overtraining?
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PatCH
Jun 15, 2011, 11:42:19 AM6/15/11
to randon
Hi all. I'd love to get some advice from the group. I completed my
first 600k last weekend (yay, me!) and am thinking about two more 600k
rides each two weeks apart. I'm new to long distance riding, and
somewhat of a newbie cyclist, and I don't have too much mileage under
me. I've been hearing about the dangers of injuries with overtraining,
and am wondering if it's wise to do both 600k rides. As some
background info, I only have about 2,500 base miles this year, spread
out like this:
Jan - 0 miles
Feb - 387 miles (3 rides)
Mar - 0 miles
Apr - 674 miles (7 rides)
May - 874 miles (8 rides)
Jun - 543 miles (3 rides)
The next 600k would be two weeks after my first 600k, and the third
600k would be two weeks after that. (Prior to last weekend's 600k, my
longest ride was the 400k two weeks ago.)
Is it ill-advised to attempt both 600k rides? Is this too aggressive a
ramp-up? The only issue I have is some sore Achilles tendons, and I'm
not sure if that's related to bike fit or overtraining. Suggestions on
how to address that would also be welcome.
Much thanks for any words of wisdom!
--Patrick.
first 600k last weekend (yay, me!) and am thinking about two more 600k
rides each two weeks apart. I'm new to long distance riding, and
somewhat of a newbie cyclist, and I don't have too much mileage under
me. I've been hearing about the dangers of injuries with overtraining,
and am wondering if it's wise to do both 600k rides. As some
background info, I only have about 2,500 base miles this year, spread
out like this:
Jan - 0 miles
Feb - 387 miles (3 rides)
Mar - 0 miles
Apr - 674 miles (7 rides)
May - 874 miles (8 rides)
Jun - 543 miles (3 rides)
The next 600k would be two weeks after my first 600k, and the third
600k would be two weeks after that. (Prior to last weekend's 600k, my
longest ride was the 400k two weeks ago.)
Is it ill-advised to attempt both 600k rides? Is this too aggressive a
ramp-up? The only issue I have is some sore Achilles tendons, and I'm
not sure if that's related to bike fit or overtraining. Suggestions on
how to address that would also be welcome.
Much thanks for any words of wisdom!
--Patrick.
russell...@yahoo.com
Jun 15, 2011, 1:51:22 PM6/15/11
to randon
You're not overtraining. Please don't use that term to describe what
you are doing. You're just riding a lot of medium paced miles.
Overtraining refers to riding at an intensity level where you break
down the body. And then do not rest long enough to heal before you go
and ride at a high intensity level again. Ovetraining is constantly
keeping the body at a non recovered, broken down level.
You have two weeks between rides. More than enough time to heal
completely. You'll probably ride in between the 600k rides. But at a
medium pace for not many miles.
Should you do two more 600k rides? Doubt it will hurt or help you
much. Most of the 600k rides I've seen, they were ridden at a medium
pace with a long sleep stop in the middle. 225 miles the first day,
150 miles the second day. Neither distance is enough to kill you.
And the pace its ridden at, it won't really help you either. If you
want to use the 600k to plan your riding strategy for PBP, then do
it. Assume you take the wise approach of riding Paris to Brest in one
shot. Test that plan here in the US by riding a 600k in one shot.
A better training approach would be to ride two 400k rides the next
two weeks. Assume Saturday rides. Then get up Sunday morning and
ride 40-50-60 miles to make sure you can get out of bed the next
morning. Easier and cheaper than doing 600k rides but the same
affect. Maybe more since the 250 miles of the 400k is usually more
than the first day of a 600k.
Best training is to ride for speed. Short high intensity rides at
high speeds. That improves condition the best. Better than long slow
rides. Long slow rides just make you tired overall. They don't
improve speed or strength or endurance.
you are doing. You're just riding a lot of medium paced miles.
Overtraining refers to riding at an intensity level where you break
down the body. And then do not rest long enough to heal before you go
and ride at a high intensity level again. Ovetraining is constantly
keeping the body at a non recovered, broken down level.
You have two weeks between rides. More than enough time to heal
completely. You'll probably ride in between the 600k rides. But at a
medium pace for not many miles.
Should you do two more 600k rides? Doubt it will hurt or help you
much. Most of the 600k rides I've seen, they were ridden at a medium
pace with a long sleep stop in the middle. 225 miles the first day,
150 miles the second day. Neither distance is enough to kill you.
And the pace its ridden at, it won't really help you either. If you
want to use the 600k to plan your riding strategy for PBP, then do
it. Assume you take the wise approach of riding Paris to Brest in one
shot. Test that plan here in the US by riding a 600k in one shot.
A better training approach would be to ride two 400k rides the next
two weeks. Assume Saturday rides. Then get up Sunday morning and
ride 40-50-60 miles to make sure you can get out of bed the next
morning. Easier and cheaper than doing 600k rides but the same
affect. Maybe more since the 250 miles of the 400k is usually more
than the first day of a 600k.
Best training is to ride for speed. Short high intensity rides at
high speeds. That improves condition the best. Better than long slow
rides. Long slow rides just make you tired overall. They don't
improve speed or strength or endurance.
sekhem313
Jun 15, 2011, 2:12:18 PM6/15/11
to randon, PatCH
Hi Patrick
You mentioned that you're new to endurance riding. I was in the same boat last year - and ignored everybody's advice to increase my effort prudently (I stupidly rode about 11,000 miles total). I'm paying the piper this year for not heeding that advice- this year has been a struggle and I'm kicking myself for what I did last year.
As I understand overtraining - it's not so much about being uncomfortable (after all, aren't cyclists 'supposed' to suffer? : ). Over training leads to a failure in your ability to maintain or improve your effort. In severe cases it could be months (or even years) to recover- to have the capacity to increase endurance and strength.. So I suppose prevention is a good idea (I work in a sports medicine environment so appologies if below sounds a bit pedantic...).
Most discussions about over training relate to acute symptoms - soreness, mood changes, fatigue, drop in power, change in sleep patterns, etc. All are true and are worth notice. However, there are other physiological markers (esp cardiovascular, endocrine and inflamatory) that dont generally make the list. All of them could have bigger effects in your over all health. The significance of these factors depends on your age and history (as well as genetics and general health). If you have been exercising consistently and at a high level all your life, then you may find that adapting to and maintaining a large volume of exercise may not be a problem for you. If you are like many of us - a little long in the tooth and have spent significant numbers of our earlier years with beers on the couch -it's always a good idea for you (and your doctor) to know and understand your
numbers. For example I had a tough time convincing my doctor that I wasn't an alcoholic- my serum protein and albumen levels were in the basement and liver function enzymes were high. Turns out that excessive execise can do that to you and can scuttle your capacity to recover. You may feel fine and you're riding well but you've got new persistant elevations or depression in blood pressure. Time to dial to back and take better care of yourself.
Pay attention to your symptoms after rides and especially pay attention to changes in those symptoms. For example, if you notice that you're puffy in your extremeties during/after a ride, do the symptoms appear earlier and last longer? If so dial it back. And get really adept at attending to your recovery needs- and that isn't just limited to high quality nutrition post ride. Most of the high-level atheletes i know are pretty religious about regular active recovery (for you, that would be a couple of hrs of soft pedaling w/ a heart rate < 120 bpm). There are several studies that connect chronic sub recovery in endurance atheletes to negative cardiovascular changes- stiffening and leaky blood vessels, cardiac arrhythmias, persistant elevation/depressionof blood pressure etc. I suspect that a lot of us ride our seasons in this state. A study of healthy young men showed
that it takes about 30 days for the cardiac ejection fraction (a measure of heart output) to return to normal after running a marathon. Your mileage may vary.
And finally don't get greedy. Don't ride big rides so often that your body doesn't have the time to fully recover between rides. Your goal shoult be to get stronger over time. You may suceeed in dragging your body through lots of rides this year only to discover that next year all your wheels have gone flat.
Happy riding!
--- On Wed, 6/15/11, PatCH <patc...@gmail.com> wrote:
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Fastskiguy
Jun 15, 2011, 3:15:39 PM6/15/11
to randon
Wait a second here....you have 2478 miles in this year in only 21
rides? So like 118 miles per ride on average?
Joe
rides? So like 118 miles per ride on average?
Joe
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