Road Cycling - What happened to my performance this morning?

I've been riding for about 3-4 months now. I usually ride 2-3 times per week. A typical ride is 20 miles. Last Saturday I went 52 miles with a group. Monday I did my fastest 20-mile solo time, averaging 20.6 mph. I felt great.

Today I decided to get up before work and ride for an hour. Hoping to get at least 15 miles due to time constraints, I was disappointed at how sluggish I felt. I could barely keep it in the 18s and 19s (occasionally topping 20), and after 7 miles I just mentally couldn't keep myself going and quit. Ordinarily I'd assume it was just too early an I was tired, except that my group ride last Saturday was even earlier!

What happened to my performance?

headwind?

Off day? we all have em occasionally. Don't worry about it. Speed only matters when you are racing.


Wanna get high?< reference to username

headwind?

Closed-loop track, so should have balanced out if so. Also forgot to mention this wasn't on empty stomach - had 2 glasses of water and Clif Bar.

Wanna get high?< reference to username

Heh, heh. I honestly have never done that. It's my username on the vwvortex, and I use on this forum for simplicity.

how long did you wait after the clif bar? your blood sugar may have been too low.

Heh, heh. I honestly have never done that. It's my username on the vwvortex, and I use on this forum for simplicity.
don't get high either, but I have been known to watch a south park episode or two.

don't get high either, but I have been known to watch a south park episode or two.

I feel like I'm high when I watch that. Funny ****.

Off day? we all have em occasionally. Don't worry about it. Speed only matters when you are racing.


True dat. But I'd like to now WHY the off day? What physically was going on, and is it something I can prevent. Cause on "race day," I don't want it to surprise me.

you didn't yet answer the question about when you ate the clif bar

Fear not, ewitz will be along soon to tell you all about his fast hilly 140km ...

But in seriousness, we all have some duff days. Even the pros. The difference is that when they have them, their mental approach is probably different and they will battle through it whereas we don't get paid for this and our job isn't on the line if we bag the ride for the day.

when I ride right after eating energy bars I feel lethargic for about 20 miles. Unless, of course, I am racing. Then I just barf it up. Problem solved.

you didn't yet answer the question about when you ate the clif bar

It was a good 30 minutes prior. Usually doesn't make that much of a difference to me during first several miles anyway.

maybe the clif wasn't enough? How long had it been since a big meal?

maybe the clif wasn't enough? How long had it been since a big meal?

nite b4, but then again, my 52 mile ride last weekend was done on the same eating schedule...? and i wasnt hungry for anything more, although if i hadnt..ahem..cleared any room...

You might have just had a bad day then. I will never ride without first eating a meal on that day. I always feel weak if I do.

Well, here's just a couple things

1) You know you're able to go as fast as you did on Monday, since no big physical or mental changes took place that can stop you from going that fast again. You've done it once, you can do it again.

2) If the wind was faster, the loop actually does not balance it out. The faster the wind is, the more time you are actually spending against the wind, and the less time you are spending when it's behind you. So believe it or not, even on a loop, more wind = slower average speed.

your average should drop by about 1 mph at this speed, unless the wind is really blowing.

nite b4, but then again, my 52 mile ride last weekend was done on the same eating schedule...? and i wasnt hungry for anything more, although if i hadnt..ahem..cleared any room...

Nothing here to really worry about..after 30 years of riding I've been surprised both ways, riding fast when I didn't think I should because of: (take your choice) lack of sleep,food,just got over cold, etc. and days when I was very sluggish for no apparent reason. To the pros, it can be a mystery as well, the most common saying being "For some reason, I just didn't have the legs today."

It's just part of the sport....

I have been riding to my dad's house three times a week, and then riding to and from work with him, and then riding back home in the evenings. All total it is around 50 miles. In the mornings I really push myself and can usually make the ride in a little over an hour. This morning it took me two. I think that we all have days like that every once in a while. I guarantee that it won't happen on Friday!

My pre-ride ritual is allways the same: Starting on Thurs I will start to eat a little more carb due to the fact that Sat/Sun are bigger efforts than my weekday rides. My normal diet is 60/30/10 (carbs being the 60) I'll up that to 70% in the 2 day prior. The morning meal is oatmeal w/soymilk/apple and a whole wheat bagal with honey two cups of coffee and 16oz of E-Load. I eat a Powerbar during my ride if it is going to be over 30mi and I use Honey Stinger for my "gel" as needed.

The reason I mention the above is because I've found this type of diet works well for high intensity arobic activity. The thing about having an off day is that it can be so many things. Not enough rest, even though you went to bed at a decent time you might not have had quality sleep. Lactic acid build up in the legs, a self massage after your rides will help move the LA out of your muscles. Over training, depending on your base the amount of mi you've done might have left you depleted. Maybe you were coming down with a virus etc etc. Bottom line if you have two or three off days you might consider changing your diet or just staying off the bike for a couple of days. Over training can be worse than not training enough.

Two things to help you get a gauge on your body. A heart rate monitor is a great way to check yourself. Over a five day period check your resting heart rate as soon as you wake up. Keep a log if you are waking up with a consistant heart rate of say 50bpm (this is just a refference number) you can use this as a target. Now lets say you wake for a ride and your HR is 75bpm chances are you are tired and you will most likely feel this on your ride.

Watts: If you have a computer that generates watts then you can use this mesure yourself during your ride. HR sometimes can be a missnomer once you are on the bike. A warmer day will generally raise your HR so by using watts you can gauge your strength. Example: You have a 20mi loop that you normally generate an average of 380watts. If you can only get to 280watts then chances are you just tired. At this point it's almost better to just back off and spin home than continue to push. If you are tired you are tired there is not point in pushing on.

The most important thing is to listen to your body. You'll get intune with how you are feeling and you will know when you are feeling good or not.

I have been riding to my dad's house three times a week, and then riding to and from work with him, and then riding back home in the evenings. All total it is around 50 miles. In the mornings I really push myself and can usually make the ride in a little over an hour. This morning it took me two. I think that we all have days like that every once in a while. I guarantee that it won't happen on Friday!
50 miles in one our? wow, I think I hear lance quivering in his boots. lol

Closed-loop track, so should have balanced out if so. Also forgot to mention this wasn't on empty stomach - had 2 glasses of water and Clif Bar.

You were tired, and a little burned. it happens.