Running Through High Periods of Stress: Adapt, Don’t Abandon

THE RECOVERY REPORT

There are seasons in life where everything feels heavier.

Work pressure. Family strain. Relationship breakdown. Financial worry. Health scares. Caring responsibilities. Grief. Loneliness.

And then there’s running.

For many of us, running is the anchor. The release valve. The place we make sense of things.

But during high stress periods, it can also feel impossible.

You’re exhausted. Your sleep is fractured. Your motivation has disappeared. Your heart rate feels unusually high. Easy runs don’t feel easy.

So how do you navigate running when your nervous system is already stretched?

This isn’t about pushing through.

It’s about adjusting intelligently.

First: Understand What Stress Is Doing to Your Body

Psychological stress is not separate from physical stress.

When life ramps up, your body increases:

  • Cortisol
  • Adrenaline
  • Baseline muscle tension
  • Resting heart rate
  • Inflammatory load

Sleep quality drops. Recovery capacity shrinks. Emotional tolerance narrows.

From a physiological perspective, your body doesn’t distinguish between:

  • A tough interval session
  • A sleepless night
  • An argument
  • Worry about your child
  • Financial uncertainty

It all feeds into the same stress bucket.

If that bucket overflows, something gives.

Often? It’s injury. Illness. Burnout. Or total loss of motivation.

The Biggest Mistake Runners Make During Stress

They try to train as if nothing has changed.

They cling to:

  • Pace targets
  • Weekly mileage
  • Structured plans
  • Performance identity

But stress reduces your capacity.

Training load must reflect life load.

This is not weakness.

It’s regulation.

Shift the Goal: From Performance to Regulation

During high stress periods, running’s purpose may need to change.

Instead of:

“I need to hit 6 x 800m at threshold.”

It becomes:

“I need 30 minutes of steady movement and fresh air.”

Instead of:

“I’m losing fitness.”

It becomes:

“I’m protecting my long-term consistency.”

Running can be:

  • Nervous system regulation
  • Emotional processing
  • Structure in chaos
  • A reminder of competence
  • A moving meditation

But only if it’s dosed correctly.

Practical Strategies for Running in High-Stress Periods

1. Reduce Intensity First, Not Frequency

Keep the routine. Lower the demand.

Swap:

  • Intervals → steady aerobic
  • Long tempo → conversational pace
  • Time goals → effort-based runs

Aerobic running supports parasympathetic recovery.

High intensity adds further stress.

If you feel wired, anxious, or flat — that’s your cue.

2. Shorten the Duration

You do not need 90 minutes to “count.”

20–30 minutes can:

  • Improve mood
  • Reduce rumination
  • Maintain aerobic base
  • Preserve identity

Consistency > volume.

3. Use RPE Over Pace

Stress elevates heart rate and alters perception of effort.

Your usual 5:30/km may now feel like threshold.

That doesn’t mean you’ve lost fitness.

Use:

  • RPE 4–6 for most runs
  • Nose-breathing as a control tool
  • The “could I hold a conversation?” test

Detach from the watch if needed.

4. Protect Sleep Ruthlessly

If sleep is poor:

  • Reduce mileage
  • Skip intensity
  • Prioritise morning daylight exposure
  • Avoid late hard sessions

Recovery drives adaptation.

Without it, training is just stress stacking.

5. Watch for These Red Flags

Pull back if you notice:

  • Persistent elevated resting HR
  • Irritability or emotional fragility
  • Recurrent niggles
  • Loss of appetite or disrupted appetite
  • Dreading runs you normally enjoy

That’s not laziness.

That’s overload.

The Emotional Layer

There’s another piece runners rarely talk about.

When life feels out of control, running can be the one thing we try to control harder.

Mileage becomes proof we’re coping.

Pace becomes validation.

But sometimes the bravest thing is saying:

“This season is about maintenance, not progress.”

You are not your splits.

You are not your VO₂ max.

You are a human being navigating complexity.

What Happens If You Ease Back?

You don’t lose everything.

Aerobic fitness is resilient.

A few weeks — even a couple of months — of reduced intensity does not erase years of training.

What does damage consistency?

Overtraining during emotional strain Ignoring warning signs Getting injured because you refused to adapt

Adaptation preserves longevity.

If Running Feels Impossible

Sometimes stress is so high that even easy running feels overwhelming.

In those moments:

  • Walk.
  • Lift lightly.
  • Stretch.
  • Breathe.
  • Sit outside.

Movement doesn’t have to be maximal to be meaningful.

Sometimes the win is just putting trainers on.

A Final Perspective

High stress periods are not training blocks.

They are survival seasons.

If you can maintain 60–70% of your usual training load, gently, consistently, without digging deeper into fatigue — you’re doing incredibly well.

When life stabilises, performance can return.

But protecting your nervous system now protects your future self.

Recovery Principle

During high stress periods, reduce training load to match life load.

Consistency is built by adapting — not by forcing.

And sometimes the most disciplined thing you can do is run slower.

Tay Sports Therapy

Get in touch with Tay Sports Therapy — we’ll build a plan that supports your training through high-stress seasons, combining hands-on treatment with intelligent load management tailored to you.

Visit www.taysportstherapy.co.uk or follow @taysportstherapy for more tips from The Recovery Report.

BOOK NOW

References

McEwen, B.S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine, 338(3), 171–179.

Ivarsson, A., Johnson, U. and Podlog, L. (2013). Psychological predictors of injury occurrence: A meta-analysis of prospective investigations. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 35(1), 67–83.

Gabbett, T.J. (2016). The training–injury prevention paradox: Should athletes be training smarter and harder? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(5), 273–280.

Meeusen, R. et al. (2013). Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the Overtraining Syndrome: Joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(1), 1–24.

Fullagar, H.H.K. et al. (2015). Sleep and athletic performance: The effects of sleep loss on exercise performance, and physiological and cognitive responses to exercise. Sports Medicine, 45(2), 161–186.

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