Melanie McQuaid, a three-time XTERRA world champion and owner of MelRad Coaching, joins us to discuss how to judge fatigue, the effects of overtraining, and the so-called "crossover effect" between running and cycling.

Our first question comes from Matthew Eastwood.

He writes: “After years of road racing, where I would struggle with prolonged periods of fatigue in between periods of good form, I now compete in cyclocross and sprint triathlon events as a master’s racer. I’m 43 years old with a more relaxed attitude to competition and training, and just enjoy exercise and riding my bike in general. My main focus is enjoying myself and feeling like I have given my all; my actual result is secondary to this. My ‘training’ is based around how I feel on any given day: If I’m tired I exercise easy, or not at all. If I feel good I train hard; my definition of ‘hard’ is dependent on time available and weather. If I have all day on a sunny day and I feel like it, I might do three to five hours of hard riding in the hills. If it’s a rainy evening I might do some sweet spot or other intervals on the rollers, or do a 5k running race. My question is: How good a guide is feel (achy muscles, enthusiasm, mood, tiredness) and fatigue (mild or intense), in terms of avoiding overtraining, burnout, and illness?”

Our next question comes from Sophie, a 27-year-old age-group triathlete dealing with, as she puts it, “some form of non-functional overreaching.”

*Find this question in the full description of this episode at fasttalklabs.com. 

Our final question comes from Mackenzie O’Donnell from Edmonton, Alberta. He writes:

“I’m a runner and a cyclist, but I’m not a triathlete. I tend to run more in the winter months and gradually transition more to cycling as the weather gets nicer. But I never stop running. So, my questions are, is the running helping or hurting my cycling, and vice versa? And, also, if it helps, how do I most effectively incorporate the two sports into one training plan?”

Fast Talk

164: Q&A on Judging Fatigue, and Overtraining in Triathletes, with Melanie McQuaid

The Fast Talk podcast offers the best guides to cycling performance and endurance sports training from world-class experts.

Cohosted by cycling coaches and sport scientists Trevor Connor and Rob Pickels, Fast Talk episodes feature fascinating conversations with world-class experts discussing the endurance sports topics they know best: the best ways to train, effective workouts, questions on polarized and interval training, sports nutrition, physiology and recovery, and sport psychology.

Fast Talk guests and regular contributors include Dr. Stephen Seiler, Joe Friel, Dr. Asker Jeukendrup, Sebastian Weber, Jim Miller, Dr. Andy Pruitt, Dr. Timothy Noakes, and elite professional athletes like Kristin Armstrong, Sepp Kuss, Brent Bookwalter, Kate Courtney, and many more.

Fast Talk is part of Fast Talk Laboratories, a new endurance sports knowledgebase for endurance racers and adventurers.