The Executive Stress Pattern Sabotaging Running Progress

Getting out for a run is the easy part. It's feeling like you're going backwards in training that's eating away at you.

"I could've pushed harder" plays on repeat as you grab a coffee and audit your splits.

Rosie works in banking, leading an M&A team through a series of acquisitions.

Days are long, and Rosie is starting to wake up at 4am, anxious about the day ahead.

The timing of her next marathon could've been better, but Rosie is confident she'll achieve her goal on the day.

Rosie wants a sub-4, and over the last few years of training there have been signals that this is possible.

Two marathons ago, she ran a PB of 4:10. Before her current training cycle began, Rosie was hitting good numbers on her casual long runs.

It was the confidence from those long runs six months ago that motivated her to sign up.

Work was different then.

Less stress. Rosie had more perceived capacity.

As time went on, work started to require more energy, and Rosie did not adjust her training to accommodate it.

As Rosie started to notice inconsistency in her training, instead of recalibrating, she did what many motivated people do. Rosie added volume.

That voice in your head saying "do more" serves a purpose that many are envious of.

But it can get you into trouble.

Rosie adds volume.

Her fatigue deepens.

Performance stalls further.

Rosie came to see me due to "underperforming."

Within 10 minutes of hearing her backstory, it was clear.

"You're not underperforming. You're overloading."

"The motivation you use to keep going, even when your body is asking something different of you, is the very thing holding back progress."

"The problem with leaning on this approach is that the body will, beyond fatigue, send signals you will ignore, such as a quiet resentment toward training or irritability bleeding into home life."

Rosie nods and explains how she's not present when her husband talks about his day.

"If this goes unanswered, the body will escalate the signal."

"This matters because when training is going well, running is your pressure valve for everything else."

A second nod.

We were 11 weeks from race day. We had time.

Rosie's workload was not modelled as training load, so total load, stress, was miscalibrated.

We spent six weeks integrating my Capacity Reset Protocol alongside Rosie's adjusted marathon plan.

Top three initial actions:

1. We decreased weekly mileage and improved the quality of each run, achieving the desired training adaptation at a lower systemic cost.

2. We integrated rhythmic breathing protocols during runs to manage pace and regulate the nervous system. We tested and then layered in bespoke breathing protocols for recovery and capacity development.

3. We doubled down on Rosie's sleep protocols, starting from the moment she got out of bed.

Quickly, Rosie's energy and performance levelled out.

I remember the voice note where it clicked.

"Just enjoying my post-run coffee and sending you my splits."

"I can't believe how strong I finished."