December 17th, 2007
Well, I discovered the other day I was human. It was a rude awakening to say the least. A slap across the face I feel a few times a year. It is an epiphany, wakening me from my dreamlike state of immortality. This time it wasn’t the common near-death experience, the unfortunate bonk in the middle of a race, or a season altering injury, but something new. To put it frank, I finally got tired. And no, not the “I want to go to sleep” tired, or the “wow those were hard intervals” exhaustion. This time it is the slow build up over the past two weeks of increasing fatigue, to the point where the muscles are completely sucked dry of energy.
So what now? Mandatory rest.
It is time for me to do the hardest thing I can do –to take a step away from my training and acknowledge what is happening and most importantly to rest. A no questions asked three days off. Chills run up my spine to even consider it. Taking more than one day off in a row? My body cringes in the restriction to my training like a heroin addict who is refused a fix. It is my own personal Hell.
But rest is not enough. Everything must be done to speed my recovery. My days must now be filled with ice baths, quality stretching sessions, increased food and water consumption, and those horribly painful sports massages. The goal is to get back on my feet as soon as I can and to rejuvenate my legs with the energy they need. But until then, it is time to kick back, put the feet up, watch some terrible movies and hey, who knows? Maybe even read a book or two.
Cover yourself. The risk of overreaching is serious and can lead to devastating decreases in performance. Major signs of overreaching consist of decreases in maximal heart rate, reduction of blood lactate levels, loss of muscular strength and endurance, as well as raised morning and resting heart rates. Other symptoms of overreaching include constant fatigue (due to decrease in muscle glycogen stores), chronic sore muscles, poor sleep quality, mood changes (due to decreases in hormones), and loss of weight and appetite. If suffering from these symptoms do not hesitate, but immediately decrease your training load or intensity and consider taking some time off. The sooner you react, the sooner you will recover, and the sooner you will be back on top.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Great advice Ben, Thanks for sharing
December 18th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I trust you’ll bounce back following a few days of complete rest, Ben. In the meantime, you may find that spending your days reading good books can be surprisingly enjoyable.
xoxo
December 21st, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Benny Mama,
You’re lucky you continued the type of skiing where you just have to rest a couple days when you’re “hurt”. Ice baths and sports massages don’t fix torn ligaments and broken bones, but since when did I have good judgment?
December 23rd, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Buddy Ben-
have FUN, ski Fast, Have MORE FUN– need a rest, now, see this is the time where I can contribute to peak performance… perhaps some ice fishing in lieu of ice baths- reflect back to catching stripers and blues…. read a book “Backcast” …about fly fishing in Alaska (and insight on self and family)… and eating properly… think about and try some of those ribs… open a bakery with your very own bread maker… thanks for sharing “where you are at, and why”- in all my days of training, I have not hit this point- am planning to back it off a notch to assure continued healthy progress… 2008 is a New Year- remember, nothing Runs or Skis like a DEERE!!!!!!
Coach Kurt