Overtrained? Nah, can't be, right? (7.30.08-8.5.08)

W- 6 miles
Th- 20 miles
F- 9 miles (am) / 3 miles (pm)
S- 13 miles
Su- Rest
M- 2 miles
Tu- 20 miles

Total = 73

This week forced me to accept a hard fact of hard training; overtraining is a real danger. Sunday is my rest day every week and I woke up completely fatigued and depressed. My running for this block has been sub-par and difficult. It seems that I haven't allowed for enough recovery this year, especially following racing. After racing the HMI 50k (9th place finish, 5:23) I jumped right back to the high mileage runs and didn't listen to my body. So, I laid around feeling terrible on Sunday and tried to go out Monday for the scheduled run of 20 having to make the hard decision to stop almost as soon as I started. I've had to re-arrange my schedule to do my back-to-back this week. However, the two-day break seems to have paid off with yesterday's 36 miles to Boulder from my home in Cherry Creek going extremely well, and for the 20 on Tuesday not too shabby. I kept my breathing in check and paid close attention my fluid and calorie intake. Granted it was a bit slow, but I felt great. Could have gone for a few hours more. Today will see 20 @ Lair o' the Bear, a tame and totally cruiseable trail system.

On a different note, Sam had to abandon his CT speed-record attempt, bummer. From what I've read on his blog it seems that he and his crew made a wise yet difficult decision. Even if he didn't complete the goal, he did quite well. I'm impressed. Check out the details at www.seesamrun.com.