Getting sick,possibly due to overtraining???

thediceman85
thediceman85 Posts: 21
edited January 2011 in Training, fitness and health
Just finished a 4 day stint of hard training (90-100 miles a day)and iv woke up this morning with the worst flu symptoms iv had in years. Obviously i need to rest but im worried that all the training iv put in the last few days is going to go to waste by being sick. I was in decent condition from training on the turbo while the weather was bad, but these four long days seem to have taken there toll.

Have i done too much too early in the season??

Comments

  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    90-100miles....a day?, I'd be sick on that!
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    You probably know yourself... shame you've had to ruin that good condition and we still in January...hopefully you'll get back on track before 1st event.
  • KnightOfTheLongTights
    KnightOfTheLongTights Posts: 1,415
    danowat wrote:
    90-100miles....a day?, I'd be sick on that!

    indeed!

    OP: a day or two's rest would allow the fitness benefits to accrue, not 'go to waste'! Your muscles would also surely benefit from the rest ...
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    thediceman85 wrote:
    Have i done too much too early in the season??
    Possibly: or then again you might just have the flu.
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    thediceman85 wrote:
    Just finished a 4 day stint of hard training (90-100 miles a day)and iv woke up this morning with the worst flu symptoms iv had in years. Obviously i need to rest but im worried that all the training iv put in the last few days is going to go to waste by being sick. I was in decent condition from training on the turbo while the weather was bad, but these four long days seem to have taken there toll.

    Have i done too much too early in the season??

    If you've actually got the flu, then the damage is done; its not whether you lose fitness, it's how much you lose. Worrying about it won't change anything. Your choices are simple:

    1. Continue to train, make yourself more sick, ultimately spend longer off the bike and lose lots of fitness
    2. Rest and recover, give your body every chance to fight the virus without worrying about having to repair your muscles etc from your 100 milers, get back on the bike in a week or two having lost a little bit of fitness.

    Tough, isn't it?
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    Anyone banging out 90-100 hard miles a day for four days is either a pro (top elite minimum) and shouldn't need to post questions on a forum to a load people most of whom have nothing like that level so can't really comment, or is masively overdoing it! Just my opinion (you did ask :wink: ). Good effort whatever the outcome!
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • thediceman85
    thediceman85 Posts: 21
    nope not a pro or elite amature, im just about to start my second season racing and time trialling so just lacking a bit of experience thats all. :D

    Anyway, feeling much better this afternoon, thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated, like most of you said a couple of days well earned rest is in order.
  • ozzzyosborn206
    ozzzyosborn206 Posts: 1,340
    just take a easy week or off totally, i have a sore throat and keep coughing up lots of greenys, but annoyingly it only lasts until mid morning so am a bit stuck on training easy or taking time off completely. Maybe just get a few nights of extra sleep and see how you feel
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    If you've got flu there'll be no decision to make - you will not feel like cycling. You probably won't feel like moving.

    If you've got a cold though then best take it easy for a few days and see if/how you improve. A few days off after 4 back-to-back 100 milers won't do you any harm anyway.
    More problems but still living....
  • bexley5200
    bexley5200 Posts: 692
    man flu
    going downhill slowly
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    Just thought you would be interested in these records. How they were achieved. Kind of makes 100 mile a day look a bit easy.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Godw ... rn_1912%29
    .
    .
    .
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • SBezza
    SBezza Posts: 2,173
    I would just take a couple of days off, you won't lose any fitness, the rest will help you. 4 days of that sort of riding will take it's toll, but the benefits down the line will be worth it, just don't panic about the perceived loss of fitness by having a couple of days off. Fitness is built up over time, and it is lost over time as well, but your body also needs rest to adapt to the training you have been doing.

    I had 5 days off the bike in the run up to Christmas, due to illness and Christmas, still went out on NYD and raced very successfully :wink:
  • thediceman85
    thediceman85 Posts: 21
    cyco2 wrote:
    Just thought you would be interested in these records. How they were achieved. Kind of makes 100 mile a day look a bit easy.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Godw ... rn_1912%29
    .
    .
    .

    Damn right it does, feel a bit guilty now for complaining about having the flu lol

    Had a coulpe of days off now and feeling much better, going to rest again tomorrow then start training again for first tt's at the middle to end of feb.

    :)
  • Zingzang
    Zingzang Posts: 196
    thediceman85 wrote:
    cyco2 wrote:
    Just thought you would be interested in these records. How they were achieved. Kind of makes 100 mile a day look a bit easy.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Godw ... rn_1912%29
    .
    .
    .

    Damn right it does, feel a bit guilty now for complaining about having the flu lol

    Had a coulpe of days off now and feeling much better, going to rest again tomorrow then start training again for first tt's at the middle to end of feb.

    :)

    Your eagerness to be back on the bike so soon is both a good and a bad sign; good because you are clearly a committed rider, but bad because it puts you in an at-risk group of those with potential for overdoing things and burning out.

    You had a virus for two days and worried about loss of form. Some people on here have had viruses that have lasted 18 months because they knew how to push themselves but not how to hold back. And after 18 months of illness the anxiety over loss of form becomes a small matter compared with the anxiety over whether you will ever be well again.
  • SBezza
    SBezza Posts: 2,173
    Zingzang wrote:
    You had a virus for two days and worried about loss of form. Some people on here have had viruses that have lasted 18 months because they knew how to push themselves but not how to hold back. And after 18 months of illness the anxiety over loss of form becomes a small matter compared with the anxiety over whether you will ever be well again.

    There is no proof he has had a virus, he said he woke up with flu like symptons, as these are fairly wide ranging, it could mean he was just physically tired.

    If the OP feels fine now, it obviously wasn't the flu, he is taking an additional day off so I would say he is quite wise.

    For what it is worth, if we all took days off because of every slight illness, we would hardly ride in the winter, I certainly wouldn't, as my little lad brings home a new cold every other week from school.

    If you do have a bad illness, then yes be careful, but if someone had something like the flu they wouldn't even be getting out of bed
  • jocksyboy
    jocksyboy Posts: 135
    firstly listen to your body!

    Secondly most coaches will advise not increasing the training load week on week by more than 10%- the body takes time to adapt to increases in training load.

    Thirdly, after hard training your immune system is at it's weakest. Make sure you you eat well and keep warm.

    Perhaps you even need to ask the question should i be doing this much riding in January?
    When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. ~H.G. Wells

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