We all know that running is a stress to your body.  But as we all have been taught from our youth, too much of a good thing can be harmful or lead to negative results.  This is no less true for running. In today's episode, we review what overtraining is to help establish why we want to avoid it.  It might sound intuitive, but if you don't understand what you're trying to avoid, you just might find yourself not taking seriously the need to avoid it in the first place.  And we runners, as umm, err, stubborn as we can sometimes be, really need to understand why it's so important to avoid that dreaded overtraining. Without just giving you all the information here, we want to encourage you to download this episode to learn that metric and I and my clients use to help prevent overtraining.  We step back and break it down to help you know how to measure it (for some it will be extremely easy - for the rest it's still easy just takes a bit more conscious effort).  We will also discuss some different reasons that metric can change.  And then finally discuss the threshold of change you need to be watching for so you too can avoid overtraining! We invite you to download this week's episode and take us along on your next run. Then check out our past episodes to learn even more! This is another episode following our Motivation Mile format, meaning that we want to share with you the motivation you need, encourage you on your way, and provide those critical running tips to help you on your own running journey – all in the time it takes to run a mile.  And if you're wondering, we do answer all those questions during our short mile. We appreciate our sponsor - Great 8 Virtual Races.  As we mention in this episode, they have introduced their 2018 Running Tour T-Shirt - an awesome way to share your miles and races from this past year with everyone you meet.  This personalized shirt will allow you to share with more than your Strava and social media followers.  You put in the blood, the sweat, the tears, and all the work this past year - make sure you showcase it everywhere you go.  Make sure to use discount code NEWYEAR (no spaces) for $5 off your shirt - and all shipped free to you! Come check us out on Twitter (@motivatemetorun), come join us in our Motivate Me To Run group on Facebook, and even our show notes at motivatemetorun.com.  If you have any questions you would like me to cover then email me at alex@motivatemetorun.com. Finally - if you have appreciated this or any of our episodes, we would love to have you stop by iTunes and leave your all-favorable review!  This will give us even more access to big name guests, sponsors with amazing giveaways, and more!  Leaving a review will get us that much closer towards those goals!  I’ll thank you in advance! Thank you for listening and look forward to catching up with you next time! Happy Running!  Coach Alex - RRCA certified running coach