I will start by saying I am not a doctor. Anything I say below is for entertainment purposes only.
Originally Posted by
rousseau
I don't know how to read my body's signals.
a lot of people dont, even doctors and trainers. As humans, we really dont understand a lot of how the body works, even though the medical community try.....
Originally Posted by
rousseau
Then suddenly I got an attack of appendicitus, requiring a further month of recovery in September, so by October I was feeling pretty good and figured maybe the appendicitus had something to do with it. Which was dumb of me, and even the surgeon told me in no uncertain terms that my two conditions were completely unrelated.
Spray some Windex on it.
Originally Posted by
rousseau
..............the doc says that the tests say that I just don't have anything wrong with me...........
thats because no one really understands how the body works...
Originally Posted by
rousseau
Should I consider getting a heartrate monitor and train using that? Has anyone had a similar experience to mine? Am I really just getting old? Were there too many years of sedentary life in between my youth and now?
For the first time in my life I am considering a heart rate monitor. The reason is a little different though. I am not concerned about over training, but am more concerned about making the best use of my training, does this make sense? A heart rate monitor wont tell you if you are over trained. Some sports gurus claim this, that and the other, but honestly, medical science changes every other month.
For example, it has always been believed that training in HR Zones is good, making sure you train WITHIN your lactate threshold, meaning you dont train hard, just enough to improve and build. You should be "comfortable". Well, guess what, the latest research shows that building lactic acid is good for you!!! Confused? Get used to it. Some years ago, the same people said dont do squats in the gym, a few years later they say its the best thing for you!!!
Originally Posted by
rousseau
What to do? How do I approach this?
Get a heart rate monitor to make sure your training hard, and making the most use of your time on the bike. Follow these simple rules:
For your body to get better, fitter and stronger, its has to adapt and change to load and strain. It gets better to be able to cope with the training you are giving it. A very simple, universal tip. No science, no equipment is going to change this universal law. Stick to this. Secondly, when you are tired, you are tired. Very simple. You cannot do 10 hours a day everyday. If you are not training to become an elite pro cyclist, just train 3 to 4 times a week. thats all you need, and you wont over train, very simple. Are you getting older? Sure you are. Is your natural ability to do more thatn you used to decreasing? Sure it is. But believe me, you are very far from what is possible with your body, so i wouldent even worry about it. Now, if you were training to break the world hour record, then, perhaps there may be concerns if you are overdoing it for your age.
I think your main problem is psychological tiredness/fatigue. I used to race pro, nothing like the Tour De France, but enough to be among elite athletes. I over trained a few times when I was an amateur, then when I went to race in Europe, I realized that what I had been doing was child's play!! The level at which I was training was a fraction of what I then had to do in Europe, and to imagine I was over trained before!! It was mentally that i thought I was over trained, and as a result, my body was over trained. Once in Europe, it was sink or swing, and over training was for cry babies who wanted to go home.
The human body is incredible. And I dont think you are anywhere near its limit. Just progress slowly but surly. Going out and attacking the biggest hills from day one wont get you very far. take it one step at a time.
Make sure eat, drink and sleep a lot. 3 to 4 times a week on the bike is cool. If you are working, i doubt you are over training, because you are not doing 6-7 hour days on the bike.
More importantly, break up your training. Do steady slow rides for a few weeks, then do some hills for a few weeks, then do time trial training, and back to steady riding. Do some easy group rides, change it up a lot.