Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - The Long Road Ahead, Time to Rebuild

I've been scarce on the bike and the bikeforums, probably since late summer. For the last few years I've been building fitness, changing my diet, adding to my ride calendar, and getting 'serious' about training. That was until sometime last spring or early summer when it all fell to pieces.

I have ridden my bike since... riding the fixed gear around town for errands, commuting on the bakfiets, and riding the IF with the trailer as a utility bike. True - life has gotten busy - house torn up, baby on the way, my wife's health changing, work continuing to be a challenge ... but I've been unmotivated. Off the bike. Not running. Lethargic. Tired. Burned out. Burned up. Certainly managing my anemia and my asthma - but there is no joy in the woods, no desire to head out on the bike. Prior to my season falling apart I hired a local coach and designed some focused training - a big step for me. Not long after my cycling journal goes quiet. I tried a club ride in August with the local group... ended up riding about 25 miles and calling for rescue. I haven't really ridden since late July. I haven't 'trained' since late June. My last fun ride was pacing a friend through a metric in late July. My last great ride was a hill day climbing to Bolton on June 6.

I now know what it is to burn out.

It seems I'm coming out of a fog.
I went for my first run in 5 or 6 months Thursday morning.
It turned into a painful shuffle.

Friday I took my first serious ride in 6 months. I dusted off the IF (my long distance machine), brought out the trainer, set up the fan, and turned on the music.

I rode for 15 minutes.
I was out of breath and everything hurt.

Wow. This is going to be a long road back.

I'm 30 pounds over my ideal event weight. I'm tired. I now have a 'beer gut' (even though I don't drink much beer). My abs are gone. The lines down my back are soft. My quads are still defined - but they've always been defined from lugging me around.

My legs felt funny on the bike. My shoes odd. My saddle so narrow. A handful of pull ups and sit ups were difficult. I can't imagine climbing Middlebury Gap or through the Keene Valley, much less the hill to town.



For those that have 'come back' to cycling... or bounced back from an injury or surgery... I'm feeling what it is like.




Happy New Year to everyone and I hope to see you on the road in '08. Keep it fresh, don't burn out, and may your winter set the mood for your next LD season.

REST!!! One of the most important components of any training program. I am interested to know how much rest your cycling coach incorporated into your program. Rest that was actually defined as part of the program and played a significant role in recovery and rebuilding of tissue, not just "rest days" in between heavy workouts.

The odd part about it, despite the pain of the initial return to exercise, your gains will be (should be) quite rapid to a certain plateau. Then you will be either looking to progress and get frustrated, or realise that the additional gains are going to take some time. And don't forget... get that LSD before you get really serious about building any other sort of fitness. Long Steady Distance is what the pro cyclists do and it seems to work for those who want to go further in their overall cycling.

For what it's worth, I find that time off the bike is really helpful. Right now I am borrowing a motor vehicle (shock horror) from an associate to go to and from work in exchange for some assistance on his property. It's for about three weeks, and when I started the vehicle commute, I really didn't feel like cycling. Now, towards the end of the three week, I am actually starting to look forward to riding again.

I am also starting to get an inkling of the sort of randonneuring and cycle-touring year I want to put in -- a Dirt Award (for three MTB rides of 35, 70 and 10km), the Opperman Fleche fixed, an SR fixed, and an Australian 1200 probably fixed (to finalise my International Super Randonneur Award). And Machka is here in Australia February which means some good cycle-touring is in store.

I think it happens to everyone at some point, the question is how fast you can get out of that state of mind.

Maybe you should take it easy for a few weeks, hit the local MUP's, spin, etc.

I've been training seriously for 12 years now. Got bike religion when I turned 50. I once had to take a winter off because of work pressure and what a disaster that was. It took me over a year to get it back. I do take 2 weeks off every year for a hiking vacation, and go fairly easy for probably another month, but I never take time completely off. The older I get, the more important that becomes, as it gets harder to get it back.

What I'm saying is that it's better to keep it up year 'round at a level which your body and mind can endure. Try to feel for that. Don't get goal oriented unless you've already proven you have the physical and mental strength to meet those goals. Be ready to not do what you thought you were going to do, without putting negatives on yourself. That's what I see in the riders around me, who're still around me after a decade.

Been there all the way down too only able too walk ,docs told me that I have all kinds of bone issues the only enjoyment I could find at one point was opening up another bottle and throwing in a few pills ,all the roads left me lonley ,burt out ,I was having panic attacks daily and severe anxiety ......My shoulders are shot and my knees were able to carry me too my car and too work ,there were no more doctors for me to see !!!!! 3 yrs ago ....

6 weeks ago I ran my first marathon 26 miles solo ,last summer I rode 8000 km ran some 300 miles swam some 50 miles and started ultra riding I learnt how too swim and can swim 2500 meters in one hr 2008 I was aiming for I.M but now am focusing on the canadian crossing 6700km ride in 20 days .....

So what happened I over-trained and fell on my ass,one day after seeing all the doctors I could because of C.P.S or F.M ,I decided to stand up get off the coach put the bottle aside and stop talking about all the pain here and there so I just believed ....And I still do today ....

I changed my perception/reality became a vegetarian and now a vegan/fruitarian and am completely sober ...

So I can relate what you may be going through in certain ways ,I am not in your skin but have seen diffucult times ....

Good luck ..

The mind is very strong ...

Steven...Happy new-year

There is a fundamental difference between riding for yourself and riding within a coached program. You go from riding when you want to riding when you have to. It is not a subtle change. Even if you are the type to ride everyday, being coached means doing types of rides on a given day that you may not want to do. That can lead to rebellion. Working with a coach is not for everyone. I've had one for the past 4 years and I can say there are many times I wonder why. Looking each day at the schedule and having an assigned workout can get old. I have learned to turn my mind off and just follow best that I can.

But, I have also learned to listen to my body and communicate how I feel to my coach. I have come to realize that without a coach I would often skip a ride out of laziness. So for me, as long as the coach and I are on the same page, it works out to be the best arrangement. There has to be a down period to any training cycle. Without it burnout is certain.

in the vein of folks recommending rest to avoid burnout, maybe it's time to pick up an alternate sport or recreation hobby? Give yourself something fresh, where the opportunity to learn and grow is a little more ripe? Continue to ride your bike for errands and utility, but take an extended break from distance and club cycling just to mute the anxiety and stress that you're currently feeling whenever you try to get back on the wagon.

I mean, personally, my mileage goals for next year are incredibly modest compared to last. Probably one or two brevets, and certainly no 600 or 1200. Will still maintain commuting, and maybe a charity century, but most of the time that I spent cycling on weekend will be devoted to hiking or camping, just to give myself a break from two summers of randonneuring and all of the mileage that this entails. So, don't be a sloth, but find some motivation to go out and have fun; and remember that the fun doesn't have to be on a bike. Then, when you break yourself out of the cycle of depression and guilt, you can go back to cycling and recapture the liveliness that got you pedaling in the first place.

thanks for the fine words and suggestions.
didn't expect much commentary - i just needed to write it out and get it out of my system.

something i noticed in my photos from the last few years - very minimal time in the woods... most of it on the bike... so i already am working on that aspect of things - more 'life' time doing all the other things i enjoy - tele skiing, hiking, backpacking, etc.... been on the trainer a few times for short stretches, have the fixed gear moved over to single speed for about town... and the wife kicked my ass and set me up with climbing lessons at the local rock gym - which has been a ton of fun already - and a great whole body workout.

so, maybe '08 will see me doing some light tours around VT - something i always wanted to do - but always focused on 'training'...

good words here. thanks.

so, maybe '08 will see me doing some light tours around VT - something i always wanted to do - but always focused on 'training'...

So much for heading out west to try a 1200k, eh? :p

Mountain biking can be a good way to shake things up and still maintain some cycling muscle. Especially if you have good trails nearby.

So much for heading out west to try a 1200k, eh? :p

1200k will probably be just out of my reach for next season... :D
but we are still planning on heading out west - just as soon as we can get the newborn on a plane. :eek:

1200k will probably be just out of my reach for next season... :D
but we are still planning on heading out west - just as soon as we can get the newborn on a plane. :eek:
Yeah, I don't think a 1200 is on my schedule for this year either. To be perfectly honest, I just bowed out of my club's season opening ACP 200k, as I seriously doubted I was in shape for even that distance. :o

But we can park our newborns in a crib, strap on the boots, and head out for some day climbing, anyway. The local 10,000' peaks have a fresh coat of snow and are just begging for some crampon divots...

Yeah, I don't think a 1200 is on my schedule for this year either. To be perfectly honest, I just bowed out of my club's season opening ACP 200k, as I seriously doubted I was in shape for even that distance. :o

But we can park our newborns in a crib, strap on the boots, and head out for some day climbing, anyway. The local 10,000' peaks have a fresh coat of snow and are just begging for some crampon divots...

nice.
we're in a meltdown here. been in the 50's! :mad:
no snowshoeing or backcountry skiing for me.


but, i've thought about heading out on foot (might be sloppy) with the hammock for a s24o hike.
heading to the climbing wall now.


oh, and that newborn refuses to show up. we've had 3 false alarms now... they keep saying 'any day now'

We may even get another dose of snow over the weekend. Conditions look like they might end up being pretty nice.

And our kid hasn't arrived yet either. Another week and a half, supposedly. The wife is definitely ready!

We may even get another dose of snow over the weekend. Conditions look like they might end up being pretty nice.

And our kid hasn't arrived yet either. Another week and a half, supposedly. The wife is definitely ready!

we must be on the same schedule. ours is 'officially' due jan 22.!

Creepy. That's our exact date. I suppose I should be concerned about your exact whereabouts nine months ago... :p

Creepy. That's our exact date. I suppose I should be concerned about your exact whereabouts nine months ago... :p

whoa.
i know where i was... my wife has a pretty good idea too... :D