Flyingsquid

First off, I have taken my cycling to another level this year. The past few Summers I would average around 30 miles a day or so + the occasional longer rides on weekends. So far this Summer I am doing at least 50 miles a day & normally 60-75 on weekends. I feel like I have only gotten stronger with every ride. We also have FINALLY had some nice weather here, so it has been hard for me NOT to always be on my bike.I built a new bike over the Winter (De Rosa Dual) and decided for the time being NOT to mount a computer. I have actually enjoyed just riding for the sake of riding without having to always be a slave to my computer (mistake?).

Secondly, I always seem to be hammering. I admit that the idea of days off & recovery rides seemed like something that applied to everybody else & not to me. I have trusted my body to tell me when it needs to rest & it just hasn't been doing anything but screaming "faster,faster!". I haven't ever used a heart-rate monitor, but I did buy one tonight.I do however usually check my resting heart-rate in the morning. It's usually around 49-51. The last couple days it has been closer to 60.

My problem started earlier in the week when out of the blue, I just couldn't sleep. Heart seemed to be pounding & it just wasn't going to happen. I figured stress, work, jet-lag. It did occur to me that maybe I was over-training, but my performance had been tops. The next day I went riding & seemed to have all the energy in the world. Did around 40 miles & was just FLYING. my body would tell me if I was pushing it too hard,right? Well... didn't sleep again that night. Decided to try a "recovery ride" the next day. The single most torturous thing I have ever done, I swear. Body kept screaming that whole "faster,faster!" thing at me. I tried not to listen & I kept right on spinning. Did about 25 miles trying to keep my heart-rate down. Guesswork, as this was BEFORE I bought the HRM tonight. Still couldn't sleep last night. Did another "recovery ride" today, stopped & picked up the HRM. Boy, SLEEP sure would be nice tonight - we'll see....

So any advice? Thoughts? Am I over-training or could it actually be something else? Now that I have this HRM (Polar ,erm... $100 model) , I will be reading the little book & stuff, but anybody have any tips on the best way to make use of the thing? Holiday weekend & I have no plans. The bike is talking to me , I swear.

Any help, insight or lectures appreciated.