"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - sleepless after racing?

i've been riding two weekly criterium series the couple months- tuesday and thursday nights, finishing at 6pm, and man! i CANNOT sleep worth crap on those nights. my motor is revved up so much....i just got to wondering if i'm alone in this or....?

Milk and cookies.

ride a longer cooldown after the race. and eat less more often.

I have the same problem, though my crits don't start until almost 6:30 and finish close to 8.

When I get that I find it's usually that I'm too hot. Take a cold shower, drink a cold smoothie, you'll be good after.

It's a skill to be able to sleep on demand. Practice it. You read stories about how the best pros can sleep anywhere, any time. I think I could find a way to fall asleep during a race.

On the other hand, I wanted to get some work done last night after the race, and stayed up until 2 (up again at 6). Probably not the best idea, but I do that once/week just to get more done.

the old timer jazz musicians were very good at sleeping on demand. It's a skill I have yet to master.

When I was with Slide Hampton he could do it at any moment. He (and some other old timers like Sweets Edison) could be sitting in a simple wooden chair. All they did was loosen their ties, close eyes and bang... out.

Yes, I also have the OP's problem - high metabolism after a race, mind going, re-playing the race etc.

My solution: don't fight it - call up some lady friends and party the night away, celebrate life. Work will always be there.

it had occurred to me to ride a longer cool down-- i think i'm gonna give that a twirl, but problem being that both race sites are in densely urban settings that would make that a real challenge. i'm glad to know creakyknees and another guy are feeling the same thing. i went to bed at ~10pm, slept lightly for a few hours and then Bam! was awake from about 1-4am. the motor...is....racing....and won't rev down. i'd love to learn how to sleep on demand, but i'm pretty sure at this stage, it ain't gonna happen

it had occurred to me to ride a longer cool down-- i think i'm gonna give that a twirl, but problem being that both race sites are in densely urban settings that would make that a real challenge. i'm glad to know creakyknees and another guy are feeling the same thing. i went to bed at ~10pm, slept lightly for a few hours and then Bam! was awake from about 1-4am. the motor...is....racing....and won't rev down. i'd love to learn how to sleep on demand, but i'm pretty sure at this stage, it ain't gonna happen


Ok, joking aside, just follow the usual post race recovery diet, cold shower / ice on the legs, maybe a glass of wine but don't over do it. I like to tell myself that it's good, I'm burning fat all night.

I concur with the don't fight it advice. The only time I ever have trouble sleeping is when I'm worried about not getting enough sleep.

I'm pretty good at the pass-out-on-demand thing these days. Last weekend my teammate and I were in our hotel room between the TT and the Crit, when a very attractive individual stopped by to hang out and chat for a bit. While I had a vested interest in being charming and hilarious, I instead abruptly fell asleep mid-conversation and woke up two hours later (alone).

i used to work with a coach who would typically back off my training load when this would happen. she interpreted it as an indication of entering an "over reaching" or "over training" state.

I concur with the don't fight it advice. The only time I ever have trouble sleeping is when I'm worried about not getting enough sleep.

I'm pretty good at the pass-out-on-demand thing these days. Last weekend my teammate and I were in our hotel room between the TT and the Crit, when a very attractive individual stopped by to hang out and chat for a bit. While I had a vested interest in being charming and hilarious, I instead abruptly fell asleep mid-conversation and woke up two hours later (alone).

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

Your heart rate stays elevated for a while after exercise, especially after a race. Inability to sleep is inevitable.

Could try meditation or yoga/stretching too.

The only time I ever have trouble sleeping is when I'm worried about not getting enough sleep.
.

I have this problem too. That is why I no longer do races that require me waking before 6:30.

I have this problem too. That is why I no longer do races that require me waking before 6:30.

4:30am for me tomorrow, I live in a studio, and I have two houseguests. If anyone tries to interact with me tomorrow afternoon, I will likely punch them in the face. Fair warning.

My mental trick for dealing with the super-early races (quite common around here) is to tell myself that the night before the night before is the one that matters. Then I give myself a free pass to not get much sleep on the actual night before, and I don't stress about it as much.

Let me see if I can find any videos of technical seminars by PhD engineers. That should be just the thing to induce sleep quickly.

A long time ago, during that era when people presented with overhead projectors, I gave a department-wide seminar and the second slide I threw up was filled with all of the partial differential equations and boundary/initial conditions needed for the particular topic I was going to talk about. They were the starting point of the mathematical analysis behind my results. I took the slide off the overhead, crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash can. I said that nobody really cares about the details of the analysis and I wasn't going to bore them with that late on a Friday afternoon. I then explained what was going on in laymen's terms for the remaining time.

About a month later a colleague and good friend gave the departmental seminar. He retrieved his second slide from the trash can and proceeded.:lol:

the old timer jazz musicians were very good at sleeping on demand. It's a skill I have yet to master.

When I was with Slide Hampton he could do it at any moment. He (and some other old timers like Sweets Edison) could be sitting in a simple wooden chair. All they did was loosen their ties, close eyes and bang... out.

Maybe all the drugs they took helped a little bit?

[QUOTE=GirlAnachronism;12605899My mental trick for dealing with the super-early races (quite common around here) is to tell myself that the night before the night before is the one that matters. Then I give myself a free pass to not get much sleep on the actual night before, and I don't stress about it as much.[/QUOTE]

+1. I also:
Cover or disable all clocks.
Cover all light sources including chargers, power adapters, cable box, etc...
Take 2 or 3 Benadryl
Read a book until I realize I've been re-reading the same paragraph over & over

On the original topic...I have trouble sleeping after a late race or workout. Icing the legs and a cool shower help to slow my system down.

I had this problem until I had kids. Now I'm so fricking tired I can pretty much fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow, no matter the circumstances.

i have concluded that that's just the way it is-- the metabolism is over-revved and i'm not gonna sleep, period, end of story...my wife wonders why i don't just take 50mg of Benadryl and be done with it....the horror of sleeplessness and being whacked on B'dryl is why. i'll just deal with it. plus, i've been getting some good results at the races lately, and its kinda fun being in that elevated state for a while....know what i mean?

Ambien

/thread.

i used to work with a coach who would typically back off my training load when this would happen. she interpreted it as an indication of entering an "over reaching" or "over training" state.

Hey MD, lately I've had this sensation when I lay down to sleep of a heavy heart rate (not fast, but just I can feel it all throughout my body) and it can keep me awake for sometimes an hour or more. The thing is I still ride with "fresh" legs - Would this still be a sign of overtraining (or overreaching)?

Milk and cookies.

Milk, Cookies & Sex

i just got to wondering if i'm alone in this or....?

nope, you're not alone.

Your core temp is raised after a hard effort and also the RHR is up.
I know how to lower the core temp, give your legs a cold bath! It helps in muscle recovery too. Try drinking an iced smoothie after your race. Not ice chunks, those don't go into your digestive system. Or you might want something like a banana milkshake...... old, somewhat browning (peeled) frozen banana slices in a blender with cold milk. Blend until it is smooth and there are no more chunks period. It is sweet and tasty.

Your core temp is raised after a hard effort and also the RHR is up.
I know how to lower the core temp, give your legs a cold bath! It helps in muscle recovery too. Try drinking an iced smoothie after your race. Not ice chunks, those don't go into your digestive system. Or you might want something like a banana milkshake...... old, somewhat browning (peeled) frozen banana slices in a blender with cold milk. Blend until it is smooth and there are no more chunks period. It is sweet and tasty.

I agree with this so much that I think I said it last week.