i have been diligent about refueling myself within the narrow glycemic window after rides. this year i have hiked up the intensity, and after a focused winter training regimen that included spinning and weights i have come into the season in the best shape and weight of my life.
however, i seem to have this problems with rides either a day or two after very fast, push the pace rides. my legs feel heavy. i mean tight and heavy from almost the first pedal stroke. i am stretching, refueling and though i don't get a lot of sleep, i wouldn't call myself sleep deprived.
can massage help? is this still lactic acid build up? my performance is suffering. my weekly 5:30am 28 milers are focused, with tempo rides, interval rides, pace rides and walking the bike rides. its when the weekend racers are out and i test my training against the fast racers in the area and my legs fill up and sometimes after 36 miles i am in the rear view mirror.

Sounds like overtraining. What's the weekly exercise schedule? Whatcha taking for vitamins and such? And what's the story with your sleep?

I'm with late... sounds like too much of a good thing. Remember to count your rides with the fast boys as training, too. They're amoung the hardest workouts I get! Prepare for and recover from appropriately.

5:30am tues-friday. tuesday is pace, wednesday is intervals, thursday is tempo (fast) and friday is walking the bike.
someone told me that since these rides are 26-28 miles and the weekend racers are 50+ that my body is in no man's land after the 28 miles because i don't include a long ride and in the early season you don't know how to handle the longer rides.
shouldn't i be able to sustain intensity through 50 miles though?

i'm afraid of taking days off>> what should i be cutting out?

Hi,
you have to build up your strength and endurance.That takes time.No point in pushing too hard too early; it will slow your progress down. Everything should revolve around Sat. Sun should be a walk or a ride in Zone 1.
The only thing you should be doing is flushing the crap out of your legs. For the weekdays you need to create a training program, but I don't know about race training specifics.

Not sure what "pace" is. An active recovery day between the Interval day and the Tempo day wouldn't hurt.

Are you putting in any work on developing or maintaining your aerobic base?

5:30am tues-friday. tuesday is pace, wednesday is intervals, thursday is tempo (fast) and friday is walking the bike.
someone told me that since these rides are 26-28 miles and the weekend racers are 50+ that my body is in no man's land after the 28 miles because i don't include a long ride and in the early season you don't know how to handle the longer rides.
shouldn't i be able to sustain intensity through 50 miles though?

i'm afraid of taking days off>> what should i be cutting out?

I believe in the LSD 'ride the bike ride the bike' method of training. I would guess that if 28 miles is your longest training rides with 50+ high intensity races then that could be a problem. I don't start intervals till about 1000miles of saddle time. I'll do those on tuesday, recover ride Wed and then a 50-60 thursday, Clean the bike friday and race on the week end or at least ride a TT or another 60-70 mile LSD. Everyone is different though and weather is always a factor so???

Check your resting heart rate several times a week just as you wake up. If you see a rise in it over time beware of over training. (I've read this method in a book once). Another very important thing is to listen to your body and do what it says. Don't be afraid to take a day off. If you start out on a planned 40 mile TT or 60 mile LSD and 10 miles into you just cant get warmed up and are'nt feeling good turn around and go home.

i trained during the off season to the point where on these long fast weekend rides when i reach my LT i know how to actively recover (now takes about 40 seconds) where i can sit in behind a wheel and catch a breather till the next big push.

but maybe i am asking too much of myself. i mean, getting dropped by USPS guys (robbie ventura) et al is nothing to be disappointed by.

i can go 24-27 mph when hugging a wheel, but there are parts in the ride where the road turns and it is really beat up (potholes) and it is impossible to hug a wheel. the pace speeds up out of these hairpin turns and i ALWAYS know its coming (stand up and push the speed out of the turns) but i ALWAYS get into trouble and find myself off the back>>>
i mean, 25 mph INTO 10mph headwinds kill me and if there are no red lights up ahead i am toast.

perhaps lessening to 5 days of riding from 6 days would help.

i am ahead of where i've ever been before so slight gains up here mean a lot to me.

do you think i should cut out the intervals for now?

but maybe i am asking too much of myself. i mean, getting dropped by USPS guys (robbie ventura) et al is nothing to be disappointed by.
What, you're letting a *postie* ride you off his wheel? I'm happy if I can hang with the guy who has a friend whose sister in law knew somebody that was at the Ride for the Roses. ;)

Cutting out the intervals? You're in the best position to determine what's right for your program. If you aren't already, I'd recommend checking some books on the subject. IMO, The Cyclist's Training Bible, by Joe Friel, is the best book out there for self-coaching/training.

I can't claim to speak for anybody else... I'll ride 6 or 7 days a week, but 3 serious work-outs a week is all I can stay on top of. First performance starts fading, then legs carry residual soreness, finally I become even crankier than usual. It ain't purty. In general, either a race/event or endurance (65-100 miles) on the week-end, one day of LT intervals or fast group ride (same effect), and one day tempo/fartlek. Active recovery other days, maybe one day off a week. Aerobic bike commuting unless time or weather don't permit.