Following a lot of stress (work, high training volume for Ironman, then illness, causing more stress, then training too hard to get fit again) all spaced over 8-10 weeks, I suspect I have caused myself a form of adrenal overload/exhaustion. Consequently I’m finding that if I train at anything more than an easy/moderate pace I’m written off for a week feeling run down and exhausted!
I’m now looking at following Maffetone’s principles and training real steady for a while until this ‘chemical injury’ is healed.
Question is, has anyone else experienced this sort of over-trained state, and how long does it take for the system to get well again?
I would be very careful. A friend of mine is in the same boat and has been dealing with this since spring 2002 and he will be able to resume real training in December (2003). He tried what you did–train a little, get knocked back, repeat cycle and now, is only coming out of this after a complete layoff and other medical therapy. I guess the doctors are just now figuring this sort of problem out. Good luck.
I hate when this happens. I too have been there and found that taking several days completely off did it for me. I think about 4 days. Then I slowly started swimming and biking very short EZ sessions to test my body. Coming back from an illnes takes a lot longer to recover from then most people think esp. when training for an IM.
In a nutshell, get loads of sleep, eat well, take some days off and restart slowly. Good luck!
I took two weeks off before I could even lace up a pair of shoes. It’s a very weired thing when this happens. I was so shook the first time that it happened that I’ve always been very, very aware of the onset of another bout. We all walk a very fine line sometimes. eric
I’ve never been forced to take any longer than a week or two from overtraining. I avoid high intesity stuff in the first place saving it for peak weeks leading up to races. My long layoffs are usually planned. I may be headed for trouble but low intensity stuff (active recovery) works for me (MAF/Mark Allen methods).
If you have overreached, meaning slightly overstressed yourself, you may be able to recover with an easy week. For example, it is common to feel run down in the third week of a three week training cycle but then feel fine after the following down-week. However, if you are truly overtrained it will take longer. If I were in your shoes I would listen to my body and only do the training I felt like doing. I would still exercise five or six days a week, but would stay in low HR zones and keep durations short. I would also mix in some walks and other gentle exercises. Once I started to feel better I would still limit my heart rate to Zone 1 for an extra week just to be sure I was recovered. Basically, I would let my batteries recharge until I was dying to get back out there and start hammering. Think of the recovery period as a time in which you are pulling back your body’s slingshot. Keep pulling it back until that rubber band is tight as shit and then let it rip!
Personally, I find that when I take total layoffs I end up feeling worse. For example, if I am sick and lay around the house for a couple days, I will get aches and pains from laying around that have nothing to do with the illness. Also, my energy levels will plummet after real layoffs. Once I get out the door for a walk or easy ride I usually feel much more energetic and the aches I have usually go away. That is the basis for my opinion that easy activity is better for your body than no activity in nearly all situations.
All of this advice is based on the assumption that you are not sick and just overtrained. It would be a good idea to revisit your doctor to rule out illnesses that can sap your energy like mononucleosis.
Good luck in your recovery. My simple advice is to listen to your body and care for it as you recover.
When looking back at this you might want to examine how you got into this situation. Personally, I have overtrained in the past when I have focused excessively on a written training plan. The planning process has led me to set unrealistic training objectives. This same thing happened to two other friends of mine. Basically, we all, in separate times, targeted a race, created a plan that was designed to insure we did all the necessary training at the right times, stuck to the plan to a tee, but overtrained because we did not listen to our bodies and because we increased training load too quickly. (Just because the standard advice is to never increase your training load more than 10% in a week does not meen that you should increase it 9.9% each week. Recovery weeks are vital and you may want to consider reducing the increases in workload you build into your training plan.) I have also put myself into tough situations when I have included too many intervals in my training program. Intervals tax your energy reserves. I think of each interval workout as writing a check against your body’s energy stores and motivation levels and see endurance rides at low intensity as deposits.
Hope my ramblings are of some use to you. Good luck!
Don’t underestimate the cost of stress outside of training stressors. If you are really cooked, do as one poster said…continues to exercise, but take it very easy until you are champing at the bit to get back out there and work hard. Only then will you be recovered sufficiently.
I am somewhat in the same boat as you, so I thought I would add my question to your post.
I have done two races in the past 3 weeks, and I have been looking for a third this weekend.
I have just been doing sprints, but I have been pushing as hard as I can.
I have taken a few days off after each race. Recently I have noticed that instead of feeling power in my legs, they knot up and instantly feel like lactic acid is building up on anything more than a leisurely pace. It is as if my quads are not recovering.
Has anyone else noticed a lactic acid feeling that won’t go away? Mentally and physically, I am ready to train, but as soon as I start cranking, my legs start burning.
Early lactic acid build-up as a sign of overtraining… I walk a lot of stairs at work. On weeks that I’m clearly not in an optimal recovery pattern I can feel the lactate burn start after the 2nd flight. If its bad it can happen on the first flight of stairs, then I know its time to back-off.
I have found that real hard efforts, like those you are making, really deplete my muscle glycogen stores. They can take over 3-4 days of full rest before they have recovered. If there is any training done during these 3-4 days it takes even longer. ortisol levels are also elevated for days, meaning catabolism and regression. Proper recovery is the key with loads of hydration, some L-glutamine, and a fully nutritious diet.