I have been following the Morris plan for 3 years. Every year at this time I start to suck. I race expert vet (39yo). I have several top-ten finishes in the early part of the season and then results get worse. I get 9-12 hours of training per week, ride every day but only 2-3 times outdoors and do alot of intensity (intervals). Anyway for the past 3 weeks my legs are shot. If I walk up the stairs at work they are on fire at the top of the steps. My legs were aching me while I slept last night and interfered with sleep. I feel a little low on my energy and mood but nothing too bad. So I figure I'm overtraining. I don't generally monitor resting or morning heart rates. Last week I cut down to 8 hours/week but on race day felt like crap and finished last. I never finished last before (OK technically I beat all the DNFrs). I have introduced one day/week of complete rest. I did a long 3 hr ride sunday, but not too hard and again today my legs feel fried. What do I do now? I have a race this weekend and every 2 weeks for a while. Do I not ride the bike for a few days? Do I stop hard intensity training and only do easy rides? Anybody been here and what did you do?
legs burning, results falling...
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Yeah sounds like you're fried. Here's what I would do.. Do a 2-3 hr ride at an easy pace to clear out most lactic acid from your legs. Then I would take about 4 days off. You'll be amazed at what a good rest can do for you, especially if you've been training hard since early spring.
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+1TigerRider said:
i would've said take a whole week. sounds like you could use a break physically and mentally. just being away from the bike and thinking about something else for a few days will help to rejuvenate your spirit. :thumbsup:
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+2TigerRider said:
Morris tends to recommend a really hard in season program. Thats great if you're getting the full pro treatment, but if you've got others things in your life it can wear you down. This is my first year on Morris after doing a Frielish thing in the past and I had the same problem. Even after a week of recovery, I just felt fried and ended up just skipping a weekend of riding. Man those 4 days off did me good.
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A couple questions:
1) During your in season training do you have planned rest weeks? During the off season I've typically followed the recommened 3weeks followed by a rest week as defined in the book.
During in season I personally found that I was fading hard in the last week so we went to a 2weeks on followed by a rest week that isn't as long as the one in the book.
2) during in season are any of your hard workouts structured intervals with power or velocity as feedback or are you just doing some 'hard rides'. I had Dave put together a 4month in season calendar for me and it is a mixture of structured intervals and hard rides. I use a Tacx Ergo trainer for the intervals. When I'm fried I just can't do the workout at the same power levels as previous weeks. And it's an indication to rest and bag the workout.
3) You said you are riding every day. How many of those days are considered hard? I'm only in vet sport an am only doing 5-8hrs a week (in season). Wed, Sat, Sun are hard. Wed is short/hard and Sat/Sun are longer. Some weeks I'll have a short interval session on Friday too to create a 3 day block. But that still leaves 3-4 days of rest. Maybe one of those day will be 45min easy spin but a lot of the others are totally off the bike. You said you did a 3hr easy ride and the legs felt tired still. What about trying 30mins and then laying on the couch for the other 2.5hrs.
4) what other stressors are in your life. Family, job, house, other hobbies.
5) Have you considered consulting with Dave? 1/2hr-1hr phone consult can get ride of a lot of doubt/secon guessing about your training program?
I know you are on a different level at Vet Ex than what I'm at in Vet sport, but I've realized that I actually have the time to train more hours. But the fact is on certain interval days I can either do the prescribed workout or not and training more hours in the week probably isn't going to be helpful.
Also give sportlegs a try. I'm totally sold on them especially for Morris style training where you go in blocks.
I'm not a coach or anything but have been on the Morris plan for 3years as well. I've experienced these ups/downs too. This was the first year that I had him set up the calendar for the in-season. At first I was surprised how little riding there was. As I looked to the later months Aug-Sept it definitely ramps up some but on the whole it isn't much.
1) During your in season training do you have planned rest weeks? During the off season I've typically followed the recommened 3weeks followed by a rest week as defined in the book.
During in season I personally found that I was fading hard in the last week so we went to a 2weeks on followed by a rest week that isn't as long as the one in the book.
2) during in season are any of your hard workouts structured intervals with power or velocity as feedback or are you just doing some 'hard rides'. I had Dave put together a 4month in season calendar for me and it is a mixture of structured intervals and hard rides. I use a Tacx Ergo trainer for the intervals. When I'm fried I just can't do the workout at the same power levels as previous weeks. And it's an indication to rest and bag the workout.
3) You said you are riding every day. How many of those days are considered hard? I'm only in vet sport an am only doing 5-8hrs a week (in season). Wed, Sat, Sun are hard. Wed is short/hard and Sat/Sun are longer. Some weeks I'll have a short interval session on Friday too to create a 3 day block. But that still leaves 3-4 days of rest. Maybe one of those day will be 45min easy spin but a lot of the others are totally off the bike. You said you did a 3hr easy ride and the legs felt tired still. What about trying 30mins and then laying on the couch for the other 2.5hrs.
4) what other stressors are in your life. Family, job, house, other hobbies.
5) Have you considered consulting with Dave? 1/2hr-1hr phone consult can get ride of a lot of doubt/secon guessing about your training program?
I know you are on a different level at Vet Ex than what I'm at in Vet sport, but I've realized that I actually have the time to train more hours. But the fact is on certain interval days I can either do the prescribed workout or not and training more hours in the week probably isn't going to be helpful.
Also give sportlegs a try. I'm totally sold on them especially for Morris style training where you go in blocks.
I'm not a coach or anything but have been on the Morris plan for 3years as well. I've experienced these ups/downs too. This was the first year that I had him set up the calendar for the in-season. At first I was surprised how little riding there was. As I looked to the later months Aug-Sept it definitely ramps up some but on the whole it isn't much.
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Massage, ice, and rest for a few days. Works great for me. Its important that the massage is deep tissue, it will hurt, and you will be sore for a day or two. Sounds like the blood flow to the legs is a bit restricted. I had this same problem a few weeks back.
Sean
Sean
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Rest
It sound like you need some rest. Take a week off after one of your races, then come back to your schedule. I like the work 3 days - 1 day off routine myself and then take an entire week off about once every two months. That seems to let my body fully recover - by the end of the two month period I feel just how you describe - always sore, making no progress. Rest is underrated in my opinion.
It sound like you need some rest. Take a week off after one of your races, then come back to your schedule. I like the work 3 days - 1 day off routine myself and then take an entire week off about once every two months. That seems to let my body fully recover - by the end of the two month period I feel just how you describe - always sore, making no progress. Rest is underrated in my opinion.
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start herelaufer said:
http://ashwinearl.blogspot.com/2005/11/off-season-training-index-and.html
the Morris book is referenced in pt 1
update
Thanks Ashwin. I just finished my 4th day of nothing. I feel better, but am still surprised that when I push into my calf it is still sore, and I still get that burn in my legs if I have to walk up both flights of steps in the house. Today I will do 45 min of EZ with and additional 5X1 min intervals to prepare for tomorrow's 3 hour race in the hottest humidest circumstances. I have not been doing rest weeks. I had been using the Cycle-ops Electronic Trainer to train via power. I would do 4 or 8 minute intervals at a set wattage. However, it went on the fritz about 3 weeks ago and I've been feeling my way around on a regular trainer. I do them as hard as I possibly can and increase by a few watts each time. I do block training with several days a week of intervals and usually no day off the bike. I have decided at this point that at my age that is too much and I can't improve without more rest in between races. The rest of my life is great right now (2 toddlers and a newborn baby and a new job description, well OK maybe some stressors, but everyone's got those). Sportlegs arrives today via FEDEX and I like the phone consult with Dave idea. I'll let ya know how tomorrow goes.
"1) During your in season training do you have planned rest weeks? During the off season I've typically followed the recommened 3weeks followed by a rest week as defined in the book. During in season I personally found that I was fading hard in the last week so we went to a 2weeks on followed by a rest week that isn't as long as the one in the book."
What do you do during your rest week? same types of workouts, just less time? or drastically decrease intensity?
2) during in season are any of your hard workouts structured intervals with power or velocity as feedback or are you just doing some 'hard rides'. I had Dave put together a 4month in season calendar for me and it is a mixture of structured intervals and hard rides. I use a Tacx Ergo trainer for the intervals. When I'm fried I just can't do the workout at the same power levels as previous weeks. And it's an indication to rest and bag the workout.
3) You said you are riding every day. How many of those days are considered hard? I'm only in vet sport an am only doing 5-8hrs a week (in season). Wed, Sat, Sun are hard. Wed is short/hard and Sat/Sun are longer. Some weeks I'll have a short interval session on Friday too to create a 3 day block. But that still leaves 3-4 days of rest. Maybe one of those day will be 45min easy spin but a lot of the others are totally off the bike. You said you did a 3hr easy ride and the legs felt tired still. What about trying 30mins and then laying on the couch for the other 2.5hrs.
4) what other stressors are in your life. Family, job, house, other hobbies.
5) Have you considered consulting with Dave? 1/2hr-1hr phone consult can get ride of a lot of doubt/secon guessing about your training program?
I know you are on a different level at Vet Ex than what I'm at in Vet sport, but I've realized that I actually have the time to train more hours. But the fact is on certain interval days I can either do the prescribed workout or not and training more hours in the week probably isn't going to be helpful.
Also give sportlegs a try. I'm totally sold on them especially for Morris style training where you go in blocks.
I'm not a coach or anything but have been on the Morris plan for 3years as well. I've experienced these ups/downs too. This was the first year that I had him set up the calendar for the in-season. At first I was surprised how little riding there was. As I looked to the later months Aug-Sept it definitely ramps up some but on the whole it isn't much.[/QUOTE]
Thanks Ashwin. I just finished my 4th day of nothing. I feel better, but am still surprised that when I push into my calf it is still sore, and I still get that burn in my legs if I have to walk up both flights of steps in the house. Today I will do 45 min of EZ with and additional 5X1 min intervals to prepare for tomorrow's 3 hour race in the hottest humidest circumstances. I have not been doing rest weeks. I had been using the Cycle-ops Electronic Trainer to train via power. I would do 4 or 8 minute intervals at a set wattage. However, it went on the fritz about 3 weeks ago and I've been feeling my way around on a regular trainer. I do them as hard as I possibly can and increase by a few watts each time. I do block training with several days a week of intervals and usually no day off the bike. I have decided at this point that at my age that is too much and I can't improve without more rest in between races. The rest of my life is great right now (2 toddlers and a newborn baby and a new job description, well OK maybe some stressors, but everyone's got those). Sportlegs arrives today via FEDEX and I like the phone consult with Dave idea. I'll let ya know how tomorrow goes.
"1) During your in season training do you have planned rest weeks? During the off season I've typically followed the recommened 3weeks followed by a rest week as defined in the book. During in season I personally found that I was fading hard in the last week so we went to a 2weeks on followed by a rest week that isn't as long as the one in the book."
What do you do during your rest week? same types of workouts, just less time? or drastically decrease intensity?
2) during in season are any of your hard workouts structured intervals with power or velocity as feedback or are you just doing some 'hard rides'. I had Dave put together a 4month in season calendar for me and it is a mixture of structured intervals and hard rides. I use a Tacx Ergo trainer for the intervals. When I'm fried I just can't do the workout at the same power levels as previous weeks. And it's an indication to rest and bag the workout.
3) You said you are riding every day. How many of those days are considered hard? I'm only in vet sport an am only doing 5-8hrs a week (in season). Wed, Sat, Sun are hard. Wed is short/hard and Sat/Sun are longer. Some weeks I'll have a short interval session on Friday too to create a 3 day block. But that still leaves 3-4 days of rest. Maybe one of those day will be 45min easy spin but a lot of the others are totally off the bike. You said you did a 3hr easy ride and the legs felt tired still. What about trying 30mins and then laying on the couch for the other 2.5hrs.
4) what other stressors are in your life. Family, job, house, other hobbies.
5) Have you considered consulting with Dave? 1/2hr-1hr phone consult can get ride of a lot of doubt/secon guessing about your training program?
I know you are on a different level at Vet Ex than what I'm at in Vet sport, but I've realized that I actually have the time to train more hours. But the fact is on certain interval days I can either do the prescribed workout or not and training more hours in the week probably isn't going to be helpful.
Also give sportlegs a try. I'm totally sold on them especially for Morris style training where you go in blocks.
I'm not a coach or anything but have been on the Morris plan for 3years as well. I've experienced these ups/downs too. This was the first year that I had him set up the calendar for the in-season. At first I was surprised how little riding there was. As I looked to the later months Aug-Sept it definitely ramps up some but on the whole it isn't much.[/QUOTE]
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Page 68 of the book has a sample rest week.-dude- said:
I think this is recommended as a rest week to follow a 3week block of training. I am on a 2week on 1week rest schedule right now, but my rest week really isn't to much different than a regular week, just slightly shorter duration, and a little less intense interval workout.
Just a note from personal experience. 4days off is a lot, and it sure sounds like you need it. But be PATIENT when you get back to the bike. You'll probably feel sluggish and the legs will probably hurt when you try and go hard again. For me, I've found that it takes just as many days to get the legs back underneath me as I've been resting. The real benefit from the rest seems to be apparent the week following a rest week.
2 toddlers and a new baby. So we are talking 3 kids under the age of 5 correct?
Read my BLOG: team married with children, full time job, the NGT (no genetic talent) may not apply to you though. This is the definition of stress.
It is difficult to train less sometimes, especially when you compare yourself to everyone else and all the miles they are putting in. Personally I think is better to be able to really rage at race pace+ for the length of your XC race once a week, and get in 1-2shorter but just as hard days and then rest the remainder. At this point in the season what is 3-5hr easy rides going to do for you in a 2hr XC race?
You're racing a lot right now. What about this for a few weeks to see how it goes.
Sat: 1hr easy with 5x1on 2off at SMSP
SUN: XC Race
Mon: easy/off
Tues-easy/off
Wed-1hr Race pace+ mtb or Hard road
Thurs - easy/off
Fri -easy/off
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