Do you need a break?     

Mid summer is here, Le Tour is over and you feel as tired as the guys who've just ridden the biggest race on earth. If this is you, your legs are jelly and your mind says "so what", then you need a break... It's time to get out the deck chair and reappraise your season

That time of year…
For many self-coached riders, mid-summer means the 'blues'. The feeling that you couldn't care less about racing, having permanently tired legs is a sure sign you may have the 'blues'.

These are the main symptoms of mid-season blues:
· Feeling constantly tired
· Struggle to get out training
· Racing because it's what you do, as opposed to racing for success, or enjoyment
· Can't or won't 'dig in' when the pressure is on in a race (i.e., you sit up as soon as it gets hard)
· No enjoyment from training/racing
· Permanently feeling 'grouchy'

If this is you, then perhaps it's time to reassess your season and get it back on track.

Causes
Mental staleness, or 'burn out' takes the enjoyment out of cycling, so you need to take stock, and assess the situation.

Is work or schooling causing stress? Then, you may need to reprioritise your racing and training, perhaps taking a few weeks off from racing until the pressure wears off.

Maybe, personal commitments such as a partner or family are feeling the strain of you always racing? Take the family/partner to the race, and try to make it a day out? Alternatively, it could be a good idea to have a family day out on alternate weekends. You could cancel one of your least important races (you do prioritise your races into importance?) for a family trip - this may help to keep the peace!

It could be that as well as feeling stale, you're also physically tired - this would especially apply to people who've been racing non-stop since the early season. It's more than likely that you've probably also not had regular recovery weeks - which can be vitally important for improved performance.

Start off by taking a week off from heavy training - maybe not touching the bike at all or just simply having some easy spin session, where heart rate is very low (e.g., ~ 80 b min-1 below max HR) and the volume and frequency are also very low (maybe 45 - 60 minutes, two - three times per week). This will help recharge your batteries.

During your extra free time you could start planning for some late season races. In many areas races go on until the end of October.

You could also try some cross training (e.g., swimming - also good for getting your family involved). You shouldn't train as hard for these new sports as you would with cycling, just do them for fun. Don't feel guilty that you're not training - you're unlikely to become detrained through one to two weeks of little or light riding. Use this time to recharge your batteries.

For the future
Start off by examining your training diary (you do keep one, don't you? If you don't, start now!), and see where you were going well and where you were suffering like a dog. Can you spot a trend in your training (maybe too many/too little hours, intensity, frequency, etc.)?

Try to find out what worked for you and see if you can build on this for the remaining part of the season. Select a few races (maybe 2 - 3) where you feel that you could be at top form. Find out about the circuits and maybe do some training on them. Then make these races your goals. Tell a few people about these goals (e.g., partner, coach, training partner) - this way you form a contract, making it more want to succeed and less likely to change your mind.

So who knows, maybe your mid summer blues break will be good for you, forcing you to reappraise your season's performance thus far and inspiring you to get a whole lot better. And, this hiccup in your training should enable you to better plan your training for next season (you'll be able to see how long you can race for, before you need a break).