Saturday, June 30, 2012
Third day of rest. Slough bottoming out?
8am: Just before going to bed, I felt the malaise easing. This morning I woke up feeling much less fatigue. Getting up, I felt only slightly stiff. But I’m still tired. It comes in waves. I declined a hike to Winco, not because I couldn’t make it, but because I’m afraid it might set me back.
I think today should make as little physical demand as possible. I may stretch, but I may not. Exhaustion is a bigger problem than muscle stiffness.
My history – my M.O., my most usual fault -- is one of trying too hard, doing too much. So that’s what I have to guard against.
1:30pm: I notice I can stay on my feet without distress longer…
2:30pm: A ten-minute stroll to All About Eyes just now left me a little breathless.
Later -- I spent a couple of hours, off and on, on my feet doing some "shop" work in the garage, and my legs felt pretty bad. I got down in the dumps. But now, almost 9pm, my spirits are better. I feel like I may be "recovering".
Friday, June 29, 2012
Second day of rest, and slough deepens
Fri Jun 29 – SECOND DAY OF REST. SLOUGH DEEPENS
9am: Fatigue sullied my sleep and I awoke feeling run-over. Once up, it wasn’t as bad as feared, but clearly still in the slough of recovery.
4pm: Slough deepened as day went on. Session with McAninch (10AM) confirmed idea that I’m dealing with Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) complicated by aging (Fragility?). I found this heartening, in that it suggests that increased recovery time between rides might prove effective. As I get into shape, perhaps less time between rides would be needed.
Meanwhile, I learned from McAninch that DAMAGE FROM WARM-UP is disproportionate to that from continued activity in any one session, thus a short ride requires a disproportionate amount of recovery time for repairs.
Right now I’m feeling exhausted. Some, though minor, chest distress: pain and pressure, 1 on a scale of 10. Doesn’t seem worse when I move around, but whenever I stand up, I want to sit down.
Leg muscles, meanwhile, feel stronger, and knees more supported.
Yet despite that, I’m unsteady on my feet. Climbing on a scale less than 2” off the floor, I was reaching around for something to grab. And just now, walking out into the alley, looking at some items on a table for a garage sale, I felt very unsteady and could hardly wait to get back to my desk. I can’t blame it on the muscles, and I didn’t feel dizzy, yet I felt in danger of losing my balance. And to complicate things even further, when McAninch had me balance on one foot and then the other, this morning, he said I did it fine – better than a lot of people!
One beer with sandwich, around 6. Ibuprofen a bit later.
7:15pm BP 150/59; p71 right after shower. Slough is deepening. Shot of whiskey with grapefruit juice around 9:00. Seemed to help.
10:pm: BP129/56 p67. Feeling better. Maybe coming out of the trough?
9am: Fatigue sullied my sleep and I awoke feeling run-over. Once up, it wasn’t as bad as feared, but clearly still in the slough of recovery.
4pm: Slough deepened as day went on. Session with McAninch (10AM) confirmed idea that I’m dealing with Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) complicated by aging (Fragility?). I found this heartening, in that it suggests that increased recovery time between rides might prove effective. As I get into shape, perhaps less time between rides would be needed.
Meanwhile, I learned from McAninch that DAMAGE FROM WARM-UP is disproportionate to that from continued activity in any one session, thus a short ride requires a disproportionate amount of recovery time for repairs.
Right now I’m feeling exhausted. Some, though minor, chest distress: pain and pressure, 1 on a scale of 10. Doesn’t seem worse when I move around, but whenever I stand up, I want to sit down.
Leg muscles, meanwhile, feel stronger, and knees more supported.
Yet despite that, I’m unsteady on my feet. Climbing on a scale less than 2” off the floor, I was reaching around for something to grab. And just now, walking out into the alley, looking at some items on a table for a garage sale, I felt very unsteady and could hardly wait to get back to my desk. I can’t blame it on the muscles, and I didn’t feel dizzy, yet I felt in danger of losing my balance. And to complicate things even further, when McAninch had me balance on one foot and then the other, this morning, he said I did it fine – better than a lot of people!
One beer with sandwich, around 6. Ibuprofen a bit later.
7:15pm BP 150/59; p71 right after shower. Slough is deepening. Shot of whiskey with grapefruit juice around 9:00. Seemed to help.
10:pm: BP129/56 p67. Feeling better. Maybe coming out of the trough?
Thursday, June 28, 2012
First Day of Rest
Awoke with whole-body fatigue, which had kept me from sleeping soundly. Reminds me of the fatigue I felt after the season’s first day of skiing, back in NY, 15-20 years ago. Slight nausea for the first hour or so after I got up, plus the sense that I could at any moment get a chill. I’m taking an ibuprofen, and taking it as easy as possible,
To put it in context: If I were at Dewey Beach, 20 years ago, and felt like this, I’d just have a beer or two and sit around watching the waves, without worrying about it.
Later (10:30am): Resting more comfortably. Symptoms less extreme.
Bedtime: I got more and more comfortable as day went on. Legs not only felt less stiff and sore, but stronger, as well. I was a bit tired/sleepy during late afternoon, but only a little bit. Perhaps I’m simply recovering quickly – or this might just be the lull before the storm. I haven’t taken the time to look at my previous posts on this, but it seems to me that the SECOND DAY has often been worse than the first.
I’m really curious about what tomorrow brings…
To put it in context: If I were at Dewey Beach, 20 years ago, and felt like this, I’d just have a beer or two and sit around watching the waves, without worrying about it.
Later (10:30am): Resting more comfortably. Symptoms less extreme.
Bedtime: I got more and more comfortable as day went on. Legs not only felt less stiff and sore, but stronger, as well. I was a bit tired/sleepy during late afternoon, but only a little bit. Perhaps I’m simply recovering quickly – or this might just be the lull before the storm. I haven’t taken the time to look at my previous posts on this, but it seems to me that the SECOND DAY has often been worse than the first.
I’m really curious about what tomorrow brings…
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
16.6 miles, 1:48 riding time, 2:30 overall
Beautiful sunny cool morning. I felt physically and emotionally ready to ride and started off strong. Lateral knee stabilizers were cranky for about five miles and then subsided; anteriors still complained for next few miles. After I stopped at Ace Hardware (9.1 mi.) everything was warmed up.
I was feeling stronger and more optimistic than on last Saturday’s ride -- though not quite robust.
Towards the end – 14 mi or so – my legs felt as though they were getting a really good workout. At the very end they were telling me, “enough!” I drank my whey and walked down for mail – unsteadily – and my legs were very stiff and tired. I stretched a little and then realized the lawn needed mowing. So I staggered through that (30-minute) chore, then took a shower and napped for an hour.
I wasn’t very refreshed when I got up but I was adequately alert.
This was after aTHREE-DAY REST, and I’m thinking (in light of yesterday’s reading on fragility and Overtraining Syndrome) that maybe I need to figure on four or FIVE days. It looks like next Wednesday is the next chance I’ll have to ride, and that will have given me FIVE DAYS’ rest. If I ride the same route and survive it better, that should give me a better handle on how much recovery time I need.
I was feeling stronger and more optimistic than on last Saturday’s ride -- though not quite robust.
Towards the end – 14 mi or so – my legs felt as though they were getting a really good workout. At the very end they were telling me, “enough!” I drank my whey and walked down for mail – unsteadily – and my legs were very stiff and tired. I stretched a little and then realized the lawn needed mowing. So I staggered through that (30-minute) chore, then took a shower and napped for an hour.
I wasn’t very refreshed when I got up but I was adequately alert.
This was after aTHREE-DAY REST, and I’m thinking (in light of yesterday’s reading on fragility and Overtraining Syndrome) that maybe I need to figure on four or FIVE days. It looks like next Wednesday is the next chance I’ll have to ride, and that will have given me FIVE DAYS’ rest. If I ride the same route and survive it better, that should give me a better handle on how much recovery time I need.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
More rest
Spent the morning googling the recovery cycle and the fragility of the aged. Went to cardiologist Jean Phillips in afternoon, who adjusted my blood pressure medicine after suggesting it might be contributing to my light-headedness. Did not offer much else, but didn’t discourage my training routine. I’ll see her again in two months.
Accuweather calls for a sunny morning. I plan to ride.
Accuweather calls for a sunny morning. I plan to ride.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Down day
Monday, June 25, 2012
Legs aren’t exactly stiff, but they’re tired – more tired than yesterday morning, I think. Tired enough that I decided not to hike to Winco. (Anne didn’t feel like it, either.)
I think I’m experiencing the Second Day Slump. And that I probably should plan for this, in the future. Which means that I should always have AT LEAST two rest days between rides. I stretched for 15 minutes. I plan to take it easy, stay on my feet as little as possible, keep legs elevated when possible – hoping to enhance my recovery.
Meanwhile, I’m planning to ride tomorrow morning.
The amount of volume and the type of work performed during the training session will dictate how long it will take for strength & fitness levels to improve.Your initial fitness levels will also dictate how long it will take for your fitness levels to improve (i.e. the higher your work capacity, the quicker you will recover from workouts). If the body can not recover back to baseline levels, the exhaustion stage occurs. The exhaustion stage indicates that overtraining has occurred. The goal of training is to time training sessions accurately so that the next training session coincides with the Supercompensation stage. This term means that our strength & fitness levels have increased above our initial levels.If insufficient recovery time is not given between training sessions, the athlete's strength & fitness levels will drop further below baseline and more time will then be needed for the athlete to supercompensate. – from the web.
More good stuff when googling "supercompensation." Explains a lot of what I've been dealing with.
I need to start assembling a file so I can go into this more deeply. If I can find the time and energy.
Down for nap and slept at 2; refreshed but aware that I’m near the nadir of the recovery cycle. Feeling recovered yesterday was an illusion.
5:30 – Legs are tired, unsteady, and stiff. Carrying one of Anne’s paintings, I almost lost my balance.
Re-thinking the plans to ride tomorrow morning!
Legs aren’t exactly stiff, but they’re tired – more tired than yesterday morning, I think. Tired enough that I decided not to hike to Winco. (Anne didn’t feel like it, either.)
I think I’m experiencing the Second Day Slump. And that I probably should plan for this, in the future. Which means that I should always have AT LEAST two rest days between rides. I stretched for 15 minutes. I plan to take it easy, stay on my feet as little as possible, keep legs elevated when possible – hoping to enhance my recovery.
Meanwhile, I’m planning to ride tomorrow morning.
The amount of volume and the type of work performed during the training session will dictate how long it will take for strength & fitness levels to improve.Your initial fitness levels will also dictate how long it will take for your fitness levels to improve (i.e. the higher your work capacity, the quicker you will recover from workouts). If the body can not recover back to baseline levels, the exhaustion stage occurs. The exhaustion stage indicates that overtraining has occurred. The goal of training is to time training sessions accurately so that the next training session coincides with the Supercompensation stage. This term means that our strength & fitness levels have increased above our initial levels.If insufficient recovery time is not given between training sessions, the athlete's strength & fitness levels will drop further below baseline and more time will then be needed for the athlete to supercompensate. – from the web.
More good stuff when googling "supercompensation." Explains a lot of what I've been dealing with.
I need to start assembling a file so I can go into this more deeply. If I can find the time and energy.
Down for nap and slept at 2; refreshed but aware that I’m near the nadir of the recovery cycle. Feeling recovered yesterday was an illusion.
5:30 – Legs are tired, unsteady, and stiff. Carrying one of Anne’s paintings, I almost lost my balance.
Re-thinking the plans to ride tomorrow morning!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Resting Optimistically
I'm feeling positive. I awoke with no soreness or stiffness from yesterday's ride. Now, at midday, it seems like my legs are getting a little stiffer, so I may want to get some stretching in, to fend off second-day stiffness, but I'm hoping at this point that we can hike out for groceries, tomorrow, without it laying me low with fatigue. If so, maybe I could ride again on Tuesday.
For what it's worth, I've gone several days, now, without a nap.
11:40: Stretched, very gently, for 15 minutes. I'm trying not to overdo it. I believe I may have been stretching too strenuously. A few days ago I noticed both my knees were surprisingly creaky during normal activities -- and this was right after a day or two of stretching two or three sessions per day. So I'm going to try backing off, a bit.
For what it's worth, I've gone several days, now, without a nap.
11:40: Stretched, very gently, for 15 minutes. I'm trying not to overdo it. I believe I may have been stretching too strenuously. A few days ago I noticed both my knees were surprisingly creaky during normal activities -- and this was right after a day or two of stretching two or three sessions per day. So I'm going to try backing off, a bit.
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