Training & Nutrition - Simply bonking or something else?

So. . I ride 5 to 6 days a week on average. During the week my rides are usually 1-1.5 hours of interval work. The weekend I do my longer rides. Three weeks in a row I have had problems completing my rides and feel horrible. I live in Texas and have for 10 years so I have experience riding in the heat, etc. and am following what I have usually done regarding nutrition/hydration but it doesn't seem to be working. Here is what happened on Saturday:

Headed out around 10:30 am after having 24oz of tea, a cappuccino, 3 eggs and a full english muffin with butter and honey. Temperature is around 90. I had three 25oz podium chill bottles (2 with Skratch Labs and one with tea). I consumed 1 bottle an hour. 1 hour in I add a few Blocks. 1.5 hours in I ate a Honey Stinger Waffle and at 2 hour mark I had 1/2 of a CheerPack. By 2.5 hours in I was hurting. Sluggish, no energy, stomach ache (no cramping) and was having difficulty finishing. My performance for the day was good and consistent (other than the last 30 mins or so). By the end I had con sued all 75 ounces and was still down 7 pounds (started at 167 and ended at 160). For the next 24 hours I was shot. . .no energy, no appetite, aching. I had recovery drink and snacks when I ended.

This is pretty much how I have eat/drank since I started riding. My fitness level (and miles) this year is a 10% hire then usually at this point in the year.

Any ideas? I am having trouble drinking the 75% as it is. . not sure I can drink more without getting sick. Do I need to eat more?

Thanks
Adam

The first thing I noticed that could be the problem, is the first two lines of your post. Sounds like you need rest to me. Riding 5 to 6 times a week, you cannot do the same intensity on all days and expect your body to hold together. My suggestion would be to take 5 days off the bike, and let your body recover. Do easy rides the first two days back, and then continue on sort of like normal. But in the future, never do more than 2 days of hard intervals back to back (and switch up anaerobic and aerobic intervals when you do back to back), and give yourself active recovery days. You can do the 1-2hr rides during the week still, but if you do 2 or 3 days of intervals, just make a day a or two super easy spin around town enjoying the scenary.

You seem to be eating/drinking plenty, maybe even a bit much. My guess is more on the training and the overtraining, than the actual nutrition on the ride that day that is affecting you.

Good luck!

First - go see your doc and get a physical, if you haven't done so in a while.

I'd agree with Creatre - get some rest. Take a week off the bike and do something else - swim, walk, run, lift some weights. Let your body recover. Outside a need to train 6 days a week - consider riding just 3-4 days, and then mix in some other activities on the off days.

Sounds like maybe you're eating a bit too much on your rides, which can cause cramps especially when mixed with sports drinks. If you've been living and riding in the heat for 10 years - you're 10 years older. Your body might be telling you something.....

The first thing I'm noticing is ... you don't seem to have consumed much in the way of electrolytes.
The second thing I'm noticing is ... you don't seem to have consumed much in the way of plain ordinary water.

Breakfast
Tea
Cappuccino
3 Eggs
English muffin with butter and honey

Did you salt the eggs well? With the temperature already 90F, why didn't you drink a glass of water?

That amount of food should have taken you 2 hours, however, eggs don't have a lot of calories, and honey tends to make me bonk, so I'd probably estimate about 1 hour of energy on that.

After that you consumed a bunch of stuff which I don't recognise.
- Skratch Labs?
- Blocks?
- Honey Stinger Waffle?
- CheerPak?

And 75 oz of stuff that isn't plain water.


Next time, eat your breakfast but replace the honey with a slice of reduced fat cheese.
Drink a glass of water with breakfast.
Fill the bottles with plain water.
Take an electrolyte tablet before you ride, and again at about the halfway point.
And if you feel you need to eat, go with salty food and foods high in the other electrolytes ... get a small bag of potato chips, put salted almonds in your bento bag and munch on them while you ride, have a banana, bring a granola bar with lots of nuts in it.