There have been a lot of unfortunate posts lately regarding the untimely passing of some of our fellow athletes while participating in the wonderful sport so many of us eat, drink, breath and sleep for. I think it is only appropriate to remember them and honor their lives, but also to learn from all of this. So, the discussion I’m hoping to start is what signs would let you know that you should take it easy? Is it when you start getting light headed? Should it be dictated solely by your HRM readings? Also, what types of things prevent you from getting in a workout? Heat? How you’re feeling before you start? Or are there certain things we can do to make our rigorous training schedules safer? The main reason I wanted to open this up is because every time I read one of those articles about some poor sole dieing at the finish line I always think to myself that it could be any one of us. I’m in the dark on this so I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s input.
Joe
P.s. - I hope this isn’t inapropriate timing. Just wanted to get everyone talking about how we can look out for each other.
for me, when things dont feel right during the workout i try and see if i can fix it (eat/drink more, back off the pace a little/relax, whatever the solution may be), then if that doesn’t work i either change teh workout/call it off depending on teh sevarity of the problem.
I only call off a workout if I have a physical reason for doing so. In other words, if I’m physically hurt (muscle pull) , my heart rate is doing something extremely unusual, or I’m absolutely abnormally tired. Beyond that, I keep going. I haven’t really ever experience mental burnout, so that’s never been an issue.
I’ve gotten lightheaded once or twice, and it’s a function of hydration for me. Sometimes I just didn’t drink enough throughout the workday so I’m not as hydrated as I’d like to be. I wouldn’t have a problem shutting it down for the day if I felt that I was too light-headed or dizzy.
I don’t think too much about how I’m feeling as I start because I know I’ll feel better once I get going.
I think the one thing to do to make your training safer is really know what you’re doing with respect to HR, nutrition and recovery.