Maybe I’m just having a crap couple of days. I’m not sure. My legs feel like they are boat anchors and energy levels seem to be in the crapper. I take 1 day off each week. 11-12 hrs training per week. approx 30 miles running, 100 miles riding, 7500m swimming. I do all 3 in one day once per week - swim am, run lunch, ride evening. I do 2 of the 3 on most days. I seem to be eating constantly. Sleep about 6.5-7hrs/night. 16th week of training. Anything obviously wrong with the above? How much recovery time is needed before another workout? I’m guessing that overtraining is well beyond what I’m doing. Here’s a snap of my log.
Thanks!!
Mark
I did post a link to this on an earlier forum thread, but here it is again. It’s in two parts. I don’t know if it helps you, but I found it rather informative (it’s given from a track and field perspective):
http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/852-breaking-apart-the-weeks-by-danny-mackey-ms
http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/948-hormones-working-overtime-by-danny-mackey-ms
I’m realizing I typically get basedovoid overtraining. Perhaps you’re experiencing the other kind (the more difficult to detect version).
The basic overriding principle to follow is, “When in doubt, rest”.
But, as always, there’s a lot more to it than that. The reason you feel crappy could be any number of different things. Your body could be tired, it could be mental fatigue, it could be illness, you might be eating the wrong things, etc… Its impossible to accurately and confidently diagnose your problem given the limited amount of information you’ve made available to us.
You gave us training volume, but those numbers don’t necessarily mean much. The more important details are how the plan is structured in terms of intensity. 100 miles of riding can be extremely demanding, or it can just be glorified active recovery. On the same note, 30 miles of running, if done all at tempo and higher pace, is really tough to do in a week. 30 miles of moderate running is obviously much less stressful.
Other things to consider… What was your athletic background before starting this training? Are you building recovery weeks into your program? Do you have significant external sources of stress which may be affecting you?
So, yes, the simple answer is just to take a couple days off. That’ll solve most fatigue issues. But, its very worthwhile to do a critical examination of everything that may be contributing to your fatigue levels.
You need more SLEEP. You’ll recover so much better. And have more energy.
6.5-7? I don’t function without 12 hours