"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Anybody else have midwinter blues?

I feel like I'm really fighting it. I feel like a slug. Fighting a cold, tired. This after taking about 10 days off the bike over the holidays (I should feel great! Right?). I've done 5 hours since I've been back and it has been a real struggle.

We haven't had winter yet in Ohio and it better not show up during race season!

I was sick for two weeks and barely able to ride during that time right before Christmas. Sucked!

i just want to start racing again. i've been thinking about it a lot lately.

That is what I'm finding hard to do. I feel like I'm just riding around for no reason. Hard to relate the training to racing.

I feel like I'm really fighting it. I feel like a slug. Fighting a cold, tired. This after taking about 10 days off the bike over the holidays (I should feel great! Right?). I've done 5 hours since I've been back and it has been a real struggle.

+1. I'm in the middle of my 3rd illness this winter (cold, then gastroenteritis, now another cold). I love it every time I get out on the bike, but the motivation is hard to come by. Getting whooped by the big boys on the 8:30 sunday ride was a good motivator, though.

Tradezone races start Feb. 18th...

i think i have the blues in the summer here in michigan b/c there's no good road riding & i know the country roads (& climbs) of southern indiana are begging for me.

how cold is winter for you?

The weather has been the least of my concerns. I'm mean 'winter' in the context of we're far away from the heart of racing season. Current temperature in Washington DC is 60 degrees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

Some have reported improvement with taking cod liver oil (not mentioned in link), suggesting a potential link with vitamin D. Even if it does nothing for your SAD, it will at least give you some extra essential fatty acids.

Dr Pete it may help you too. Otherwise, physician heal thyself. ;)

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061111/bob9.asp

Tradezone races start Feb. 18th...

Good point. Hopefully some group ride this Saturday will help matters as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

Some have reported improvement with taking cod liver oil (not mentioned in link), suggesting a potential link with vitamin D. Even if it does nothing for your SAD, it will at least give you some extra essential fatty acids.

Dr Pete it may help you too. Otherwise, physician heal thyself. ;)

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061111/bob9.asp

Thanks for the reminder. I've taken fish oil before with some good results. It definitely seems to have been linked correctly with better mood.

That is what I'm finding hard to do. I feel like I'm just riding around for no reason. Hard to relate the training to racing.

true. i can't seem to get racing in my mind when i am training in the winter. i remember my last race of the season was so crucial to me because i wanted a reason to train hard. my interest in the offseason is usually equipment/training methods. i drool over some bike that i think is completely too good for me, train hard so i wouldn't feel so guilty buying it, and then lose interest in it once racing starts again. i keep the competitive side alive in the offseason by doing benchmarks every week trying to keep improving as well as racing a mile (running) with some of my friends over non-denominational winter break. that's another reason why i think weight training is a good thing for the offseason. even if it does little to help your biking, it at least helps get your brain in competitive mode.

plus, i'm a scrawny climber, and i could crush you in a time trial.

(j.k., just addin motivation)

good luck, though. do tell how you are able to get out of the slump. i would most definately appreciate any form of motivation.

i keep the competitive side alive in the offseason by doing benchmarks every week

+1. i'm trying to do more of this for this off-season. i did my first bench mark TT last sunday, recorded the data, and will keep doing it at regular points to make sure i'm progressing. i think that'll help give me something to work toward.

i think I have the worst midwinter blues as far as bicycling is concerned, that I have ever had. I havent touched my bike in probably a month or more.. havent logged on to the forums.. havent read the news.. havent done anything.. but I really want to change that.. I have been spinning a lot lately, and hitting the gym.. so I shouldnt be too bad, but I really want to kick it all into gear and get ready for next season.

Perhaps I'm just tired. Lots of travelling over the last two weeks including four two hour car trips and a 14 hour car trip over two days Sunday/Monday. Throw two days with 2.5 hours/day riding in on Tuesday & Wednesday and you get one tired puppy. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

Some have reported improvement with taking cod liver oil (not mentioned in link), suggesting a potential link with vitamin D. Even if it does nothing for your SAD, it will at least give you some extra essential fatty acids.

Dr Pete it may help you too. Otherwise, physician heal thyself. ;)

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061111/bob9.asp

Thanks for the info. I'd been forgetting to take my vitamins lately and started that back up, but I'll give the cod liver oil a shot. Certainly can't hurt...

Thanks for the info. I'd been forgetting to take my vitamins lately and started that back up, but I'll give the cod liver oil a shot. Certainly can't hurt...

Yeah I read a study where they compared fish intake in people in Scandanavia. People who ate more fish had a statistically significant lower rate of depression.

Yeah I read a study where they compared fish intake in people in Scandanavia. People who ate more fish had a statistically significant lower rate of depression.

I found a couple studies on PubMed after reading this thread. Who knows, but I figured a little fish oil and some vitamins won't kill me.

What is this "midwinter" you speak of?

I have another 4 months until I see grass.

What winter? I've been outside on the bike everyday since Monday (including Monday!).

Upstate NY in the house!

Ha! you guys complaining about midwinter blues, being sick with head colds and being tired. Blah, blah, blah. My wife and I just had our first child on monday - I dont know when I'll be able to shower or shave again let alone get a ride in, and I'm loving every minute of it. Stop complaining and get on your bikes, especially you guys in the Wash DC area, the weather is too good not to ride.:)

Ugh. Way too much pie and cookies over the holidays. My in-laws seem to express their love with food. Apparently they love me very much.

Went for 20 miles on the fixie this morning and I spent half the ride trying to figure out which of my tires was going flat. No flat, just fat.

Ha! you guys complaining about midwinter blues, being sick with head colds and being tired. Blah, blah, blah. My wife and I just had our first child on monday - I dont know when I'll be able to shower or shave again let alone get a ride in, and I'm loving every minute of it. Stop complaining and get on your bikes, especially you guys in the Wash DC area, the weather is too good not to ride.:)

Congratulations!

Congratulations!
COD LIVER OIL + 1000%
I take one of those for natural vitamen D and A and a multi vitamin too, so double the dose of vitamen D and that is still 100 times less than the D you get from the sun of which we have none. My mood is good. My better better half has been a horrer show again this winter and she had not been taking D vitamins until last week and now I see a much improved mood in her. That is a huge relief for me, because divorce is costly.:)

We are suposed to be a tropical mamal with fruit, nuts, fish and sun. Take and stick us up in the northern hemisphire, put transfats in everything we eat and call it progress. No wonder our mood, society and culture is crap. We suck.

Take cod liver oil, mitigate the other crap...result: Eeke out a less revolting happier life:D

Hrm, I'll have to give this fishy oil a try.

I've been feeling sorta down lately, mostly due to bs at work - not being able to get as much quality ride time in to clear the head doesn't help any though. Still eeked out 2k miles over the last two months. A lot of it was cold and dark though :p

I get it from time to time...like yesterday for example. Had NO urge to get on the bike at all, so I just laid in bed all day and watched TV. Probably was due to the fact I just got back from South Carolina, and after riding down there without wearing a bunch of winter gear, coming back up here kinda sucked.

Did get outside tonight though, and felt really good on the bike. Damn cleat on my left shoe shifted a bit though, and am dealing with knee issues right now, and trying to figure out where the cleat should be.....the top outside corner of my knee feels like it rubs and "pops" a bit from time to time while riding, and it's getting annoying.

I get it from time to time...like yesterday for example. Had NO urge to get on the bike at all, so I just laid in bed all day and watched TV. Probably was due to the fact I just got back from South Carolina, and after riding down there without wearing a bunch of winter gear, coming back up here kinda sucked.

Did get outside tonight though, and felt really good on the bike. Damn cleat on my left shoe shifted a bit though, and am dealing with knee issues right now, and trying to figure out where the cleat should be.....the top outside corner of my knee feels like it rubs and "pops" a bit from time to time while riding, and it's getting annoying.

I'm not a doctor, but I do have f**ked up knees...

Sounds like an Iliotibial Band problem. Google it, and see if the shoe fits. Easy to fix/stretch out before it becomes a major problem.

It just started happening when my cleat went out of adjustment - only problem is figuring out where the hell it's supposed to be. Add the fact that the dude who did my bike fitting lives in Arizona, and that sorta compounds the problem.

I saw a pic of the IBS thing, and that looks to be more on the side of the knee? This is like, if you sit down, put your finger on the top outside corner of your kneecap, that's where it happens.

It just started happening when my cleat went out of adjustment - only problem is figuring out where the hell it's supposed to be. Add the fact that the dude who did my bike fitting lives in Arizona, and that sorta compounds the problem.

I saw a pic of the IBS thing, and that looks to be more on the side of the knee? This is like, if you sit down, put your finger on the top outside corner of your kneecap, that's where it happens.

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/itband.v2.html

I agree with Snuffleupagus, IBFS sounds right. The band inserts exactly where you describe.

Don't worry if this doesn't seem to exactly hit the site where the pain occurs.

I feel like I'm really fighting it. I feel like a slug. Fighting a cold, tired. This after taking about 10 days off the bike over the holidays (I should feel great! Right?). I've done 5 hours since I've been back and it has been a real struggle.

What's this '10 days of the bike' stuff? No wonder you're depressed. I took 22 days of the bike. For the entire year of 2006. But of course I feel HAPPY.

Holidays Schmolidays. I was out for a 30 miler Xmas morning. It was great. Saw ONE car for the first 12 miles. Love that. I was back (with the hot bagels for the family) by 9AM and we did the open presents in front of the Xmas tree/fire thing. And everybody was psyched I rode out for bagels. And it was an outstanding excuse for a ride early Xmas morning too : ).

By the way if this is Global Warming then it's not all bad, is it? Forecast high temps here for Sat are 65-70º. If this is the way the world ends it's pretty mellow.

I didn't want to hassle with a bike in Arkansas. Have no idea where to ride there anyway. Didn't see a bike on a car the whole time I was there, never saw anybody on a bike but 'poor' people. There are no bike lanes and no shoulders. So I think I made a good decision in spite of the results. Also, I was killing it last year in April/May even though I didn't do the world's most religious training in the winter so I don't think the break will be a decisive problem.

Per this discussion, I went to Rite-Aid on my lunch hour and bought a jar of cod liver oil gels. That, and I'm keeping my office blinds open to the sun. We'll see if it has any effect.

Ha! you guys complaining about midwinter blues, being sick with head colds and being tired. Blah, blah, blah. My wife and I just had our first child on monday - I dont know when I'll be able to shower or shave again let alone get a ride in, and I'm loving every minute of it. Stop complaining and get on your bikes, especially you guys in the Wash DC area, the weather is too good not to ride.:)

Congratulations! The first couple weeks with a first child are a pretty exciting time.

By the way if this is Global Warming then it's not all bad, is it? Forecast high temps here for Sat are 65-70º. If this is the way the world ends it's pretty mellow.

Well it's not all hot bagels here in the Pacific Northwest (or West Coast as we Canadians call it). Deluge upon deluge upon windstorm upon deluge. Global warming has certainly hit us in a very unsalutary way. I am definitely getting a big case of Winter gloom. I will need more than fish oil methinks. The only thing that helps me is fake n' bake -- to the tanning booth I will go if this rain keeps up.