Overtraining in hindsight

I'm finally prepared to admit that I was experiencing symptoms of overtraining in January. I knew something was wrong and off, but I was reluctant to recognize it as overtraining because my training load/time/intensity had not gone up. If anything it had backed off a bit. So to call it "overtraining" seemed like a major cop-out, an excuse, a weakness, a miscalculation. When it was suggested by coach and trainer that I was flirting with overtraining, I brushed it off, until I heard it described by an elite athlete on one of those triathlon podcasts! As he described the experience, I finally tied it all together and understood that it's a multivariable formula, and training hours are only part of the equation. And if HE could admit to it, so could I. I had to stop looking at it like a fault on my part, and recognize it as a learning experience and a situation to be managed.

My general stress level had gone up with the holidays, not knowing if my husband would be employed after the New Year, the end of one semester, the planning of another, preparing to chair a major conference in February, plus all the general family-kid-house-pet stuff we all have. And admittedly, I didn't take the downtime I should have after the marathon.

So as a result I had:

• anxiety attacks - I'd often have these after starting a workout with a big HR spike
  
• trouble sleeping, waking up panicking and sweating (not a good feeling)
  
• loss of confidence
  
• heavy, sore legs that became the weak link in my runs
• moodiness and over-reactions
  
• loss of speed/performance
• soreness lasting longer than usual, sometimes full body soreness
  
• series of injuries

I'm realizing we each have a finite quantity of "coping powers" that are apportioned among physical, mental, and spiritual stresses. We fill up the tanks with rest, sleep, healthy eating, good relationships, and general life balance. We drain the tanks with workouts, stress, injury, worry, illness, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and unhealthy choices. I was draining the tank far faster than I could refill it.

I thought for a while that if I worked harder and focused more, I'd get over the hump. In an email Jim warned that he could "see the writing on the wall" and I heard the same message from Jake. I had to get things back on track.

The real fix was to get my stress level back down. I focused on eating and sleeping better, knocking things off the to-do list, and backed running off from 4 days to 3. Things smoothed out, stress levels have fallen, and I'm refilling the tanks again. I'm taking rest/off days with less fuss than before, having fun on no-pressure runs, and trying to maintain a better balance in my life. Just as I sensed something was wrong before, I know things are headed back in the right direction. I am mindful that this delicate balance is something I need to consciously and constantly reassess, fine-tune, protect and preserve. I need to keep the tanks topped off, and recognize when they are getting low and make the needed adjustments.

Maybe if we called it "under-recuperating" rather than "over-training" it would be an easier diagnosis to accept. Us type-A personalities can get more excited about working harder to recuperate than working less hard to train!

Swimming

A quick video of some swimming...this was right at the start of a session, no warmup. It looks relaxed and comfortable, so I like that, but still room for improvement:

• My left arm has a tendency to cross the midline
• My kick can get wide; when I am on my side it approaches a scissor kick
  
• My kick is also low in the water, so my back end is dragging and I'm not as balanced as I should be
  

Triathlon Podcasts

I discovered some great sources of regular triathlon podcasts - and not just cheesy amateur ones either!

David Warden hosts Tri Talk (http://www.tri-talk.com/). In the first episode I listened to, he was addressing research related to angle of body rotation in the swim and its relationship to cadence and speed. As one who teaches students to refer to primary peer-reviewed research AND to be judicious in the interpretation of it, I got really excited that he was pulling in this ground-level research!

The Simon Gowen Triathlon Show (http://www.latalkradio.com/Simon.php) is out of LA and is very professionally done. This show features interviews with coaches and athletes. The first podcast I heard was about training quality over quantity and the importance of arriving to a race rested and ready and not tired and depleted. Quite a number of points hit home with me.

The third set of podcasts relate to swimming specifically, by coach Kevin Koskella (http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/category/podcast/swimming-podcast/). These are short and focused on specific issues (e.g. breathing, or kicking) but you could hear where segments were pieced together and it was a little distracting. I listened to this while running which was a mistake because I couldn't concentrate enough to get the most out of it.

Working out around the weather

On Friday, we got our second significant snow event with a full foot of snow. Fortunately, we knew several days ahead of time and I could plan accordingly. I shuffled workouts, ran outside while I still could, and even fit in a short outdoor bike ride -- shoehorned in after class. I'm not sure where I rate as "mom" though because I called the school and told them to have the kids ride the bus home which bought me about half an hour extra on the bike!! They rarely ride the bus and don't fuss too much when they are asked to.

I scheduled my off day for the big snow day and went into slug mode. I watched a great movie on Netflix, a subtitled foreign documentary on the Tour de France called "Hell on Wheels". Those guys are amazing - just machines!! Yet they candidly shared their fears and doubts and showed tremendous courage when they would ride again the day after some harrowing wipeouts.

It was a good training week last week, and my first full week of managing my own running workouts. I got in a stadium workout, an hour run, and a 75 minute run. They all felt good, in fact, the running mojo is beginning to return. Friday was the first time in a while that my legs felt a bit fresh. I think the advice I got to back off was spot-on.

For now it's back to indoor running and cycling. It's so good I can do both at the house. The treadmill is a major downer compared to running outside, but I don't mind the indoor bike trainer much at all. It's actually kind of nice not to have to worry about traffic, lights, road conditions, etc., and I sweat more inside than out.

It's nice to think about moving all the training outside in a few months, especially the swimming. Seeing the clouds reflected on the pool...wow. When I signed up for my pool locker and towel service at War in the fall, and committed to two semesters, I wondered if I would really follow through. Five months later, I'm still at it twice per week.

I'm still dealing with that odd injury in my collarbone area. It's almost as surprising to see what does not aggravate it (bench, swimming) as what does (hack squats - from the pressure on top of my shoulder, shrugs, some row movements, even pushing against the steering wheel with my right arm). I just know it'll be a while before it resolves, but it's getting there.

I guess the bottom line is I still very much enjoy and love my training. It is like recess for me...even if occasionally it's a little tough to get started. It's fun, I feel great, and can't imagine not doing it.

Out of the nest

Lately I've been feeling some possible effects of burnout or overtraining. It's not so much that I'm logging more hours in the gym, running, etc., but partially because my overall personal stress level has been higher. There aren't many good specific reasons for that, it just "is". While the stress is easing up, I'm left with some injuries and chinks in the mental/motivational armor. The other issue is that I ignored the advice from Jake, from Jim, and from every marathon training book that suggests taking a month off from focused training after a marathon. I was riding that marathon high and didn't want to back down.

Jake and I met and he proposed a plan. First off, we're backing off of the structured running approach and he is leaving that up to me. I'm going to run three days a week - one day for strength, one for speed, and one longer - but the specifics and scheduling are up to me. That'll allow me to respond more to how I am feeling on a given day. Second, I'll work out solo one day a week at the gym with the idea that it'll be a little more low-key. No forced reps, drop sets, etc.

As much as I love not having to plan or think about what to do with my training and running, I agree this plan and increased autonomy makes sense for right now. Starting in March the serious training for triathlon season will begin, and on the heels of that a fall marathon, then BOSTON in 2011. This is the time to back down and gather my energy and fuel the fire.

Yeah, I feel a little like the baby bird pushed out of the nest. But I know it's what I need right now. Plus I'll probably appreciate all that Jake and Jim do, even more than I do now.