Overtrained????

[SheFly]

Here's a question for you. This is my first season of competitive racing (road and 'cross). I started racing in April, and am still going and have races on the calendar until Nationals in December. I have also SIGNIFICANTLY increased my mileage this year - I'm currently at around 5300 miles for the year, and my previous best was around 3300.

I feel pretty tired, and like I don't have any oomph. Is it possible that I am overtrained and need a break? If so, is there somethign that I can do between now and Nationals to get some oopmh back?

Thanks for the help!

SheFly

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hi....

Based on miles alone, I think it is almost impossible to quantify the overall effect.

I use software with my PowerTap that calculates the long-term overall training load.....which is based on volume-duration-intensity. Right now in fact, I'm taking some time off as I was overreaching a bit. The tell-tale signs for me were: a) my inability to replicate my power numbers from before and b) I really started to dread parts of my training and lost a lot of motivation.

Back to your question...

You certainly upped the mileage but what about the intensity and duration? Are you riding at a higher intensity this year? Are you riding more hours?

You can build your overall training load quite a bit, but it really needs to be scaled in a way that your body can handle it. Plus, giving yourself regular breaks, in the form of a slightly easier week every so often, helps me.

If you are feeling less motivated and having trouble replicating your best performances, then taking some time off as well as planning your training carefully seems wise.

Best of luck with your races!

[SheFly]

You certainly upped the mileage but what about the intensity and duration? Are you riding at a higher intensity this year? Are you riding more hours?

Intensity and duration were also definitely increased - higher number of hours, longer duration rides, and did a lot of interval training earlier in the season.

If you are feeling less motivated and having trouble replicating your best performances, then taking some time off as well as planning your training carefully seems wise.

Best of luck with your races!

Definitely lacking motivation at this point, and the performance appears to be taking a hit as well. I am afraid of taking time off between now and Nationals though - I don't want to lose the fitness I have gained this year... Although I guess it is something of a tradeoff at this point.

Thanks for the tips though!

SheFly

[Veronica]

I'm not racing, but I trained pretty hard from January through August to complete three double centuries. I kind of took Sept. and Oct. off. I still rode quite a bit, 700 miles in the two months, but my mindset was different. Most rides I wasn't thinking about keeping a certain cadence, heart rate, speed... I've been riding just because it's fun and I enjoy it. I don't think I've lost much of the fitness I gained with training.

Maybe you need a little time like that. You know - where you ride just for the enjoyment of the ride. I have to tell you, I'm really enjoying the rides where I stay with Thom (my overworked/undertrained hubby) and don't think about training. I can talk, I can look at the scenery... I finish the ride and and have energy left to do other things.

V.

[han-grrl]

Some of the symptoms of over training include
increase in resting HR
unexplained weight loss-this is due to the fact that your body is starting to breakdown muscle
problems sleeping (too much or too little)
lack of motivation
changes in appetite

sometimes it is also just burnout. i felt that way after my 24 hour solo. i was just tired of training and long rides and didn't even want to look at my bike...

[Cassandra_Cain]

Intensity and duration were also definitely increased - higher number of hours, longer duration rides, and did a lot of interval training earlier in the season.

Hmmmm, well that will certainly do it - upping all 3 of those variables. Nothing wrong with it at all, it is a good goal, but it will take a toll on your freshness.

Definitely lacking motivation at this point, and the performance appears to be taking a hit as well. I am afraid of taking time off between now and Nationals though - I don't want to lose the fitness I have gained this year... Although I guess it is something of a tradeoff at this point.

Thanks for the tips though!

SheFly

I totally know what you mean about lacking motivation and being unable to produce your best numbers. After this sunday I was absolutely exhausted - I'd been ramping up my total training load at a frightening rate. I kid you not, I put the bike in my utility closet and didn't even look at it for like 3 days!

My feeling is that there is a relationship between fitness (how strong you are) and freshness (how well you can perform at any given point). The more we train, the more fit we become but at the cost of being fresh. That's probably why most of us taper before big races, because we want to be fresh and able to do our best on that day.

Now after not riding since sunday, I'm itching to get back on, thinking about going hard on some big mountains....you could say my physical and emotional batteries for biking are recharging!

I bet if you take a little time off, get your mind away from biking, that you'll come back not only fresh, but stronger.

[indysteel]

Shefly, are you suffering from any other symptoms of overtraining, e.g., do you feel depressed, have you gotten sick lately or more often than usual, are you having trouble staying asleep through the night, is your resting heart rate higher than normal, is your heartrate during exercise higher or lower than normal, do your legs feel tired when you're on the bike, do you do anything exercise-wise that's off the bike?

If the answer to any or all of these questions is yes, then I'd suggest, as C-Cain has that you take a bit of a break and/or rethink your training plan. You may be overtrained or underrecovered.

Good luck!

Kate

[SheFly]

Shefly, are you suffering from any other symptoms of overtraining, e.g., do you feel depressed, have you gotten sick lately or more often than usual, are you having trouble staying asleep through the night, is your resting heart rate higher than normal, is your heartrate during exercise higher or lower than normal, do your legs feel tired when you're on the bike, do you do anything exercise-wise that's off the bike?

Yes to all of the above! I guess that's a good indication of where I'm at...

Maybe you need a little time like that. You know - where you ride just for the enjoyment of the ride. I have to tell you, I'm really enjoying the rides where I stay with Thom (my overworked/undertrained hubby) and don't think about training. I can talk, I can look at the scenery... I finish the ride and and have energy left to do other things.

Agreed, V. I've been trying to do this, but the issue is that I don't even have the energy for fun rides right now! I went out on Tuesday night for an easy/recovery ride after my stage race. After a VERY easy ride (when looking down and seeing 12mph, I feel like I should be going harder...), I was on my way home and just wanted to stop - it literally felt like I was going backwards!

I bet if you take a little time off, get your mind away from biking, that you'll come back not only fresh, but stronger.

Agreed - now can you also give this information to DH??? I am trying to taper back the during the week riding, taking a bit of a break. I think I may also try skipping a couple of races between now and Nationals to see if that will help put the freshness back in before then without losing the fitness.

Thanks to everyone for the responses - I think I knew the answer to the question, but it is great to get reinforcement.

SheFly

[velogirl]

I'll throw a little fly in the ointment here.

There are those in the exercise phys. world who don't believe over-training exists. Our body has an incredible ability to adapt to training stress. Which means we can continue to do crazy things like stage races, riding cross country, ultra-marathons, etc. Yeah, I know, everyone talks about over-training. My athletes keep all the standard physiological markers in their journal (morning HR, mood, sleep quality, etc). But there are those in the coaching biz who feel it's just a term we all use a lot. I've worked with racers who clearly aren't over-trained but use the term to explain any decrease in performance.

As was mentioned earlier, the fine line is your level of freshness. That's what sounds like is suffering right now, SheFly.

In and of itself, your road + cross season has been pretty short. But this is your first season of racing, isn't it? How many races have you done this season? Did you take a mid-season break? Most road racers really cut back on their bike volume during cross season (if they're racing cross). Have you done that, or are you trying to maintain the same training levels as before?

For example, during the road season, I'm on the bike 15-20 hours a week. During cross, I'm on the bike only 3 or 4 days a week (maybe 8-10 hours). I'm also running and lifting, so there's a different training stimulus, but it's mentally pretty freeing to have some time off the bike. And my power numbers have actually increased since August.

My first advice is that if you're trying to maintain your road schedule (or more if you've also added in weights and running), you should cut back. Most cross racers do one or two interval sessions during the week (one set of short intervals 15-60 seconds; one set of 2 x 20s) -- that's it (in addition to racing). Other miles are considered junk miles.

If you take a short break you won't lose fitness. You'll gain freshness. The secret is timing this right so you peak for nationals in five weeks.

One observation I've had racing cross for the past four years (and coaching cross racers) is that we tend to peter out in November. Because most of us aren't doing high-volume low-intensity aerobic work, we begin to lose that aerobic base. It's more evident with the longer races (men). So, one option for you is to only do easy, aerobic riding the next couple of weeks and then ramp up your intensity again. This will strengthen your base and also give you a bit of freshness. Or take a week off completely, do one very low-intensity week, and then jump back into low-volume, high-intensity training.

Cross is a crazy sport. Most coaches frown on road racers racing cross. It completely changes your training calendar. You don't get the traditional down time or base-building in the fall so you have to do that in the early part of the year while all your training buddies/teammates are already adding in some intensity This also delays your road racing season until at least March or April (not a problem in the northeast). I personally couldn't imagine a fall without cross. If done right, you'll maintain and improve fitness (and your mind will be happy too).

[SheFly]

In and of itself, your road + cross season has been pretty short. But this is your first season of racing, isn't it? How many races have you done this season? Did you take a mid-season break? Most road racers really cut back on their bike volume during cross season (if they're racing cross). Have you done that, or are you trying to maintain the same training levels as before?

How long is your race season??? Of course, in the Northeast, we have some weather issues. I did start the road season about a month into the races here.

You are correct - this is my first season of racing. My goal was to complete 5 road races. I finished 12 races, plus competed in our club's weekly TT series a minimum of 10 times. I also did a race clinic that was the entire month of April...

Shifting to 'cross, I took the month of August off of racing, but still maintained the same training intensity. My goal for 'cross was to try 1 race. I have now finished 7 'cross races, and have 9 more on the calendar... When I shifted to 'cross, I hadn't really changed the duration or intensity, although both have been waning over the past two weeks.

I'm also running and lifting, so there's a different training stimulus, but it's mentally pretty freeing to have some time off the bike. And my power numbers have actually increased since August.

I haven't switched to any other type of activity - still relying solely on the bike. Perhaps I need to do some running just to take some time off...

My first advice is that if you're trying to maintain your road schedule (or more if you've also added in weights and running), you should cut back. Most cross racers do one or two interval sessions during the week (one set of short intervals 15-60 seconds; one set of 2 x 20s) -- that's it (in addition to racing). Other miles are considered junk miles.

If you take a short break you won't lose fitness. You'll gain freshness. The secret is timing this right so you peak for nationals in five weeks.

One observation I've had racing cross for the past four years (and coaching cross racers) is that we tend to peter out in November. Because most of us aren't doing high-volume low-intensity aerobic work, we begin to lose that aerobic base. It's more evident with the longer races (men). So, one option for you is to only do easy, aerobic riding the next couple of weeks and then ramp up your intensity again. This will strengthen your base and also give you a bit of freshness. Or take a week off completely, do one very low-intensity race, and then jump back into low-volume, high-intensity training.

Cross is a crazy sport. Most coaches frown on road racers racing cross. It completely changes your training calendar. You don't get the traditional down time or base-building in the fall so you have to do that in the early part of the year while all your training buddies/teammates are already adding in some intensity This also delays your road racing season until at least March or April (not a problem in the northeast). I personally couldn't imagine a fall without cross. If done right, you'll maintain and improve fitness (and your mind will be happy too).

Thanks! This helps to put things in perspective for me. I didn't really know at the beginning of the 'cross season that I was going to enjoy it so much that it consumed my fall weekends. I think my training plan for next year will have a different focus. This is a learning/building year for me, so these tips are great!

SheFly