So, if you look at my training calender, you'll notice that since Friday I've been intentionally missing training days. The explanation for this is simple: I pushed myself too hard last week, and started to notice the main symptoms of over-training. I had very tender muscles, my knee and hip were sore from hyper-extension, I had a very hard time going to sleep, my mood worsened, I had a loss in appetite, and minor headaches. I was ignoring these symptoms for a while, but on Thursday, after a bike ride home, I could barely walk from my knee pain, I felt grumpy and irritable, I didn't want to touch my lunch, and it took hours for me to drift into a restless sleep. The next day, when I awoke to a dull throbbing hip and soft stabbing pain in my head, I finally accepted that I was pushing myself too hard.
I'm generally the sort of person who sees weakness in giving in to pain, but even I had to admit that my body was trying to tell me something. I had heard too many stories about athletes who ignored these kinds of signs, and ended up permanently disabling themselves. I did not want to become a one-legged cyclist or ruin my muscle development. So I allowed myself a respite from exercise. This break was only supposed to be a couple of days of icing joints, catching up on sleep, and heat-packing muscles. But each morning, I awoke to further pain or problems, and I eventually ended up taking a whole four days off.
It's actually interesting how the repercussions of a strenuous lifestyle manifest themselves after you take a break. The first day of resting, all of the major muscles and joints on the left side of my body kept seizing up. I tried stretching them, but it was as though my body were saying to me "hey, you've been relying too heavily on your left side. When you start cycling again, you'd better focus on your equilibrium". On the second day of rest, I became ravenously hungry. I ate endlessly, leaving behind a trail of wrappers and crumbs everywhere I went. It felt amazing to not be living on fruits and vegetables. After consuming a hole block of tofu and some chicken-less nuggets (I'm a vegetarian, in case you didn't know), I realized that I was probably suffering from a protein-deficiency. On the third day of rest, I tried to do some strength training, but after two back-kicks, my right hip made an unhealthy popping noise, and I decided I should probably start stretching my muscles before I use them. Finally, today I felt the great fatigue of an over-worked body. I kept falling asleep, and eventually took a 5 hour-long nap. After waking, I drank about three bottles of water, reminding me that sleep and hydration are necessities which I should not neglect. At last, I feel fully rejuvenated and ready to resume my training routine.
I now have a better idea of what I should prioritize in my training routine. I need to use my muscles more evenly, stretch before exercising, drink plenty of water, fuel my body with a more protein-rich diet, fit in more time for sleeping, and put less of a strain on my joints. I'm also considering fewer hours of exercise per week, since many of these issues can be owed to insufficient time for taking proper care of myself. However, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, and will try my current training regimen for another week before finalizing my decision. This recovery time may have set me back a little in my preparations, but I would rather stall my improvement than permanently handicap myself. So I'm glad I took this short vacation from exercise, and I am eager to resume my usual routine.
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