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Adventures in Over-Training...

Friday, 13 April 2012 03:00

By Bonnie Burnout

Rosemarie runs a marathon every week. True story. She flies all over the U.S. in search of a marathon to participate in. It is her way of getting the word out that she overcame obesity, in hopes of inspiring others who also suffer, to do the same. This past weekend she ran two marathons in Long Beach, California. The only marathon distance Rick does every weekend is on a bike, and that is only if he has to.

Reading about Rosemarie got Rick thinking. As of late, he has been drooling over races coming up this season and talking with friends about which races they are doing. Just about every time he hears someone talk about a race, he wants to sign up. At that rate, he will be lapping Rosemarie and can forget about training because he will be racing every day of the season. Somehow Rick needs to step back, take a deep breath, and strategically select his races if he wants... to avoid over training. Rick does personally feel that a good hearty dose of over-training once in a blue moon is a good thing- it keeps him in check by reminding him that certain body parts are vital to his existence and leaving them lying on the road somewhere is not only impolite but also a hazard to other people who have to jump over them. Take this past weekend, for example. He went out for a four hour ride in the rain and wind gusts. As he tried to top a hill against the slamming wind, he coughed up a lung but was too tired to go back and pick it up. Animal Control is probably still poking it with an electrical prod, trying to figure out what the heck it is. This experience reminded Rick of how vitally important lungs are and that he should be careful not to cough them up or leave then lying on the road.

Last summer Rick was getting ready for his A race, training like a mad dog and sacrificing time with his friends and family. He had a cool new bike and had it looked over by a new bike mechanic. The bike training turned out to be grueling. As he rode the hills and longer distances he recalled breaking down in manly tears and throwing water bottles at riders who seemed to easily pass him by. He was tired before he even got out of bed. Rick started to hate the bike. Finally he gave up his A race, relinquishing himself to just not being able to ramp up in time. A month later the real problems came to light. He took my bike to a different bike guy and discovered that not only were his breaks sticking, the bearings were gummed up and his wheels were spinning about as slow as a rusty windmill. Because Rick was working twice as hard as normal in an effort to maintain his average speed, he quickly became over-trained, discouraged and continually exhausted. It took Rick several months to recover from this bad experience of over-training to have so much as a desire to even try riding his bike again.

In an effort to be aware of and watch for signs and symptoms before they possibly happen this year, Rick checked out over-training symptoms on the highly accredited internet and found the following signals to be helpful.

* Increase resting heart rate

* Slower recovery than normal

* Increased exhaustion/tiredness

* Desire to quit

* Loss of concentration

* Sleeplessness

Looking back on his experience last year he definitely would add to that list the loss of interest in the things he loved the most- swimming, biking and running. This year will be different. He will not sign up for every race he hears about, he will not kill new bike mechanics and he will keep an eye out for signs and symptoms of over-training. Rick has also signed up for a class on bike mechanics so he can ensure his bike is in top form. Ride, Rick, ride!