Burning out mid season

Jan 22, 18 18:18

Post #1 of 20 (3306 views)

Hey all.
Just wondering if anyone ever gets burnt with tris mid season and what do you do about it?

I'm putting in normal volume after years in the sport however for the last 12 weeks I have been doing atleast 1 v02 bike session a week, the other session at threshold or close to with weekend hardish rides or races. Run volume only around 50kms a week with one tempo or interval run during that week.
The last 8 weeks of the 12 I have been doing the Trainerroad oly distance specialty program high volume (minus the longer rides where I group ride however these group rides can be hard).

Last 2 weeks I'm sputtering through bike and run workouts, getting half done, or sitting on base bars, reducing intensity, pausing Trainerroad to catch my breathe etc..:
I'm starting to dislike tris, my bike and this sport lol....and this morning I could only get through half of a workout called 'deerhorn' which is basically a sweetspot 2x20. I got 20 mins out and was cooked.
Easier workouts are making me drip with sweat with huge effort.
I assume I'm due for a rest despite TrainingPeaks giving me a positive tsb (prob because I'm trying to get through things but failing).
Does anyone do a week or so of pure zone 2 mid season? I'm annoyed because I had a good build to race season with higher fitness levels and have had a few good earlier races...The thought of dropping fitness alarms me but I'm also aware that hating your bike, dreading workouts especially anything that says %120 ftp, and collapsing into a heap mid ride or run is not doing me any favours.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 18:31

Post #2 of 20 (3289 views)

Sounds like recovery is needed. Listen to your body and dial it back for a few days and see how you feel.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 18:38

Post #3 of 20 (3277 views)

Depending on the length of the season, I require a break somewhere in the middle. My reasons may be more related to motivation, but it sounds like, form the limited description, that you may be fatigued. A few days off might not cut it. You may want to cut training way back in volume and intensity for a couple weeks or until your body feels ready to go again. Don't be too alarmed, it sounds like you have made a good increase in fitness this year and giving your body time to recover will allow you to make more gains moving forward. The alternative may lead to greater loss of fitness anyway.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 18:39

Post #4 of 20 (3276 views)

The best, most consistent, and longest lasting triathletes should all take a hefty winter "off season" and a mid season break, for a large variety of reasons. One of which is the effect you describe.

Last edited by: jkhayc: Jan 22, 18 18:39

Re: Burning out mid season [toastygloveman] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 18:46

Post #5 of 20 (3267 views)

oh i have motivation issues at the moment dont you worry lol.
Im glad this is relatively normal then. I have felt this sort of thing before, usually a week of easy stuff brings the fire back. I guess trying to push through with half attempted workouts trying and failing to hit power targets etc isnt giving me a proper rest thus im delaying any real recovery and opportunity to get that motivation back.

Re: Burning out mid season [jkhayc] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 18:48

Post #6 of 20 (3261 views)

jkhayc wrote:

The best, most consistent, and longest lasting triathletes should all take a hefty winter "off season" and a mid season break, for a large variety of reasons. One of which is the effect you describe.

from what i read and see your a bit of a gun...do you ever feel guilty or feel like a week or two of very easy workouts etc will send you backwards? if you ever take them? just curious

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 19:15

Post #7 of 20 (3234 views)

Totally normal! You describe it well here, fatigue can be a slippery slope physically and mentally. First you don't hit goals, then feel like you have to do more to make up for it, but what you really need is less!! Don't feel guilty about it. Your body needs time to absorb the training and "rest" will help with that. If your fitness slips a little, you will be able to get it back much quicker than before.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 21:50

Post #8 of 20 (3143 views)

Since taking a break from tri's and doing some weight lifting, one of the things I've learned from my coach is the concept of a 'deload' week. He programs them in every 6th week, so normal training for 5 weeks then one week of the same intensity but basically half the volume. I find it's great for the physical recovery, but even more so mentally. That combined with a slightly different program every 6 week block keeps me mentally fresh and excited about the next block.

I was similar to you last year, and just about burnt out completely. I got injured as well which didn't help, it almost made me walk away from endurance sport for the rest of my life. I'll be back in a few years when I'm done with the weight lifting, and when I do I'll be taking some concepts I've learned in strength/hypertrophy training regarding programming and incorporating them into my endurance training.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 22, 18 23:35

Post #9 of 20 (3093 views)

Go out for dinner a few nights with your significant other. A few cocktails should set you straight.

Re: Burning out mid season [toastygloveman] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 3:06

Post #10 of 20 (3006 views)

should one take complete rest with this sort of thing, or do some very light training, zone 2 for reduced time etc?

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 4:02

Post #11 of 20 (2967 views)

no, i don't ever feel guilty for choosing "life" things over tri things. obviously taking rest and recovery, to an extent, sends you backwards but at the end of the day, with the exception of maybe <250 guys and gals in the world, this is basically a hobby.

i don't think complete rest is necessary. just do what you want to do for 2-3 weeks. limit yourself to an upper threshold in terms of duration and do stuff that isn't ''normal'' for your training routine.

wait aren't you in australia? so it's your summer now, correct? maybe 1 or 2 weeks then.

Last edited by: jkhayc: Jan 23, 18 4:04

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 4:49

Post #12 of 20 (2923 views)

It really depends on your state of health. I think it would be fine to significantly reduce your volume and train at Zone 1/2, but if you still feel crappy during the workouts or feel like you are just doing them because you feel you have to, then maybe it would be better to take off completely.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 7:19

Post #13 of 20 (2807 views)

I would highly recommend reading Peak Performance, it is mainly about avoiding this.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 9:40

Post #14 of 20 (2717 views)

coates_hbk wrote:

should one take complete rest with this sort of thing, or do some very light training, zone 2 for reduced time etc?

Hey coates_hbk,

It does sound like you are a little over-cooked and are in need of a bit of recovery. A great option for this would be to do a week from Traditional Base, either Mid-Volume or Low volume depending on how you feel. These work great as recovery weeks due to the mellow efforts and can work to get you back to feeling your best :)

I look forward to hearing how you feel afterwards!

Get Faster with TrainerRoad

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 10:00

Post #15 of 20 (2697 views)

I'll put my n=1 that I fried myself when I tried doing the Trainerroad HIM program (mid volume, I think). Definitely underperformed relative to my training on the bike, despite putting more time and effort on the bike training than ever before.

I don't necessarily fault the plan, which seemed reasonable (aside from the crazy taper at the end which I think they've fixed) - it's just combined with run volume and swim volume, it was just too much for me to put up those 6-8hrs a week of fairly hard (steady stateish) rides every week.

I just mention this because for me, I've learned that even if you're super structured on the bike, the fatigue load from the B+R can easily eat into that, and cost you by race day. Unfortunately, unless you're a really good self-coach or have hired a really good coach, you'll have to listen to your body rather than just 'sticking to the plan' and learn from each go around.

I def have learned the hard way tha peaking for races is real, and that even though I live in Norcal where I can realistically train year-round outdoors, winter training for me entails a lot of indoor stuff due to darkness and darkness running which is honestly not much fun no matter how you cut it, and if I train too hard over the winter, I'm just mentally spent by March - when I should be amping it up.

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 10:29

Post #16 of 20 (2662 views)

I had to cut my structured training to 8-12 weeks max - couldn’t stomach the 20 week plans

While I like improvements from structured training, it starts to take the “fun” out of it for me

When I get burned out I take time off and I always end up back on the wagon!

Re: Burning out mid season [jkhayc] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 11:27

Post #17 of 20 (2631 views)

jkhayc wrote:

The best, most consistent, and longest lasting triathletes should all take a hefty winter "off season" and a mid season break, for a large variety of reasons. One of which is the effect you describe.

^^ This. You don't have to be fast in the Winter (or the beginning of your training plan)

All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Re: Burning out mid season [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 18:35

Post #18 of 20 (2513 views)

Thanks for the words

Yes I have been going since June last year- started very easy obviously and having a day off on the odd occasion and was going ok.

Started doing 1min on/off v02 bike workouts around November and progressed vo2 time in mid December whilst starting Trainerroad oly high volume plan which keeps 1 v02 session a week. Sessions like 3(3x3) @120% on a Tuesday, thur would be 3x10mins at ftp as an example. Weekend group ride could be spirited too. So I think the bike workload whilst not high in volume, the intensity has caught up with me

Run has been consistent one hard workout a week the rest easy

I had a cracker of a race (sprint) 2 weeks ago, afterwards felt lacking in motivation to continue the hard stuff all the time. Had an easy week last week for a weekend sprint race to try and rest up and it went 'ok' but about 10 watts shy of my previous race. Run pace down about 10 sec per km too. Last 3 days I'm just blurgh.... did an easy 30 mins treadmill this morning and sweating bullets so I'll just dial it back for a while

Thanks all

Re: Burning out mid season [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]

Jan 23, 18 18:55

Post #19 of 20 (2501 views)

A lot of others have hit the nail on the head about keeping training a bit less structured and taking a break. I take a break after my last race but it isn’t for that long. Part of me is worried I’m losing something but I also enjoy working out.

The biggest thing for me is I don’t go crazy over what I eat/drink until a few months before my first race. I don’t eat terrible but I do love donuts and cookies and wish I found is the longer I try to keep myself away from those foods the more I get frustrated with training at times. When I get serious I still eat donuts but I might only have a few a week rather than a few after my swims, which happen to be right next to a bakery.

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Re: Burning out mid season [jrielley] [ In reply to ]

Jan 24, 18 3:06

Post #20 of 20 (2436 views)

Man, I love donuts. My favourite is a fresh, slightly eggy crueller dusted with cinnamon sugar.....

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