The ECCC's "Ask A Pro" Forum

Here is a forum where riders can ask questions of experienced pros - no question too basic or too advanced! Email your questions to amyw[at]alum.dartmouth.org.

Dear Amy,

You have got to help me. I don't know what's been happening, but my training has been great this year. I raced a little last year, love cycling and trained a lot this winter. Now that we're getting through the season, I find myself getting SLOWER, even though I am training MORE! Do I need to ride even more? I'm so stressed, I don't think I could fit it in and training is really starting to get to be a pain.
Competitors that I was stomping earlier in the season are riding away from me now and I can't figure it out.

Also, my teammates are getting really freaking annoying lately... this is supposed to be fun and all we do lately is fight about stupid stuff.

Sincerely,
Stressed.

Amy Wallace, 2005 ECCC Champion, Responds:
Dear Stressed,

From the sounds of it, trying to train even more is the last thing you should do right now! In fact, you are most likely "over-trained". The combination of a winter of training, 8-9 weeks of racing under your belt, tons of travel, school work, personal life stress and probably a lack of sleep are all finally wearing down on you. As a result, your race results are suffering and you're also developing a short fuse all around, as evidenced by getting easily annoyed by your teammates or friends! The best thing to do at this point is to RECOVER! The hard part is figuring out how.

1. So you train a lot. Have you taken a rest week? like an actual rest WEEK? Taking one day off the bike does not constitute a recovery. Take a few consecutive days off, or at least take them super easy. Recovery is an essential part of training and therefore increasing your fitness! If you're going to nationals, take a few days off ASAP and start your normal training again the week before nationals.
2. GET MORE SLEEP! You should definitely NOT sacrifice getting a good night's sleep at this point in your race calendar. If nationals is a priority for you, make sure you're well rested. Seriously. Seep is huge.
3. Spend time with people other than your teammates. It's easy to live in a cycling bubble when you eat, sleep, and breathe cycling. But make an effort to escape to the library, catch a meal with friends from class, chat with a brother, sister, parent, whatever!
4. Don't freak out. You say you're getting slower, when really you're not. This is just your body's cry for a break! So listen to it. Take the break, and when you come back RECOVERED, you should be even faster than before.
5. Don't forget to eat well. You train your body hard, so feed it well and drink lots of water. This will help you to recover better too!

Don't let this lull in your race performance get you down. Learn from the mistakes of over-training and try to respond to it next time before it gets out of hand!

Amy