Listening to this weeks podcast with Chad, Nate, and Pete they touched on overreaching and overtraining syndrome. As someone who got full on overtraining syndrome in 2013 I figured I’d share my experience, frustration, and what lead up to it. Hope it can help someone out there who feels like they might be getting close to the edge.
In the late fall of 2012 I got accepted into the elite draft legal triathlons that would be in Florida the following April. It was supposed to be U23 and I’d be 27 by race day so I needed special approval to get in. I was also at the disadvantage of working a stressful full time job that had me working 55-60 hours a week that was a toxic work environment full of backstabbing and feeling like people were after your job.
I hired a high level coach, and started training harder then I had before. Upped my intensity on the bike, lots of easy paced running, and solid swim sets. Consistency week after week. Probably around 8ish hours a week on the bike, 50 miles of running, and 15k in the pool.
During this time too I felt I also needed to get super skinny so I could run my fastest. I had weighed around 170 at 6’2” so I had some weight to lose. Got to about 165 by unhealthy ways. Really restricting calories, huge spinach salads and chicken thighs for dinner despite having done a vo2 bike ride after work and a 4K swum before work.
Sleep started suffering, I found myself in a cranky mood but I kept telling myself I needed to keep pushing. This was normal. Pros train like this. Forgetting about that huge lingering 55+ hours a week that was a job…
Going into the races I felt terrible. Finished bottom 20% of the first race and the week later had to drop out after the swim because of having nothing in the tank.
Coming home from the races I took a week off, coach said I needed to do this. Was great. Well the following week tried to get back into training and it just wasn’t there. Felt like trash for a few days. Took a few more easier ones. And I remember the day I went over the edge. Did a track workout, couldn’t hit paces but kept pushing. Got through with the last one and felt empty. More empty then I ever had before. Utterly exhausted. Got home, ate went to bed. Couldn’t train the next three days or even go to work. On the 4th day I tried to run an easy 3 miles, at 10+ mile pace and it felt like I did a 10k at 5k pace. Wrecked. Had no idea what had happened.
Long story from there but I couldn’t really train for 4 years. Any time I started feeling like I kicked it I start up training again and within two weeks back to on my butt. Started off with taking a month off any training. Then two, then 3… Saw doctors, specialists, Eastern and western medicine. On SSRIs, supplements, testosterone when a blood test came and and showed I had double digit levels in me when healthy male levers were a min of 350. That didn’t help me come around.
Finally after four long years my body snapped back. It had gotten the rest it needed. I could ease my way back into training. Lost from age 27-31 of quality high level training. During that time I had torn my Meniscus, and waited too long for surgery so basically ruined running for the rest of my life. The positive is that I’m able to bike at a decent level now. Can you train about as hard as I want, but anytime that lingering fatigue starts to kick in I find myself getting very nervous. I tend to emphasize a rest day rather than pushing through a hard work out when I feel like garbage three out of five times I would say. I just never want to fall back into that over training center in again, because I meniscus, and waited too long for surgery so basically ruined running for the rest of my life. The positive is that I’m able to bike at a decent level now. Can you train about as hard as I want, but anytime that lingering fatigue starts to kick in I find myself getting very nervous. I tend to emphasize a rest day rather than pushing through a hard workout when I feel like garbage three out of five times I would say. I just never want to fall back into that over training Syndrome again, because I realize how much of my life revolves around being active and doing this crazy type of endurance sport.
I know this is a long post, and I’m not a medical professional by any means, but if anyone has questions or feels like they want advice because they’re going into something maybe similar feel free to ask. Hopefully this helps at least one person when they feel like they are teetering over the edge to take the rest rather than keep pushing so they don’t lose out on years of training. That is unless your major competition with and cat three racing, then keep training it will only make you better I know this is a long post, and I’m not a medical professional by any means, but if anyone has questions or feels like they want advice because they’re going into something maybe similar feel free to ask. Hopefully this helps at least one person when they feel like they’re teetering over the edge to take the rest rather than keep pushing so they don’t lose out on years of training. That is unless your major competition with an end cat three racing, then keep training super hard, it will only make you better