486: Why Am I So Exhausted?

Why Am I So Exhausted? 

Have you ever laced up for what should be an easy run, and ten minutes in, your legs feel like they are full of wet sand? The pace is slower than it should be, the effort feels higher, and you start wondering...what the heck is going on? Why do I feel so exhausted?

And it’s not just in training either. It feels like lately you’re just tired. Needing more sleep and that extra cup of coffee to get through the day. 

So let’s take a look at several factors that could be contributing to this feeling…both in training and in life.

As you read, I want you to imagine a bucket. I call it your stress bucket. Every stress, both physical and mental, pours into this bucket. The bucket is your nervous system. Your nervous system receives all of the stress then has to figure out what to do with it. The more full it gets, the more tired you likely are. 

Here are some things that could be pouring into your bucket without you even realizing it. Once you realize it, you can start to poke holes in the bucket to help it drain, and limit how much is getting poured in. Both will help to improve that feeling of exhaustion that you might be experiencing. 

We Live in a Fast-Paced World

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” — Ferris Bueller

Yep, that’s a quote from the 1980s movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. That was in the 80s. Life moves even faster now, and I think this is one of the main reasons we feel so exhausted. 

Constant notifications. Reminders. Text messages. Social media.

We have 24/7 access to news around the globe, and quite frankly, our nervous systems were not designed to handle it. 

Not only that, the news and our phone apps are designed to keep us using them and consuming more content. Most of that is done through fear-based marketing. Why? Because it keeps your attention. 

Your nervous system is constantly scanning for threats to try to protect you and keep you alive. So when your phone tells you that the things in your refrigerator could be slowly killing you, you’re going to pay attention. When the talking head tells you that our country is falling apart, you’re going to pay attention. 

But at what cost? 

We are in the attention economy. People are fighting daily for your attention so that they can sell you something. Plain and simple. The more they can keep you engaged, the more money they will make. And most people do that through fear. 

Fear keeps your nervous system in “fight or flight” mode or sympathetic activation. That’s just pouring more into your stress bucket. 

What to do: I want you to consider putting down your phone more often. Turning off your notifications. Taking time to sit and read a book. Your nervous system will feel so much more regulated. These things will poke holes in your stress bucket and give you more energy to use where it matters to you.

The Need To Optimize Everything

And don’t get me wrong. I love efficiency. I geek out over ways to make my life more efficient. I love a good list and being able to check things off. I like figuring out ways to make things better and to get better results.

But the constant need to hack and optimize everything to get results sooner rather than later is exhausting us. 

It’s also taking away the joy that we get from the process of achieving the goal.

That’s the beauty of distance running and endurance sports. They require patience. You have to put in the work and then give your body the time it needs to adapt and get stronger. 

People want to promise you a million ways to get results sooner — supplements, peptides, the best protocol, cold plunge, sauna — you name it, there’s a market for it. 

While some of those things can be helpful tools, none of them replace the work. The vast majority of them have no evidence that they speed anything up, just claims from people wanting to take your money.

Trying to fast-track our results leads to dissatisfaction and disappointment, which are two very draining emotions.

What to do: Start enjoying the process. Distance running is not just about achieving results. It’s about who you become in the process of chasing your goals. Don’t lose sight of that. Sure, race medals and PRs are fun, but they’re not really why we do what we do. Take time today to reconnect to your why. Why do you run? Why do you want faster times? When you know the why, you can let the process take the time it takes. You might even start to enjoy it more.

All of the Decisions

A lot of what fills the bucket is invisible, and decision fatigue is a real thing. 

In midlife, we literally make thousands of decisions every day, and it makes even the simple decisions like what to make for dinner feel big. 

Teenagers. Aging parents. Careers. Finances. 

It’s a lot. 

Every decision we make takes a little bit of our energy and adds a little to that stress bucket. Not to mention the decisions we put off. 

Now that I think about it, those are probably even more damaging. 

Making decisions isn’t the hard part. Make them and they’re done. 

It’s all of the things we aren’t making decisions about. It’s the lingering things that we know we have to handle but keep putting off. It’s second guessing the decisions we do make. It’s questioning if the decisions we made are right. 

That’s the exhausting part. 

What to do: Decide and move on. I am saying this as much for myself as for you, because I am definitely guily of everything I just listed above — procrastinating on decisions, second guessing, questioning if I'm doing the right thing. I’m learning to make a decision and move forward, knowing that some of those choices might be wrong. If they are, I’ll do my best to course correct, but staying in indecision is one of the most draining places to be.

Allowing Ourselves to Actually Rest

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

Rest is not laziness. Rest is needed to restore our mind, body, and soul. And so many of us are skipping rest or not fully recovering from all of the stress in our lives. Even when we do take time to sit on the couch or lie in bed, how much of that time is spent scrolling on our phones, answering emails, and doing those stress bucket things we’ve already talked about? 

We need rest. Training is stress. It breaks the body down. Rest is when your body builds back up and gets stronger. Without it, you’ll never get the results you want. 

When It Might Be More Than Stress

For many of us, starting to work on the things above will make a huge difference in our levels of exhaustion. However, it’s also important to acknowledge some health markers that are worth investigating also. 

Fatigue and exhaustion, especially lasting more than a week or two, that’s not improving with more sleep and stress management, might indicate something else going on. 

Low iron levels or low ferritin levels are common culprits, especially in women over 40. Thyroid issues, sleep apnea, blood sugar problems, anxiety, and depression can also lead to low energy and exhaustion. Perimenopause and heavy bleeding can often contribute to many of these changes, so talking to your healthcare provider and getting some blood work done are always a great idea if you suspect there could be an issue. 

Also make sure that you are eating enough for the training that you are doing. Many women get into a state of low energy availability (LEA) or even RED-S, which can lead to fatigue, exhaustion, and many of the symptoms above. 

Pick One Thing This Week

Silence your notifications. Schedule a doctor’s appointment. Put your phone down and read a book. Give yourself some grace and a longer timeline. 

If you want better results in your running, take care of yourself as a whole person first.