Back in the saddle: Over-training and fatigue.

Westie said:

I've just got back on the bike after 5 weeks off. I had to heal after my appendix was taken out.
I've noticed that rather than being completely out of shape, I feel like I'm doing better than I
was right before the operation. Cleaning the climbs better and with less fatigue. Bouncing over the
obstacles. Leaping tall buildings. I was doing quite a bit of riding before the operation. While
not exactly training for a big 110km Fun Ride/Race, I was taking it semi-seriously and doing a
build-up in a semi-serious sort of way. The week before the ride week I seem to recall doing a
couple or three rides totalling about 160km with a few good climbs so I was, for me, in better than
average shape. I usually ride half that distance or less in a average week. Question is, was I
doing too much then and that's why I feel better now? Why would I feel like I'm doing it better
after a 5 week enforced break? Anyone have similar experiences or ideas?

It would be pretty much impossible to retain "peak" performance after a five week layoff. Just a
couple weeks and the fitness level ebbs dramatically (IIRC, Greg LeMond claimed that he wouldn't be
able to hang in the pack after a two week layoff, much less kick everyone's ass).

It's likely you were fatigued before the operation - that will certainly put serious limits on your
performance no matter what kind of shape you're in. After such a long layoff, your muscles have
totally topped off their glycogen stores, and are ready for a good deal of abuse before they're
spent - it's common to feel great for the first ride or two "back".

But to me the biggest advantage of taking a few weeks off (I recently took off about 3 weeks with an
achilles tendon strain) is how much FUN it is to get back on the bike - that makes all the
difference, even if you aren't really going faster (I certainly wasn't).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame