Push through or pull back

What's your recovery plan like after the big workouts?  ie getting any extra protein in, ice baths, massages etc.  If your starting to hit some big volumes you might need some or even all of the above to help you get through them.

In time you need them less. 

So far none of the above. My recovery plan is typically lie face down on my living room floor for about 15 minutes after setting out a towel to soak up the sweat. Sadly, my volumes are laughable for most on this site, but the bike is killing me on both the medium and long bike and even my long run is starting to get to the point where it is a long run for me. I thought about an ice batch after my last long run, but I've never done one. How cold should an ice bath be? It sounds like abotu the last thing I'd want to do coming in out of the 18 degree weather, but if it'll freshen my legs any I'll listen.

Edited by randomguymike 2010-01-12 5:26 PM

cottoneyes seems like a pretty smart man/woman(sorry, didn't check your logs). Lots of sleep, good food, and massages can make a world of difference.

Depends what your goal is?

Personally I'd lighten up on the load, if your feeling burned out then no point hurting yourself just to log some numbers! There will always be tomorrow when you're feeling re-energised.

The plans aren't gospel as there's many different levels / volumes out there to suit your requirements. Listen to your body and adjust to suit.

Also - take a step back and remember why you Tri and what your training for. It's a tri / life balance thing after all

Rich

So far none of the above. My recovery plan is typically lie face down on my living room floor for about 15 minutes after setting out a towel to soak up the sweat. Sadly, my volumes are laughable for most on this site, but the bike is killing me on both the medium and long bike and even my long run is starting to get to the point where it is a long run for me. I thought about an ice batch after my last long run, but I've never done one. How cold should an ice bath be? It sounds like abotu the last thing I'd want to do coming in out of the 18 degree weather, but if it'll freshen my legs any I'll listen.

Hey Mike!
I think you answered your own question in your first sentence! I have been there too many times in the past until I learned to read my body. Ultimately you have to decide but I would consider seriously taking a day or even two off. Sometimes it is the hardest thing to understand but if you are overtraining you are losing fitness! Overtraining means your body is not adapting and recovering. If you do this now with your recovery week coming up, you should be able to hit your most important phases upcoming in good shape. At the very least you should cut back intensity before anything else and running before biking or swimming, especially with your tired legs. Take care and train smart. Rooting for you!

This is one of the problems with generic training plans... they don't take you and your life situation in account.

It really does sound like you need to take a few days completely off to recover. Have you been taking a complete rest day during the last few weeks? What about changing one training session per week to a "free" session, i.e. you can do whatever you feel like. I've found that this helps me a lot

I'd take a few days off to start with.  Once you start again focus more on recovery after training, check your nutrition strategy (throughout the whole day not just after training).

You could also try changing your training program a bit - tailor it to your lifestyle or substitute workouts that bore you with ones that you like. 

I agree with ^^^

Generic plans make assumptions about things so you need to learn to listen to your body to make changes that work for you.

You live in IL and doing a 20 week plan now at week 11 to race an early season tri in warmer weather. I'd guess after that you will be training for local races. You have maybe 30-40 weeks of tri training ahead of you. You need to keep fatigue at bay and also keep your mind on.

Take a few days off until you are excited to get back to training. Learn to listen to your body and try to avoid getting to this place in future.

Last week I was feeling off and fatigued. I have a coach so we had me take a 1.5 days off and had two very light days. I feel so much better.

Another thing that I would question is what is your effort level during your training sessions?  If you have to lie face down for 15 minutes on the floor afterwards, it sounds like you may be doing all your workouts as hard as you can.  This is not necessary, and can actually cause injuries.  Some should be hard, and some should be easy.

Lots of good points above. 

One other thing to think about is that your run speed seems much faster then your bike and swim comparatively.  If the run is a strength for you consider either backing off the run volume or just running slower.  Hopefully that will give you more energy for your swim and bike workouts.     

^^^^ This is the only thing that helps me at all.