Pushing through fatigue

Coaches are always telling us to listen to our body and rest when you aren't feeling fresh. However in the base building phase when you are faced to run high mileage it is okay to feel fatigued!

During the base phase when you are accumulating lots of miles you should really feel tired day in day out. At this part of the season it is more about quantity rather than quality. You shouldn't really be fresh for any tough workout so the paces won't be as fast.

When you are tired the chance of injury is higher. So during high mileage you should be sleeping well, eating well and foam rolling regularly to combat these injuries. From experience you will know when to stop and when to continue running. If the pain is sharp and sudden, then you should stop immediately as this is an injury you can't run through. However if there is a slight pain which doesn't get any worse and doesn't effect your running form, then I think it is okay to run trough! However be carefully, if you feel it getting worse on each run you should stop and let it rest for a day or two.

Now this isn't to say just up your mileage significantly and "deal with the fatigue". I am writing this more geared at the people who maybe for example are used to 40 mpw and want to up their mileage to 50 mpw. The initial first 4-6 weeks will be the toughest as your body isn't used to that extra 10 miles per week.

However it will eventually adapt and 50 mpw will then become much easier than it originally was. You have to push through this fatigue as your body is adapting. It should be tough but the chances of getting injured are slim if you train and recover smartly! e.g running on grass, eating healthy foods, stretching after runs.