This weird thing has been happening with my training lately.
I’m lifting heavier and running faster than I ever have before, and yet somehow I actually feel good.
Like I’m actually starting to get this “recovery” thing.
And I’m not trying to brag…
I’m just sharing this because I’ve never felt this way before.
In the past, my training has always been one big build to a crash.
And since I knew the crash was coming, I’d try to get as much volume in as possible and hope I wouldn’t undo all my progress.
And you could say it “worked.”
I’d see improvements, but I’d also have to fight my way through the periods of fatigue and injury.
Yet over the past couple months, I’ve been seeing accelerated progress and experiencing very few setbacks.
To a degree that it feels kind of surprising.
Now why is my recovery so much better?
I haven’t really changed too much about my routine.
If anything, I’m training more than I used to…
And my sleep hasn’t increased – at least, not in the past couple years…
The only thing that’s really changed is my food.
I’m eating so much more than I used to.
Or rather, I’m eating a little more…
But I’m eating a lot more frequently.
Like a lot of people, I originally got into endurance stuff to lose weight, which also meant I paired cycling with a fairly restrictive diet.
For me, it was an early version of the whole “intermittent fasting” trend.
And to be fair, it absolutely helped me lose weight.
It also fostered some really unhelpful eating patterns that have fucked up my performance and development for the past 10-15 years.
Yet over the past… 6 months or so…
(I’m not exactly sure – I didn’t cross off a date on a calendar while saying, “This is the day I start taking food a lot more seriously.”)
I’ve been eating more.
And more often.
Because here’s the thing about diet trends like intermittent fasting.
They don’t just teach you to restrict your food.
They also teach you to restrict all of your habits around food.
So instead of waking up and shoving a bowl of oatmeal into my face to prepare for my upcoming speed workout (like I’m doing right now…) – I’d just wait until afterwards.
And the workout would go fine.
It could have likely been better, but I didn’t notice a huge lack of performance.
Yet the recovery took FOREVER.
I’d dig such a big hole with these fasted workouts.
Then I’d have to spend a couple days clawing myself out, only to Sparta kick myself right back in on my next workout.
And if you fall into a hole enough times…
You tend to get hurt.
I mean, in retrospect, it just feels so stupid.
I was just letting some weird, shitty gremlins in my brain hold me back from actually performing and living how I wanted.
And what feels even dumber?
I “tried everything.”
I tried red light and ice baths and saunas and every possible supplement you can imagine to help “boost” my recovery.
When I really just needed a bowl of fucking oatmeal in the morning.
It can be hard to see it when you’re in the middle of it.
Especially if you’ve been there for a while.
You get so used to feeling that way.
You get so accustomed to the shit that you don’t really even know what’s possible.
So you have no frame of reference for how bad you actually feel.
Which is why I’m writing this email…
To tell you that if you’re struggling with recovery, it might just be food.
You might just need to eat more.
And if you’re like me, you’re probably thinking “But I eat so much!”
Which could be true – but it still may not be as much as you need to truly support your training.
Or, like me, maybe it’s not as much about the overall amount but how it’s spread throughout your day.
Or, also like me, maybe it’s not as much about the overall amount but what it’s made of – meaning, eat more carbs.
But whatever it is…
If you’re struggling with recovery, I’d like you to ask yourself…
“Am I really eating enough?”
Because I’ve worked hundreds of people and the answer for almost all of the endurance athletes I’ve coached was…
“No.”
Sometimes that’s intentional – a lot of us have food issues from living in our fucked up diet culture…
Often it’s not – it’s really hard to eat enough as an endurance athlete…
But most endurance athletes don’t eat enough food to truly support their training.
Especially as they increase towards a peak.
So…
Before you injure yourself on a workout…
Or have to take an extra recovery day…
Or buy a red light and a few hundred dollars worth of supplements…
Try a bowl of oatmeal in the morning and a little sugar during every run.
It might just solve your problem.
And if you have questions or need support…
Happy to serve as a resource for someone who’s going through this shit.
It’s hard.