If sleepiness, a lack of energy, and an inability to finish your triathlon training gets in the way, here’s what you can do

Any athlete, regardless if you’re a pro or age grouper, experiences highs and lows in training. Sometimes you feel like you’re super strong and as a result, very motivated with training.

But there are also moments when you start to question everything because of a bad day. You start to question your training, your ability to race, and even your reasons for doing this sport.

As a 15-year triathlon veteran and having coached hundreds of athletes already, let me tell you that these peaks and valleys are normal and necessary parts of improvement. Obviously, the frustrating parts are the difficult days, and we are here to give tips to help you overcome them.

Feeling sleepy before a workout

Obviously, if you’re sleepy, there’s a high chance you might not have gotten enough Zs recently. In this case, skip the workout or at the very least change it to a short and easy one. There’s no point in pushing if you don’t have enough sleep.

Take notes on what time of the day you feel most energized and alert, and try and find a way to squeeze in your workouts during these times

If you had enough sleep the past few days, then it might be a biorhythm issue. Take notes on what time of the day you feel most energized and alert. Try and find a way to squeeze in your workouts during these times. If this isn’t possible, it might be possible to change your biorhythm to suit your workout needs. This might necessitate sleeping earlier, working at a different time and, in some cases, taking naps at designated times.

One thing to point out though is not to abuse coffee or caffeine. For one, too much caffeine can lead to issues such as heart palpitations. And if you always take caffeine, your body will get used to it and you’d need more and more to feel its effects. I recommend keeping your caffeine intake to a minimum (i.e., one cup per day) and to reserve your caffeine intake during workouts for the difficult sessions.

Lacking the energy to finish a workout

Earlier we talked about feeling sleepy before a workout, but what about running out of gas towards the end? This is a bit tricky as the answer is multifaceted.

It’s possible that the workout might be a simple case of “too much too soon.” You can dial back on intensity and/or duration to make it more bearable.

Another possible scenario is lack of fuel. Usually, this is felt for workouts longer than 90 minutes. During such workouts, it’s advisable to take in some carbs close to the one hour mark and consistently thereafter. If you’re struggling even before the 60-minute mark, then it probably means you’re too carbohydrate-dependent: you’re burning too many carbs while working out.

You can dial back on intensity and/or duration to make workouts more bearable

Ideally, during lower intensity workouts, your body should be consuming mostly fat. However, as I’ve measured in my sports lab, a “bad” diet, lack of fitness, and other compounding factors can lead to high carbohydrate utilization even at lower intensities. This is where training and nutrition coaching comes into play.

Burning legs and/or inability to finish a workout

This is pretty common during high intensity workouts because of how our energy systems work. When we shift to higher gears, our body’s anaerobic system starts to work harder. This results in a buildup of acidity in the muscle (i.e., often referred to as lactic acid but in reality, it is a combination of lactate and hydrogen). This leads to eventual “muscle failure.”

In some cases, you might also experience this during lower intensity work when the duration is a lot longer than usual. This is still due to the aforementioned build up in acidity. The answer is simple, dial back intensity and/or insert some more rest intervals during the workout. Just remember, there is a time and place for high-intensity work. If you feel like you’re struggling even for shorter, less intense workouts, you probably need to work on your base.

High heart rate or headaches during/outside training

Nothing is more worrisome than an elevated heart rate that makes your workouts increasingly difficult. If this is accompanied by chest pains and irregular heartbeats, it’s best to consult a cardiologist who’s familiar with athletes.

On the other hand, if it’s just elevated heart rate, and possibly accompanied by headaches, consider looking at your hydration status. These are symptoms of dehydration that aren’t that widely known. I recommend taking at least 800ml of liquids per hour of exercise and possibly even increasing it to close to 1.5L during hot or intense sessions. Adding some electrolytes will help as well. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with the high sugar sports drinks as these can be counterproductive, too.