鈥淧ractice makes perfect鈥� is a dangerous narrative underlying the culture of endurance training. Many athletes believe that the more time they spend in the gym, the fitter and more competitive they鈥檒l be.

It鈥檚 an idea that works until it doesn鈥檛.

Skylar Allen, a 28-year-old from Minneapolis, Minnesota, began running in college, after years as a figure skater pushed her toward body dysmorphia and an eating disorder. 鈥淚 struggled with restriction, which was eventually diagnosed as anorexia, for about eight years.鈥�

Eventually, anorexia morphed into bulimia. But when she started running in 2014, Allen says she wasn鈥檛 ready to face those issues yet. Instead, running became another way for her to justify behaviors she knew might not be healthy. 鈥淲hen I was having a terrible day, I鈥檇 go to the gym the way an alcoholic goes to the bottle,鈥� she says.

By 2020, in the midst of a graduate program in mathematics, Allen recognized听the imbalance in her life and started seeking treatment.

Allen and I met on her path to recovery. As a coach at , which I founded in 2018, I help athletes tap into their fitness potential with a heavy focus on long-term听sustainability. In that time, I’ve seen athletes like Allen harmed in their quest for success by an听implicit message shared by coaches and influencers: if you want to perform better, you need to train more than you are right now.

On one hand, that more time spent practicing our sport is crucial to performing our best. On the other, obsessing over physiology can cause athletes to neglect the things in their lives that keep them grounded, from time with friends to taking care of their mental health.

鈥淚鈥檝e fallen into this trap of 鈥榤ore training is always better,鈥欌�� says another one of my clients, Aidan McCarthy, a 28-year-old trail runner based in Salt Lake City, Utah. 鈥淏efore I was coached, I would go for way too long without taking a rest week, and I often wouldn鈥檛 take one at all until I came down with a cold or my body was so tired it forced me to.鈥�

As a running coach, time and again, I鈥檝e seen the story play out in athletes who ramp up their training time as far as their schedules allow. Once they begin to max out that time, they start repurposing time they used to put elsewhere. First goes strength training. Next, some of their leisure, recovery, or family time. I鈥檝e even seen some pull back from their local running听group just to save 30 minutes of commute time to add back into their run.

But more isn鈥檛 always better. When athletes cut into the time previously spent on activities that enhance mental and social health, they compromise听the quality of their training reduce听their ability to to their training, and ultimately make听training . Studies have shown that one of the most common outcomes of overtraining is a loss of enjoyment for not just the sport, but life in general.

McCarthy considers the nuance of it. He听believes that, generally speaking, volume pays off. 鈥淚 get better results training for twelve hours a week than for five, but is fifteen better than twelve?鈥� asks McCarthy. 鈥淢ajor signs for me that I am starting to overreach are unexplained irritability and low motivation to train.鈥�

McCarthy completed his hardest event to date last August at the 40-mile Telluride Mountain Run. The notorious mountain race features more than 14,000 feet of vertical ascent and descent. And yet, in a major departure from his running-only training approach of the past, almost a third of his preparation came on the bike in the canyons of the Wasatch Range.

As athletes, we need to reject more-is-better culture. In doing so, we鈥檒l become happier, healthier, and maybe even better at our sport. By choosing to go for a bike ride rather than force another lap on our normal running route鈥攐r take on a hard strength session, knowing it鈥檒l take a couple of days to feel ready for another big-volume endurance day鈥攚e allow the body to recover in one way, and be pushed听in another. We introduce variety mentally and keep our training exciting, rather than allowing it to become just another job.

Today, Allen鈥檚 eating disorder is in recovery, and she鈥檚 learning to add an element of balance to her training. In addition to her continued growth as an ultrarunner, she鈥檚 now an enthusiastic member of her local CrossFit community. 鈥淚 used to ask myself what I could cut out of my life to give myself a little more time to focus on training,鈥� she says. 鈥淎t some point, I asked myself what it would be like if I did the opposite. Can I use the same discipline to keep a healthy balance?鈥�

If you are struggling with eating and body image in any way, you do not have to suffer alone. Consider reaching out to the , which is available via text, phone, or chat.

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