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Fatigue? Normal or Overtraining

1/22/2014

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All athletes get tired. That is part of the circle of life for a competitive athlete. You wake up, workout, eat, day job, workout, eat, relax and then SLEEP. But as the routine continues day in and day out, it usually gets progressively worse.
All of it gets worse. The workouts get longer and harder. You continue to eat more and hopefully you're picking the right foods and recovery snacks. Your sleep starts getting shorter and harder. So when does the cycle end? When does your body (and mind) get used to this progression? As the fatigue builds up, you start to doubt and question your training. And hopefully, before its too late, you ask yourself one important question. Is the fatigue you are feeling normal or is it overtraining?
First, what is overtraining? Overtraining is when you have pushed your body too hard, for too long, with too little rest. Overdoing it for so long that one or two days off and decent sleep will not help. There is a reason why rest days are scheduled in your training. Even elites need rest days. These rest days allow you to wake up the next morning and perform a workout with the necessary energy (both physically and mentally). Workouts are supposed to be hard and tiresome, but overtraining is where every workout is hard and tiresome, even the slow workouts.
Fatigue on the other hand is just tiredness from the prior day or two of hard runs. After a rest day or two, you can come back and nail a quality workout. Fatigue is short term (1-3 days) whereas Overtraining is long term (2-3 weeks). Fatigue makes you tired, cranky, hungry (sometimes lack of appetite) and mentally exhusted. But the good news is, after a couple days of easy running or off days, you're right back at it.
When I schedule my training blocks, I know from past experiences every 4th week needs to be a Rest/Down week. Then I can build back up. Also, after a long hard Sunday run, I need to wait until Wednesday to do my next hard workout (as opposed to the usual Tuesday). These are all tips that I have learned to combat fatigue and avoid falling into the black hole of Overtraining.
So dont worry if you slept in yesterday and missed an easy ride or shakeout run. Every so often, thats just your body telling you to take a break. When you start missing multiple workouts, or cant hit any of your paces like your used to, then sit down and ask yourself, is the fatigue you are feeling normal or is it overtraining?


My highschool cross country coach had a great quote that has always stuck with me. "One of the most courageous things an athlete can do, is to know when to rest."


This topic is hitting home right now as I transition into my Ironman training (Ironman Boulder Aug 2014). Boston Marathon in April is still a high priority, but I know I need to incorporate swimming and cycling into my plan sonner than later. The only way to do that (that I can figure out) is to wake up early and hit the gym/pool. Being NOT an early bird (I usually only do 2x morning workouts a week). Transitioning to waking up at 5:45am 4x a week is getting to get a bit tough. I am sure I just need to get used to it and work my way through the fatigue. My body (and mind) will figure it out soon...or else overtraining will rear its ugly head.

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New Years Resolution - Ironman Boulder 2014

1/14/2014

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My new years resolution - I will be an Ironman. After college, I dabbled in the triathlon game for a few years. I really enjoyed the biking and I tolerated the swimming. Having been a runner in college (Rochester Institute of Technology), I got into triathlon have graduating. 4 years of running and focusing on just that (well school work too) took its toll and I decided to mix it up. Within a few years, I had a few sprint and olympic distance races under my belt. I even raced a half ironman distance..in middle Georgia..in June. I learned what a bonk was really like and why people take GU and nutrition on the bike and run for a reason.

On to my decision, Ironman. I have wanted to complete an Ironman for many years. But due to traveling for work, my triathlon racing dwindled. Fortunately when travelling, you can always find a place to run. So my running and even a few marathons increased and my PRs got faster. Then in Jan 2013, a career change and all the traveling stopped. And I do mean change. I went from 80,000 skymiles, 180 hotel nights, and 50 rental cars ever single year for 8.5 years. Now, 2 or 3 trips each year for work. Quite the change. But it allows me time to get on the bike and get wet in the pool. My wife has completed 2 Ironman events in the past few years, so I knew how much training there wil be and how much personal time I will have to give up. I think?

Then in July 2013, Ironman announced an Ironman in Boulder Colorado, Tri capital of the world. Aka, my backyard. The course already has my blood sweat and tears on it. No really, there is a blood stain on the creek path from where I had slipped on ice and landed hard on my elbow. Anyway, an Ironman triathlon and here comes the kicker....no travel. I get to sleep in my own bed, cook my own meals, and no airline, hotel, bike shipping, etc.

It was a no brainer decision. Then time came to sign up. Figuring it was going to sell out right away (who wouldnt want to race at 5430ft), I blocked off my work calendar for 10am Mountain time, in order to be online ready to get in the race. I logged in to my active.com account (having reset the password the night before just to be sure) and filled in all the info. Then came payment/submit. $728.22 total (after registration fee, active.com, USAT fee) WoW! Do I really want to pay that much to suffer for 140.6 miles? Then I realized it was a drop in the bucket as compared to want it will cost for my 8 months of training leading up to the race. Submit. I was in. In hindsight, it ended up taking 8 days to sell out as opposed to the 10mins I was expecting (or 45seconds that it takes IM Florida or Arizona).

So time for my resolution. I will be an Ironman come August 2014. What will that entail? I can only assume, early nights to bed, early mornings in the pool, longer than usual long runs followed up with laps in the pool, and seeing a lot of the Colorado countryside via my bike(s). I have the Boston Marathon in April, then probably an olympic tri in the early summer, and a handful of races scattered in between. But mostly, I have a heck of a lot of training to get done. I have a lot of great family support, great support from my sponsors, and even people at work that dont mind a long lunch here or there while Im out running or cycling as long as work gets done.

On to 2014. Follow my training here and on twitter @run1fast. Oh, some people ask why Run1fast? Its because, think to yourself, Run1fast. Run 1 race/training run/workout/anything fast. Faster than your PR/last year/last month/yesterday. Its a mind set to keep pushing yourself to better yourself.

Ill try to keep this up to date.  Check out my Calendar tab to see how the training is going.

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    runner triathlete coach Living in Boulder Colorado and loving life. Getting some great running in and meeting fun people.

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