Laminarman

Can't figure this out yet and I think it's related to recovery. I rode three days ago, a long ride for ME and hilly, about 25 miles. On the flats I could have gone all day but at the end I had burned about 1,400 calories and I think it was those hills (as measured by a Polar HRM). Anyways, now three days later I rode and good God I had legs of lead. I couldn't wait for the ride to end. I did 16 miles but painful and slow and my legs just felt dead and my quads were sort of not cooperating. Since that ride three days ago I was in meetings sitting for two full days, and travelling, normal diet...etc. Pasta last night and a light breakfast and lunch today (few small pancakes, ham sandwich) before the ride. I was pumped for my ride but felt like crud on the bike, just had to keep grinding in low gears. I have had this happen before, then other times feel horrid and have a GREAT ride out of the blue. This is my third season on the bike, and I rarely ride more than 2-3 times/week due to my business and family (40-60 miles a week). Don't know what other information to give to help, but thank you.

jayvo86

I assume you are stretching, replacing lost fluids and calories after your ride?

Also, as mentioned on other posts, carb loading the night before does very little to aid your morning workout.

valygrl

Try doing a very light recovery ride the day after a hard effort. Like, half an hour of riding so slow it's annoying, spinning in a very low gear (low effort).

Also, don't believe those calories on your HRM, I doubt you can burn 1400 calories in 25 miles.

jayvo86

Do you know your average heart rate and the time took you to do those 25 miles?

electrik

Was there a special mushroom sauce on that pasta last night??

Laminarman

Thanks for the replies folks. Well, a big negatory to the stretching after the ride. I didn't really carb load as I know that does little. I checked my files on my training log, it was 1140 calories, not 1400, sorry. I think I replaced the calories and fluids well afterwards. Just felt terrible on the bike yesterday but may do a slow ride afte work tonight.

late

Recovery time is proportional to the damage done.

It can be days, it can be weeks, or more.

Your body progresses at it's own pace. You need days off,
sometimes you need a week off.

In about a week, start doing hill repeats. I did them yesterday, and I'm stiff.

Park near a steep hill, best one you can find. Then do your usual ride, and finish up
by climbing that hill a few times. You will prob do it once the first time doing this.
Then the week after, either find a hillier and longer ride, or do a couple more repeats.
Once a month you should have an easy week, go for lazy long rides.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yeah, well, not in shape, rode hard, paying your dues now. A good strategy is to buy a set of Performance rollers and learn to ride them. Then get up 1/2 hr. earlier and spend that 1/2 hr on the rollers, every day. Just ride easy with a big fan so you don't get stinky. You'd be amazed at the difference.

But for now your body is telling you to rest it. So do that. Ride when your legs feel better again. Problem is that you can get into a boom/bust cycle and that doesn't help your fitness. Better to do less more frequently until rides like you just did are not particularly noticeable.

burtonridr

It sounds to me like your body wasnt fully recovered, if you want to recover faster next time, You need to focus a lot of your recovery efforts on those first 4 hrs after a hard work out. It makes such a HUGE difference. here is what works for me,

1st... cool down ride, nice easy pedaling for at least a mile. Helps clear lactic acid building up in muscles out, which happens when working out hard.

2nd.... post work out recovery nutrition. 10-30min after your work out you need to intake some kind of liquid meal that has a good mix of carbs and protein(I like chocolate milk, or a half serving of cytogainer). Then I drink 16-30oz of water sometime between meals and sometimes take a short 30-60 min nap.

3rd.... 1-2 hrs after workout, eat another meal with a good mix of carbs and protein. I like to eat a tuna sandwich, PB and J sandwich, pasta w/chicken is another good choice.

4th.... 3-4 hrs after workout, eat another meal with a good mix of carbs and protein.

Then after that its basically the same for me every meal, every 2hr throughout the day, lots of carbs and protein each meal leading into my next ride.