Reversing potential overtraining/too much too fast

[dhale75]

A little background:

Last season was supposed to be my first full season racing, after riding for years and also with faster Cat2, 3, guys. So my fitness was "solid", nowhere near those guys, but solid. I broke my ankle in the second race of the season, and spent the next 5 months recovering (season over before it began). The crash was in April and I didn't start riding full time again until Late December (full time being about 8-10 hours a week).

Problem is, after this much time off the bike, I jumped right back into high L3/mid L4(SST), so about 90-95%. Sometimes even doing some 30/30 intervals, form sprints and a few hill repeats. Saw immediate gains so I increased intensity frequently (like 5 watts per week), saw more gains in FTP, so rinse repeat. This was in January. My body felt great until about February. I was doing these sessions about 4 times per week (2-3 x 20 @ 90-95%). What I started feeling were things I have not felt before when I was training years ago, without any significant gaps in riding (injury free). Things like:

*Anxiety all the time
*Rapid Heartbeat and nervousness
*Insomnia
*Irritabilty
*Workouts don't seem to suffer that much as far as hitting the wattage I want to hit, but motivation is definitely an issue at times (indoor trainer)

So during the workouts I'm ok. All of this stuff seems to happen well after the workouts. And I'm recovering properly (food and rest).

Diet hasn't changed, no health issues, so this is the only thing I can point to, since I have never had an injury like this, or been off the bike this long.

I guess I was trying to get back to the fitness level I had before the ankle injury, but quickly. Now that it's March, is it maybe a good idea to just dial it waaayy back to Low tempo or endurance for a few months and just realize I will struggle in early season races until about about June when I can start intervals? Then at least when I start to do high end stuff, I have at least some kind of base to build the intense intervals off of? I still have about maximum 11 hours per week to train. Anyone ever experience anything like this after a very long layoff?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Originally Posted by dhale75 .
...And I'm recovering properly...

From what you've posted I'd say you're not recovering properly even if you're eating well (weight stable plus good nutrient blend) and investing what you think should be enough recovery and sleep hours.

If you're not ill (have blood work done by your doc if you haven't already and don't rule out things like thyroid issues) then you're not recovering sufficiently for the workload you've tried to carry.

You don't necessarily have to go all the way back to LSD to regroup, but it usually makes sense to take at least a few days completely off the bike, perhaps as much as a week and then start back on a more sustainable ramp. That doesn't have to exclude all L3/SST/L4 work but look back on what you've done in the past few months and don't be so aggressive during your next restart. That may or may not include some longer L2 rides but dial the recurring intensity back a notch until you seem to be handling the load and then increase as you feel capable of it but make those increases a lot more slowly this time around.

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[dhale75]

Cool Dave, thanks that makes sense. I may start with low - mid L3 and see how I feel, then start some SST sessions (90 - 95%) and see how I get on. Also, not jumping into 4 sessions per week straight away. Thanks for your insight.