As part of an exciting new partnership between the Global Triathlon Network (GTN) and TrainingPeaks, we’ll be bringing you twice-monthly episodes of the new “Triathlon Training Explained” show, where hosts and former pro triathletes Mark Threlfall and Heather Fell answer your triathlon training questions with the help of TrainingPeaks and industry experts from around the world.
Overtraining is a common problem among amateur and professional triathletes alike. The combination of heavy training, work and family obligations can create fatigue sooner in busy age-group athletes, however even highly competitive triathletes training full time can succumb to overreaching, provided they aren’t spending enough time on their recovery and nutritional needs.
In this week’s how, Fell and Threlfall discuss how they personally have suffered from bouts of overtraining and how they overcame it through finding the right coach or speaking with a dietician.
For Threlfall, he learned how he and his coach could use his Performance Management Chart (PMC) in TrainingPeaks to see how his Fitness, Fatigue and Form were changing during particularly hard training blocks, which allowed him to better anticipate his own need for recovery and reduced training.
For Fell, she found help through better nutrition and through the help of monitoring her blood markers, including ferratin and cortisol levels to see how her inflammation and stress levels were changing through different training blocks.
Other athletes and coaches they spoke to discussed the use of a daily check-in regarding their own mental state, coupled with regular Heart Rate Variability (HRV) monitoring to help an athlete keep on top of their own recovery needs.
Catch the full episode below:
Triathletes in the know like GTN’s Mark Threlfall and Heather Fell use TrainingPeaks to help plan, track and analyze their training. Dial-in your triathlon training with a free 7-day Premium Trial today!
