Overtrained with 6 Days Until HIM

My only advice, go to your docs and get some valiums. They will help you relax, sleep and keep your mind calm. It'll chill you out and give your body some relax time.

I would definitely rest up. That big an increase in resting heart rate either means a health issue (anemia, thyroid, coming down with a virus?) or you are seriously overtrained. Coupled with your earlier post about swimming, guessing it's one or both of those in addition to whatever form issues you might have--the difference really shouldn't be that dramatic even if your form is totally falling apart unless fatigue and/or illness are major factors as well.

For me the inability to sleep when tired is also a very clear warning sign that I've overdone it; if I don't back off ( as in maybe take a few days completely off and then a day or two very easy), there's probably a 50% chance I'll get sick. Not to alarm you--as an elementary teacher I'm exposed to lots of coughing, sneezing kiddos every day, so probably more vulnerable than most, but I would definitely err very far on the side of caution in this case. I'd just do easy stuff, as in no more than thirty minutes.a day, no intensity beyond a few strides or pickups. As my coach used to say, the money's either in the bank, or it isn't. Don't deplete your balance before the starting gun goes off.

If you've ever seen my race reports you'd know that I seem to specialize in getting sick during taper and hardly at any other time so maybe that's where my caution is coming from. On the plus side, if it is just overtraining, feeling like absolute cr.... often comes just before starting to feel better. Your body's first response when you lay off the daily grind is to notice just how tired and sore it is. Then, if you let it, it should start to rebuild. A week should be enough time if it's simply an issue of overtraining and you're otherwise healthy.

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I take it it's not an A-race event correct?  If it were a taper would be implemented for optimal performance.

Take the time off and relax, if this means yoga, massage (highly recommend), bubble baths , etc., then do it.  This time of the year a weakened immune system makes you vulnerable to all the misc. viruses going around.

^^^^ drugs are not the solution!


Hopefully your schedule this week is very light, you should do all 3 but need to make sure you are recovered before race day. Did you start tapering last week, just not as much as you are used to?

Actually, it is my A race of 2014. My scheduled weeks were a peak of about 16 hours 2 weeks, out, 11 hours the week before, and then 13ish hours race week (which includes the race itself.) Coupled with being a full time student and working two jobs, it's just been a bit much. I doubt I can freshen up completely in the next 6 days, but I'm really going to try. I appreciate all the advice- especially the massages and bubble baths :-)

I agree with Yaz. We are all different and we are probably different from race to race.
This was my load last October going to Miami 70.3. The last bar is race week.
A few 16hour weeks, a dip to 14 two weeks out, back to 16 1 week out and very little the week of the race. Maybe 3 hours + the race.
I did a 4h44 PB which I wasn't expecting. (And I'm old)

Trust your plan !! Your body can bounce back pretty quickly. Have confidence






Edited by marcag 2014-09-22 2:21 PM






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Don't listen to anybody but your own body.

You know very well what serious overtraining is. And if you keep on pushing you'll need 3 months rest.

Erin,

You have a very difficult juggling act to do between now and race day.

Getting to the start line properly rested and getting their stale because your body things it's ok to shut down is a difficult balance to find.

Speak with your coach.
Listen to your body.
Have confidence in yourself.

Definitely at this point rest is more important than any more workouts. That being said, I do best when I have SOME activity. Short relaxed workouts with maybe some 30 second high cadence / high turnover work mixed in just to keep a little speed in there. (I guess that is what axteraa was saying about balance between rest and not stale, so yes, excellent advice!)

Also, I have the racing mind and restless body at night problem ALOT, training or not. When I am leading up to a race, I've taken GNC AMP PM formula. Link below. It tastes god awful, and is way too expensive, but I swear it helps me relax enough to sleep yet not feel groggy the next day. Not sure if it's a good idea for you to try this now leading up to a race (always better to try it in training), but thought I'd suggest it in case you are desparte for a nice sleep

Good luck!

http://www.gnc.com/GNC-Pro-Performance-AMP-Amplified-Recover-PM-Fru...

PS...i have no affiliation with GNC. And, also, if anyone knows of a similar product that tastes better, please let me know! I really gag on this stuff.

Edited by keyone 2014-09-22 9:42 PM

All the hay is in the barn. Chill out, do some easy workouts as you can, sleeeeeeeep, rest, and hope for the best.

Every race I've gone into overtrained, even C races, I've had bad days. Just try to chill out and relax.

So how did it go?

Thanks for asking. All things considered, it went well. I did nothing but rest/swim on alternating days the last week of taper and finally felt back to normal the day before the race. I ended up having a decent race, finishing 5th age group and even getting a slot to World's (although I passed because of an Austria trip being a little spendy!)

Long story short: good swim for me (30:00 but current-aided,) biked well but lost my nutrition right after the first water stop, so I had nothing to drink for 20 miles and then got stuck with perform which I do not stomach well. Bike time including stopping to get my nutrition sorted was 2:41 so I was pleased. Unfortunately, I fell apart on the run and it became a suffer fest- 1:48. Still, I'm stoked about everything!

This forum has been a wonderful resource getting ready for this race and helping me deal with my training issues. I can't thank everyone enough for all the help and support.

5in in AG, that's awesome! Congratulations! Hopefully you're feeling better now. Training is supposed to be fun but ,at times, it's like a 2nd job and gets stressful/too much. Glad you were able to overcome it and do so well!

Thanks and very true! I'm really looking forward to a few months of casual, off-season training.... trail running with no watch, hitting the pool a little extra and just biking for fun. I never thought I'd get any kind of award in an Ironman-branded race so it was nice to end the season on a high note.

wow, congrats on a great finish at an m-dot branded race...sounds like you had an amazing race.