I know this topic has been discussed previously on other forums though I’m wondering various people deal with it. My situation is that I have been training for a half-IM coming up on 6/26 and plan to do IM Canada in late August. I had been training pretty hard to the point of feeling guilty about time away from family yet feeling good physically until 2 weeks ago when I developed a upper respiratory infection which I am now getting over. Unfortunately I feel like I did “fitness-wise” 4 months ago and am contemplating withdrawing from my upcoming race. What is frustrating is how much time and personal expense is put into training for these events in advance, yet the slightest insult (illness, accident, etc…) makes much of the training “all for naught.” How do you guys get back on the horse?
You may be a bit or a lot overtrained. You’ll probably race a lot better than you think, but there is NO TIME left to get faster before 6/26, so taper hard. Take this week off completely, except for a few swims and very easy spins, nothing over an hour. Next week go to taper mode and you should do fine.
One of the worst consequences of overtraining is that most folks feel depressed along with it. That part is just in your head, and it should go away quickly. All that training will hold you in good stead on race day, but only if you allow yourself to recover NOW!!