Overtraining. Your advice and experiences please?

dadkinson

I had a great OS, missed virtually no sessions and performed well in running races. I then took a 2 week transition, but with a big bike-focus weekend on the end, and then got stuck into my 12 week build for IM France.

However, I have now missed 5 or 6 weeks of the build due to low-energy / post-viral type fatigue. A couple of times I've felt a little better, done a light run or swim, and then immediately 'crashed' again the next day.

I'm awaiting the results of some further blood tests to confirm if I'm actually fighting something off, but I read this article about overtraining and it rings some bells for me:

www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archiv...auses.html

Interestingly, it cites two case studies where the athlete had stresses outside of the sport, and suffered overtraining despite the fact that they had not increased their normal training load. This year I took a promotion at work and also started studying for a University degree by correspondence course. Although I feel like I'm on top of things, I wondered if the cumulative effect of this, along with the IM training, had pushed me 'over the edge'.

It's so tough to miss IM France having paid out all the flights, accomodation and race fee, but I don't even think I could drag myself round it as a 'catered workout'. I'm supposed to be doing IM UK 5 weeks afterwards too, and it's looking like, with the races I've already missed, that I'll be well over $1,000 down for the year 

Anyone got any similar experience/advice? I've been leaving my EN membership live in the constant hope of feeling better and resuming the plan, but it looks like I need to take an EN-holiday and write this year off completely 

Des

Paul Hough

Des - your VDOT and FTP are way up from last season! Did you get those results before you started feeling bad? I've been running and doing triathlons for many decades now. In that time, I've only picked up on 2 signs of overtraining that apply to me. The first is very heavy quad muscles. If it feels like I'm running on tree trunks for more than 3 days, I need to cut way back. The second is loss of motivation to train. Typically, a few days of very light training will take care of both problems.

I think it's very likely that the job change and university studies have added a form of mental stress on top of the training. You may need to adjust the amount of rest you are getting to find a new balance that works for you; and that could very well mean a 10-20% long term reduction in training to get the rest. If I were in your shoes, with so much invested in training time and money, I would make a sharp cut-back (like 80%) for a full week, get lots of sleep, then come back to training at the new 80% level of your former load. If that doesn't do it, then maybe a full medical is in order to rule out any other cause. Best of luck in getting past this!

chris malone

x2 with Paul. Life stress will suck the energy right out of you. If you did the complete OS, you're not that far off from being ready for the IM. You need some volume but you can still get that. But cut yourself some slack in the meantime and get rested mentally and physically. Adding in IM plan volume into an already busy life can cause some additional stress. Don't panic. You can still get there.

Carrie Chavez

It will be interesting to see if the medical check up shows anything.

I have been totally overdone before many times. Most recently last summer. I was fried from too many races, not enough recovery and sore muscles from trail running and racing. It got ugly and I pulled the plug. I took 3 weeks super easy. Swam and did easy bikes. Very few runs. Then I got back to training by keeping it short and hardish( I decreased mt FT and Vdot arbitrarily and trainer easier). I felt amazing. Raced well all fall season and PR'd a 5K in December.

I know you have IM coming up. If I were you and the medical tests are normal. I would return to training at a lower Vdot and FT. Focus on feeling good in workouts. Not cooked. Shorten the sets. Skip intervals. Whatever it takes. You may surprise yourself just letting off the throttle a bit allows your body to absorb the work.

I for one modify the heck out of the sets based on how recovered I feel. Day by day I adjust. I want to avoid being burned out. Last summer was enough. Brutal!

My signs/ symptoms that I am near THE LINE of overtraining:
shortness of breath with daily activities. Feeling whooped all day after a workout. Not wanting to train. Can't sleep.

I hope you rally soon so you can race.

Carrie

ghernand

des:

all great advice here.  indeed, the mental aspect plays a big role in your bodies ability to churn out strong workouts.  recent studies out of eurpoe are beginning to characterize this phenomenon.

to add to carrie's advice of reducing the throttle with your training, i would focus on those areas that need improvement.  if your energy or attention is limited towards your workouts currently, then use that energy towards improving run strength vs. hammering on the bike; or use that energy to plan out a proper sleep/yoga/.recovery schedule;  this would be a pro-active us of that limited pool of energy.

a complete blood panel with levels of B12/VitD/serum Calcium included, can re-assure you that all is as it should be metabolically.

gh

dadkinson

Thanks everybody 

 

Yes, my signature shows my end-of-OS results before my 5-week unintentional 'taper'(!)

 

For me it's not so much muscle ache as joint ache, in hips and back. 80% training load is currently a pipe dream - I can barely walk up a flight of stairs!

 

Test results are due tomorrow and they're checking thyroid/B12/etc, as well as re-checking my iron/ferritin which has been low in the past.

 

I almost want them to find something rather than going down the avenue of a stress/psychological diagnosis or some such - I have a friend who is diagnosed with ME and that started with overtraining symptoms very similar to mine, which has made me more than a little paranoid...

 

Des

Coach Patrick

Des, please keep us posted! I agree with the others that life stress can totally do you in regardless of your training volume. The human body can do an awful lot but when it's done, it's D.O.N.E. I think that it's best to simply stand down and plan on IMUK for now. Some hard core rest, no training, with lots of good sleep (minimum of 8 hours a night). Hopefully that will get you right!