I've been riding my cross-check for about a year and a half now, and I love it. However, there is one problem I have with it, and it's that the brake hoods aren't that comfortable for riding on. I feel like I'm overextended.

I've come to the conclusion that I either have one of two problems:
1) the stem is too long
2) the handlebars are a size too large for me

I did take my bike in for a fitting about a year ago, and they told me that the handlebars are a bit wide for my size, but I'm curious as to whether the wideness goes hand-in-hand with the depth of the handlebars.

Any thoughts?