So I’ve been training like a mad woman lately, and then WHAMMO! Tuesday morning, 5:30am swim - nothing, I mean nuttin’ left in the tank. Quit after 30min. Ate like a pig and did zero activity rest of the day, and ditto all day Wed too. Thursday skipped early am swim, ate slightly less than prior days, went for a good steady hilly 60k ride after work, felt ok. Still feel tired overall though. I needed a nap today, I haven’t napped since my daughter turned 5months old.
I eat heaps of red meat (hello Mr colon cancer!) and have NEVER had low iron, so that ain’t it. I think part of it is my eating so much, mostly carbs, then I get the post-carb crash. I have a very easy weekend ahead (swim tomorrow am, then a short(er than usual) run on Sunday) before going hard for my last 4 weeks pre-1/2IM race.
Suggestions of things to try or things to watch for? I don’t want to be overtrained, I really want to kick butt at this race, but I am afraid if I just do virtually nothing next week as well that I’ll be boned come race day.
Yeah, a massage would kick-ass right now, good thinkin. Hubby and I are staying at a fancypants hotel Sat night for our anniversary, maybe I’ll book one at the spa.
nope going the other way, increasing volume at low intensity (I have no illusions about being fast/speedy)
Yes on both counts
yes indeedy.
Re #4: one is the home financial situation (not bad, but stressful at times) and one is the job that sucks for the boss who I swear only sees a set of boobs and a (if I say so myself) relatively nice butt. The latter is the one that pisses me off more than anything to the point where I am completely unmotivated at work.
Sounds like you’re over doing it. Take 2-3 days off and don’t feel guilty. Have a life for a few days. It won’t hurt and you’ll come back better.
Red meat is hard on the digestive system and will make you sluggish. Lots of other protein sources are available and you should also be thinking pasta and other high quality carb foods.
Why would anybody go hard for the last four weeks before a 1/2 IM race. The work is mostly already done. You should begin tapering the last couple of weeks.
"I haven’t napped since my daughter turned 5months old. "
This is the comment that really blew me away, assuming your daughter is still very young… Do you think you’re super woman? What are your priorities?
First off, I feel bad about your work situation, that sucks. But, (no pun intended) I guess it could be worse. Does he know he is doing it, and does he know you don’t like it? I have been in a similar situation.
Financial situations are never beneficial, stress wise, but training actually helps clear the mind.
I quit formal training for three months because I felt flat. I went from 5x and 10-12 hrs of riding per week to 2x per week group rides. I just had nothing, did not feel the “fire”. I had been racing and training week in and week out for the past six years without a break in training. So I stopped all racing for six months, to re-evaluate the reason I enjoy racing. 99% of my training during this six years was solo, I raced MTB, Du’s and now TT/road.
Next season I have planned 700 hours.
I came to some self realizations in the last month, and hope this brings back the fire:
I am slow because I don’t periodize, ride enough hours, or train hard enough
Fast group training rides rock, and so do big mileage rides
I need to travel, get away somewhere really cool and just ride my bike for fun, and soon
Coaching myself, and learning how to ‘properly’ train, is really fun
Mayo makes for a really bad pre race meal
Well, all this rambling probably has not helped you any …
LOL, no the rambling helps. That’s part of why I posted, was to get ideas and inspiration from fellow STers like yourself. And I’ll avoid the mayo pre-training.
I miss racing, having pretty much given most of it up for IM training. This 1/2IM next month is very much anticipated! After that it’s the 15 week push to IMWA, but I have already decided next year to hang up the bike and goggles, and just run run run for as long as I want.
And about work: well, I’ll be leaving soon, it’s just a matter of finding the right place to go. Then he can start at the other ladies and scratch himself all he wants (he really does this).
If you’re on your recovery week, even if you feel tired, just go through the workouts at recovery pace. You have to realize that just because it’s an easier week, you won’t feel recovered in the first 2-3 days.
The timing for adaptation and super-compensation is more than a week, so you’ll probablyfeel a lot better on sunday or even monday. Getting rest days instead of recovery workouts will delay adaptation.
It is all about “reasonable expectations”. Sounds like you are pretty centered and just have the occasional - and perfectly “reasonable” - things throw you off. Between stupid work/boss stuff and an overreached training situation, it is entirely “reasonable” to feel out of it every once in a while. Remember, training doesn’t make you stronger, recovery does. And the boss crap is just that, it ain’t you it is him, so just clear you head and realize that you are doing just fine. It is the boss and the training the are out of whack. Sort of like in a race, you have to run your own, not any one elses.
First off, I feel bad about your work situation… I have been in a similar situation.
I remember when Gary posted about his boss ignoring his work and always staring at his tits and ass… He was pretty down about it.
Take Paulo’s advice and do some “recovery pace” workouts. You should start to feel strong again in 4-6 days, unless you’re a lot more tired than you think.
Once the 1/2 is under your belt, recover well from it and start your big push. You gonna make it to El Paso?
one sign of over training. are you going to bed later than normal? for some reasons when athletes start to go over the edge they think staying up later helps more.
Easy recovery days, reduce overall volume, nap if possible, don’t worry about it be smart and listen to your body.
Thanks, that is a really good point. I had a really good swim this morning (3600m), appetite and sleep back to normal(ish). I think if I hadn’t swum this morning I would still feel crummy (mentally at least).
Funny, yeah I was getting to bed later and later. Back to “normal” now. Plus the appetite being back to normal. Guess that big week really took it out of me, so I needed longer than prior weeks to get enough recovery (last brick on Sunday was 115k ride + 27k run - which is a lot for me).
It’s good to have folks like you, SAC, my homeboy Khai, GT, cerveloguy, etc. around if only to keep me from mentally making too much of things like this, to keep my sanity in check. IF that’s really possible
Doubt I can swing it, even though I have enough points to fly for free, and it would be perfect timing. I’ll have to get the hubby drunk and bribe him (you-know-what everynight for a month? my jaw hurts thinking about it).
It was mid-Sept right? Are you going? PM me any details you have (at this point).
