August burnout??!!



whoawhoa

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Oct 28, 2004
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So, I seem to have a case of the "August burnout" that many cyclists seem to get late in the season. The past week or so I've been really motivated to go out and race but I just can't seem to muster the energy to get out the door for a whole lot of tough training....I've been doing a lot of short rides w/intervals and plenty of racing so the form seems to be good. Right now I have two more races I want to do well in, on 9/9 and 9/16-17. Does anyone know what this could be? I'm especially interested in those who are in similar situations but have Performance Manager charts to look at. I'm not sure weather it's phsyical or mental...when I do get the motivation to train after a few hard days I begin to fall apart, so I've just accepted that and been doing what I can.
 
whoawhoa said:
So, I seem to have a case of the "August burnout" that many cyclists seem to get late in the season. The past week or so I've been really motivated to go out and race but I just can't seem to muster the energy to get out the door for a whole lot of tough training....I've been doing a lot of short rides w/intervals and plenty of racing so the form seems to be good. Right now I have two more races I want to do well in, on 9/9 and 9/16-17. Does anyone know what this could be? I'm especially interested in those who are in similar situations but have Performance Manager charts to look at. I'm not sure weather it's phsyical or mental...when I do get the motivation to train after a few hard days I begin to fall apart, so I've just accepted that and been doing what I can.

Let me guess: your training hasn't included a lot of "sweet spot" work for a while, but instead has been focussed more on higher intensity efforts? If so, the solution to the problem would be to take some serious R-and-R, then start rebuilding your fitness aiming for a second peak (e.g., as described by Frank Overton in an old article on pezcyclingnews.com). It doesn't sound like you have time to do that, however...
 
acoggan said:
Let me guess: your training hasn't included a lot of "sweet spot" work for a while, but instead has been focussed more on higher intensity efforts? If so, the solution to the problem would be to take some serious R-and-R, then start rebuilding your fitness aiming for a second peak (e.g., as described by Frank Overton in an old article on pezcyclingnews.com). It doesn't sound like you have time to do that, however...
Well, sort of...after looking at the ol' training diary, it appears that in late may I stopped consistent interval work and instead was doing mostly sweet spot training. Then, I got sick just before nat'ls and didn't do much for 2 weeks. After nat'ls it's been back and forth between training (mostly high volume, l2-3) and lots of racing. This is my first year racing seriously all year and I've done about 20 days of racing in the last 3 months alone (about 30 days YTD).
 
acoggan said:
If so, the solution to the problem would be to take some serious R-and-R, then start rebuilding your fitness aiming for a second peak (e.g., as described by Frank Overton in an old article on pezcyclingnews.com). It doesn't sound like you have time to do that, however...
I'm fairly confident in my ability to coast through my last few road races with good form, however another major consideration is 'cross. I'm mostly interested in being in good shape for the latter part of the 'cross season, so I am definintely feeling the idea of a late season break to regain some freshness before gearing up for a late october/november run. What would you suggest as an appropriate rest period? Also, do you think this is more of a mental issue or physical issue (e.g. the result of a high CTL for several months).
 
whoawhoa said:
So, I seem to have a case of the "August burnout" that many cyclists seem to get late in the season.
I hear ya. I recently took 3 weeks off. Part burn out, part laziness.
 
whoawhoa said:
I'm fairly confident in my ability to coast through my last few road races with good form, however another major consideration is 'cross. I'm mostly interested in being in good shape for the latter part of the 'cross season, so I am definintely feeling the idea of a late season break to regain some freshness before gearing up for a late october/november run. What would you suggest as an appropriate rest period? Also, do you think this is more of a mental issue or physical issue (e.g. the result of a high CTL for several months).

What does your CTL and TSB look like ?

How has it changed over the last month or two ?
 
peterwright said:
What does your CTL and TSB look like ?

How has it changed over the last month or two ?
No idea. Not including ~2wks where I was sick, I averaged just over 15 hrs/week all summer (most weeks 17-18). After being sick and having a sub-par nat'ls, I raced a week long stage race. Followed this up with two hard (18-20 hr, lots of tempo/hard group riding) which led into a "peak" that I would guess was my highest of the year. That was 2.5 weeks ago. Since then I've been racing and averaging 8-10 hrs/week.

BTW, I now have my own PM so should have PerfMan data for next season. Definitely excited about that.
 
whoawhoa said:
No idea. Not including ~2wks where I was sick, I averaged just over 15 hrs/week all summer (most weeks 17-18). After being sick and having a sub-par nat'ls, I raced a week long stage race. Followed this up with two hard (18-20 hr, lots of tempo/hard group riding) which led into a "peak" that I would guess was my highest of the year. That was 2.5 weeks ago. Since then I've been racing and averaging 8-10 hrs/week.

BTW, I now have my own PM so should have PerfMan data for next season. Definitely excited about that.
Aw shucks. You mean we're going to start dealing with hard data instead of "sorta feels like ..." Welcome to the PM club!:cool:
 
I was getting there too... but I live in st louis and the temp just dropped 30 degrees...yes thats right it was 102 2 weeks ago and now its 72... really motivates you to go out and ride... see ya...
 

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