Time For Some Rest

I have been working very hard on all aspects of training in the past two weeks and I feel I have achieved my goal of returning to the fitness level I was had at the time of racing in Shepparton.

I am getting more comfortable with my higher arm turn-over when swimming, I am developing great strength and consistency on the bike and my running is feeling terrific using my altered technique. However, in the past few days, I have noticed the first signs of over-training and being in need of a significant rest.

The past two weeks have seen my training volumes increase significantly but it has come at a time where I have experienced a very busy period at work which has resulted in overtime and an extra shift when I would normally have a day off. All of these factors combined, have left me feeling very sluggish, restless when trying to sleep, constantly wanting to eat and struggling to find the energy I would normally have for training. 

Although, these feelings have only come on in the past 2 – 3 days, they have been quite strong.

The first day (Sunday) I felt this way, I did my medium length fartlek run. I would normally do it first thing in the morning but I decided to have a good breakfast and wait a couple of hours before commencing the session. Once I had warmed up I found my running legs quickly and had a great session. The next day (Monday) I did my strength pool session and found that it took me about half an hour to feel comfortable in the water and that my arms weren’t too heavy. However, for the rest of the day, I felt quite fatigued all over and just wanted to nap but I couldn’t as I was at work.

As I write this, it is Tuesday and I am feeling tired and lethargic. I have felt this way since I woke up despite having a good sleep. I initially thought I would just do a light bike workout but decided not to and, instead, begin a proper rest period. I had originally programmed a rest week starting yesterday but thought I would have one more build week before taking a rest week starting New Year’s Day, as I was feeling really good about my training. However, my body has decided it didn’t like that idea and the rest should start ASAP.

I think I will have an extended rest period because of this situation. I will spend the next 5 – 6 days only training a small amount and then build my training back up gradually for the following 6 – 7 days. This will leave2 and ½ weeks to train at high volumes for my final build phase into the Geelong 70.3 prior to my two week taper. Based on how my body has reacted to the last two weeks of high volume work, it appears that it will benefit from this better than the Training:Rest ratio I have currently programmed.

I am placing a top priority on getting myself feeling fresh again before I push my body into fatigue from hard training again. It needs time to absorb the hard work it has done recently and recover fully so that it can be pushed to its limits again to improve further. It’s a very fine line between general fatigue and over-training and I feel I was very close to crossing that line. When you do cross that line, it can take weeks, months in some cases, to get back to feeling right again and to the point where you can perform to your best. It’s definitely not a line I want to cross, ever!

One other step I will take in the next few days is, get a blood test. I will take the opportunity to get my levels of vitamins and minerals tested to see if I have any current deficiencies and/or excessive amounts of anything in my body. If there is anything considerably out of whack, or an infection is present, it can have various negative effects on energy levels and performance and it is essential to rectify those issues as quickly as possible to restore normal function.

It’s not always easy to do what your body is telling you because your mind wants to do something different. I have made the mistake in the past of not listening closer enough to my body and it has resulted in poor training and/or poor performance, along with illness and a really bad mood. With my strong desire for a massive performance in Geelong in just over 6 weeks, I must do all that I can to avoid major setbacks and I am taking those steps now.

Resting is equally as important as training. Learning how to do it properly can take years but the long term benefits can be outstanding.

Back In Training

I commenced my structured training 10 days ago and, although, various things have meant adjustments were needed for some of the days, I feel I have made a great start to my build-up for the Geelong 70.3 in two months.

During my 2 weeks of light, recovery training following the race in Shepparton, I thought very hard about how I was going to tackle this next phase in order to improve further and I have come up with several items which I will be looking to focus on during training.

Swimming

After being quite disappointed with my swim in Shepparton, I have investigated specific changes I can make to improve my open water swimming and drills and techniques I can use in training to achieve this.

Ø  I need to train myself to be more comfortable and efficient with a higher arm turn-over. A higher turn-over is essential in open water to ensure constant forward momentum. With the environment of an open water race swim being so different to pool swimming, I need to move away from the classic ‘catch-up’ stroke which I have used for a long time and develop a greater arm speed. In just a few sessions using a higher turn-over, I have already noticed how beneficial it is. It’s difficult to maintain good form as I make the change but I am confident in the long term results.

Ø  I will be increasing my strength and power by incorporating the use of an ankle band. Having not used this method before it is a strange feeling but it is amazing when you have to work so hard to try and keep your body as horizontal as possible without any use of the legs whatsoever. If you’re not sure, I literally tie my ankles together while swimming freestyle. I do this while using a leg buoy between my thighs and hand paddles most of the time too. The extra drag of my legs, as they want to fall straight to the bottom of the pool, is significant and I even wear a pair of shorts occasionally to add to the drag. I will use this method in the pool once a week for the whole build-up.

Ø  I will be devoting one whole session each week to drills and technique to assist all aspects of my stroke from strength to speed. Drills like, sculls, swimming with fists and single-arm work all help me to get a better feel for the water. In another session I will incorporate sighting and even ‘polo’ swimming to develop my open water skills.

Ø  I’m hoping to do 4 swim sessions each week, up from 3, for a total of 13 – 14km.

Riding

Not too much to worry about here. I will see improvement by doing things almost exactly the same as my preparation for Shepparton. However, in order to ensure I improve my 90km bike split, I will increase my long ride to develop greater endurance, work harder on high cadence efforts to assist with downhill portions of the Geelong course and generally focus and train harder overall. I will also do a weekly weights session to provide extra strength and power from my glutes and hamstrings.

Running

I was a bit disappointed with my run in Shepparton. I felt I didn’t maintain my technique as well as I could have and my leg turn-over was sluggish. I will address this in training by doing the following:-

Ø  I will slightly alter my technique to focus on a faster turn-over of my legs without lengthening my stride. I will be looking to make contact on the ground with my foot more directly under my body using a forefoot strike and raising my foot up behind me a little higher than I used too. This will aim to produce more forward momentum as opposed to having a ‘braking’ effect with each stride when I was striking the ground slightly in front of my body and leaning back a little.

Ø  Having extra emphasis on my core and body position remaining strong and stable during running at all speeds is essential. I will do drills to assist this as well as strength training a couple of times each week for my core and hips.

Ø  My weight training will also benefit the power and strength I can produce with each stride without using more energy.

Ø  The sessions I do will be similar to what I did prior to Shepparton. I will still do short runs off hard bike sessions, an above race pace interval session and a long run. The difference is my long run will not be as fast as what it was. Instead of breaking up 20km into 4 x 5km sets and going above race pace with a decent break in between, I will perform a below race pace effort up to 2 hours in length on a hilly terrain focussing on consistency and technique. This will build strength and vital endurance.

Putting these methods into practice is showing good signs already. I feel, by Christmas Day, I will be right on track to great improvements. Another 10 days of hard work before resting over Christmas and then a massive block in January to bring in the new year.