my first full marathon. I know it was raised in an earlier post, but I'm not a beginner to running. I used to compete somewhat seriously back in high school and college. I've built up to this, it's not like I just suddenly started running 80km+ a week!

It's also partly stress relief for me. Well, exercise in general is. But it's better than turning to alcohol or drugs as alternatives IMO.

It is quite common for women, especially thin women, to become iron deficient, with the most usual symptom being tiredness. Do you eat red meat? You might try a supplement.

Yes, I eat red meat. Not a lot, admittedly, maybe once a week. I eat fish and chicken though, and plenty of fresh vegetables, grains, legumes etc. And I've had a raft of blood tests done already to test everything from my thyroid to my kidneys, nothing appears to be medically wrong.