Training & Nutrition - Very Tired - Oversleeping?

Hi,

I searched a bit but didn't find specifically what I was looking for. I've been riding for about 2 months now, up to about 100 miles a week now. Next week I'm planning on 173 including my short commutes (I know it's a big jump, my friend the Cat 2 thinks I'll be fine if I sleep enough and eat right).

Anyway, that kind of brings me to my question. I'm tired, a lot. Lately on days I don't have classes I sleep 10-12 hours. I skip my morning class sometimes because I'm still tired after 8 or 9 hours of sleep.

This weekend for example: Friday I rode 10 miles (it was raining and cold). Saturday I did 40 miles. I took today (Sunday) off. I slept 11 hours Friday night and 12 hours Saturday night. I got up today at about 10:30, and now at 10:15 PM I feel like I'm about to fall asleep.

Before you ask, I do have depression, but it's been fine lately. I'm on an anti-depressant and it works really well for me. It's not that I stay in bed because I'm depressed, I'm just really tired.

Is this a normal body adjustment to training? Am I pushing myself too hard? I'm still getting over being sick for the last couple weeks (started with fever, mostly just head cold now), so that may have something to do with it too.

Should I just not worry about it and sleep as much as I feel like I need? Or should I try to wake myself up earlier even when I don't have anything to do?

Thanks.

Eat more. Each day bump up your intake until you stop being so tired.

Eat more. Each day bump up your intake until you stop being so tired.

Did I mention I'm trying to lose weight at the same time? :innocent:

I'm trying to lose 1.5 lbs a week to go from my current 177 down to 165 in time for the season.

Cutting weight sucks. You're going to be tired if you're trying to lose that much weight.

No, it doesn't sound like you're pushing yourself too hard ... 10 miles, and 40 miles ... and even 100 mile weeks aren't that much cycling.

If I were you, I'd go to the Dr, ASAP and get checked for mono.

Cutting weight sucks. You're going to be tired if you're trying to lose that much weight.

Yep. You'll get behind the energy curve real fast if you aren't keeping careful track of exercise and food calorie balances.

I also think you are recovering from illness; reduce training volume until energy levels increase.

"Chronic fatigue is a funny way to get faster"
-Joe Freil

No, it doesn't sound like you're pushing yourself too hard ... 10 miles, and 40 miles ... and even 100 mile weeks aren't that much cycling.

If I were you, I'd go to the Dr, ASAP and get checked for mono.

I didn't mean that I was doing a lot of miles compared to most people. I more meant that possibly I'm doing a lot of miles for someone new to cycling.

Mono is a very real possibility. A few people on the team have had it recently, but I tried to stay away from them. I might go to the doctor, although there isn't much they can do for me even if I do have it, except tell me I have it.

You are sleeping a hell of a lot. Some people recommend that athletes sleep between 6 to 7 hours a night.

Also, some antidepressants have drowsiness as a side effect.

Dude, if you're tired......sleep. If you have the time.

If you don't have the time, cut back on your training. It's that simple.

Ask any doctor. The body can heal a lot of problems if you listen to it. If your body wants to sleep, then sleep.

And as far as the cutting weight thing, if you are sleeping, you're not eating. Lots of obese people don't get enough sleep.

It sounds like you are trying to add too much volume too fast. Your Cat 2 friend has forgotten what it was like when he started out. The normal rule of thumb is to add not more than 10% a week. Try taking a few days off and see if you feel better. I know that it seems like the harder you push the faster you will get, but that's not true. To get faster you need both training stress and rest.

Also if you are in the northern hemisphere the shortening daylight hours can mess with your sleep cycle. Especially if you suffer from depression.

It sounds like you are trying to add too much volume too fast. Your Cat 2 friend has forgotten what it was like when he started out.

I very much agree with that. A jump from 100 to 173 is sort of ridiculous, and you're setting yourself up for injury. It sounds a lot like "too much, too soon"/overtraining to me.

The other possibility that pops to my head right away is anemia. You say you're trying to lose weight...are you cutting out red meat by any chance? Even if you're eating plant sources of iron, non-heme iron isn't very readily absorbed by your body.

Also, that's a lot of weight to lose, especially if you're trying to perform (I'm assuming you're worried about performance, since "season" and "team" implies racing). Depending on how many calories you're taking in per day vs. how many burned, you could be putting your body into starvation mode, which results in being tired...along with decreased performance and burning muscle for energy.

My short story: I went from less than 100 consistent miles a week to near 200 miles a week, every week. I did not understand the concept of an easy or hard ride, so I just did everything in between (except the very easy riding) every ride. My legs were toasted every day, and I wasn't getting any better.

As soon as I started having more structured sessions (one hard leg, one easy leg) and started varying my training, I got much stronger and felt much better.

Listen to your body.

Thanks for the ideas. I went to the health center on campus today, I don't have Mono, and the other test (some general blood test) was negative as well.

I'm starting to feel better. Hopefully it's passing. Instead of 30 miles yesterday I did 22. I think I'm gonna dial my 173 back to about 130 for the week. Maybe do 160 next week and go from there. My legs feel O.K., these are all just easy rides. HR avg around 140-150, long and steady. I'm just trying to build my base up, not worried about speed right now. But I can definitely feel myself getting faster. Hills that I used to struggle are much easier, average speeds are increasing, etc.

Make sure if you're cutting weight that you still eat often and don't cut too many calories. Your body could very well be adjusting to the lower calorie intake and this will sabotage your weight loss goals. Eat at least 4 times a days and at least 1800 calories I'd say (I'm 200-ish and I eat low 3000s to just maintain my weight)

I eat regularly and I'm taking in about 1800 calories on off days, and a lot more on days I ride.

1800 isn't enough calories, even for an off day. You shouldn't cut more than 500 calories off your maintenance. You're going to screw up your metabolism and lose lean muscle in addition to fat. It's really a bad idea. Listen to your body.

Also, some antidepressants have drowsiness as a side effect.

That was my first thought as well...

That was my first thought as well...

The first one I was on, Paxil, had me all sorts of messed up. I felt like I was on a ton of cough medicine, 24/7. It was horrible. Then I tried Celexa and it's been good for me, plus cheap as crap.

The first one I was on, Paxil, had me all sorts of messed up. .

I had to cold turkey Paxil after about a month or so. Luckily I have been able to deal with the demons and have not had to use anything since.

Did I read that you're eating 1800 calories a day? I would say if your riding 100-150 miles a week, you need to eat quite a lot more than that. If you're an avid cyclist, you're body I'm sure is burning a lot more or at least should be burning a lot more than that each day, unless it's in starvation mode, as others have suggested. Watch out for overtraining too. I'm trying to follow a pattern of 3-4 weeks of progressively harder training and then one week of light or minimal riding. You can do other things to improve fitness while giving your body a break from the intense work that is bicycling. I like to go rollerblading occasionally. Others choose jogging/running. My body thanks me for those light weeks with improved riding when I do get back on. I do still ride on my lite weeks, but instead of 4-5 days of 20+ mile rides (I can't fit in longer rides than this most of the time), I might ride 3 times in a lite week and make the rides 13-14 miles each. There is great benefit to changing up your workout a bit on occasion.

Nothing wrong with a little sleep. I personally enjoy sleeping 10 hours a day when I have nothing to wake me up in the morning. If nothing else, it helps to keep your blood pressure down.

Do you have seasonal allergies? asthma? something which may have changed your breathing capacity? (you did mention getting sick) It may be unrelated, but you could also have a sleep disorder like apnea. If it doesn't go away when the cold subsides; go to a doctor, ask him if it makes sense, and get referred for a sleep study. Your insurance should cover it, and while it is horribly inconvenient to sleep with wires hooked to your scalp, it will give you an idea of what's going on. I started having sleep problems during class 3 years back, and after testing it turned out I had sleep apnea. Usually it's associated with weight gain though, not weight loss, however breathing problems can cause it too.

I am know expert and actually I am in about the same stage of training that you are in (cutting weight and bumping miles) but here are two suggestions.

This time of year with less sunlight and weather changes affect me in a big way. It always has way before i got into cycling.

Also I think one of the biggest mistakes we make is not listening to our bodies. If we are tired we need to sleep. If we are truly hungry and not just wanting food out of boredom or for emotional reasons we need to eat. Our bodies truly know what they need. We just need to become smart enough to listen to them!

Update - I've given up on the cutting weight. I think I'll just hang out at 180 until after this season, maybe get down to 165 slowly after next season, when building base won't be as hard for me.

I'm up to 150 miles a week and still climbing. I did a pretty fast 50 yesterday, and then did 36 today and felt great the whole way. I'm eating a TON, but not gaining any weight. I can feel myself getting faster. The sleeping seems to have gotten better too.

I think the main problem was the cutting weight and being a little sick at the same time. It all seems to have turned around now.

internet prescription: eat more. Your metabolism does not slow down that much on off days to justify only 1800 cals. You are riding enough miles to keep your metabolism jacked up every day all week. You are not recovering between rides because of the calorie deficit and *poof* there goes your energy.

Eat good, wholesome, good-for-you-foods (knowing it is good for you feels good too)...

...then eat some more.