The important take away is to try and truly carve out time to just relax – Sunday afternoons after my long runs was a good place to start for me! One way to tell how your body is coping with stress is to do this simple heart rate check: As you first wake up in the morning, check your heart rate, either carotid or radial pulse, and jot it down. Check your pulse every other day or so to get a true determination of what your resting pulse really is. Keep a record of your pulse over the weeks. Ideally, it should go down as you get fitter, but if you are noticing it staying elevated above your baseline for more than several days, it is a sign that your body is under some sort of stress and you need to figure out how to address it.

Coach Sam Davis