Tag Archives: Rest Day

Working Hard vs. Overtraining

I woke up this morning and did not want to go workout but couldn’t go back to sleep. As usual, I started thinking. I thought about how my triathlon is about 3.5 weeks away. I thought about how I just missed 5 days of workouts because I had knee surgery. I also thought about how I just purchased a plane ticket for 4 days in Mexico.

This last thought was most motivating to me because:

  • I’m going to be lounging at an all inclusive resort in Cabo during what should be my last week of high volume training so I need to get some work in now.
  • and it also means that I will be spending the better part of four days in a bikini.

I got out of bed and headed to the gym.

I hopped on a bike in the cycling studio, reset the power meter and started pedaling. The power meter informed me that I was pushing about 85 watts. I usually push about 120 watts when I’m warming up. After playing with the resistance a little, I figured the meter must be calibrated funny so I switched bikes. Same thing. 80-90 watts. Class was starting though so I figured I would just have to deal with it and stayed put.

The class was an ladder-based interval class where you increase your resistance but hold a consistent cadence throughout the intervals. By the third interval I was finally pushing 120 watts and the resistance dial was in a place I recognized as correct for my cadence and effort… and slowly… I realized that… gasp!… I don’t think the watt meter is off. I think it’s me. I felt like I was working as hard as usual, but obviously I wasn’t nearly as efficient as I usually am.

I started to wonder if I’m overtraining this week. So, I did what I always do when I have a question. I asked a few people what they thought and then Googled it.

Google tells me that you are overtraining if you are suffering from the following:

  • Sudden drop in performance and decrease in training intensity
  • Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
  • Moodiness and irritability
  • Depression

The problem is that I have many of these symptoms once in a while when I’m not over training. Everyone has a bad day once in a while. I’m tired, but doesn’t that just mean that I’m working hard? I’m moody, irritable, and a little depressed today but there are plenty of other factors that play into that.

So how else can you tell if you’ve overtrained? Heart rate monitor. If you track your resting heart rate upon waking up every morning then an increase in that heart rate may mean that you need a little more rest. I’m going to definitely start doing this.

Do you have another way to tell if you’ve over trained? How do you relax and recover without feeling guilty?

Lindsay Brust

Struggling with Rest

Thursdays are my rest days, which should be awesome, but I’m nervous and restless today. When training for a marathon, I loved my rest days because I was usually sore, stiff, or sleepy. I welcomed a day where I could put my feet up, drink a lot of water and relax, guilt free.

I think that since I’m training in three sports instead of just one for the triathlon, I’m not getting near as sore or stiff. Swimming works out the stiffness I get sitting on a bike. Biking works out the soreness in my joints, and running is what I would do for fun and to stay in shape anyway.

The only main side effect I’m suffering from is exhaustion. Yesterday I was so tired I had to pump myself full of caffeine (which I’ve cut back on significantly recently) in order to stay awake at my desk in the afternoon. I went to bed early and slept all night, which almost never happens. (I’m looking at you, cat… who does not have trouble resting. Ever.)

I feel much more rested today so it’s difficult to not feel guilty about working out. After all, I had coffee with a mentor and friend of mine on Tuesday who has finished “several” half Ironman races during his career and he pointed out that someone training for a triathlon really has five sports, not just three: Swim, Bike, Run, Lift, Stretch.

So, today, I started thinking about how I might be able to squeeze in a brisk walk over lunch, or I could do some lifting at home tonight after the event I’m going to. I felt so guilty when a coworker went for a ride over lunch and I walked to get a pedicure. I feel like if I’m not moving forward, I must be moving backwards.

Does anyone else feel this way? What do you do to snap out of it?