Quick background:
I was riding about 175mi a week when some serious pain in my right knee prompted me to visit an orthopedic doctor. He said I had IT band syndrome, sent me to a physical therapist. The therapist had me stop riding for 4 weeks and put me on a three time a day stretching/foam roll routine with some other exercises twice a week visiting the office to help with core strengthening/balance etc.
Helping myself:
The therapist had me do a test ride to see if all the increased flexibility and foam rolling had helped. Like clock work 1 hour into my ride, knee pain. I knew the next step was back to the doctor for an MRI so I took a step of my own and scheduled a bike fit at Bike Barn's Custom Fit Studio in Houston.
Short Video I did a test ride that same evening (4/13) of 25 miles, and another one the next day (4/14) of 45 miles. The bike fit wasn't cheap and I needed a new handlebar stem, seat and shoes but I was cured! Not only was the knee pain gone, but I picked up some speed with the increased efficiency, and felt much better on the bike.
More miles:
That same weekend I participated in the MS150 from Houston to Austin. I rode 100 miles on Saturday (4/17), and about 80 miles on Sunday (4/18). I drank Hammerstrength Recoverite after both rides, and on Monday (4/20) I did a slow and easy 30 minute recovery ride.
Yesterday:
I went to memorial picnic loops with a couple guys I rode the MS with to do some interval training. Rode 5 miles to the park, and did an easy 1 mile when I got there so I was nice and warmed up. First 1 mile interval I felt ok, but thought that my legs felt a bit "weakish". Recovered and went for another interval and things just felt ****ty. My legs felt like they had no power and were getting fatigued extremely fast. During the MS150 I felt extremely energetic and powered up hill after hill and felt fantastic. Yesterday at the loops I felt like I was running on empty.
Prognosis/Advice:
I am still new to cycling, I have only been riding since September and had a good amount of disruption during November and December. I have about 2200 miles in the saddle so far. I really thought I would be recovered from last weekend and am trying to figure out what it wrong.
1. I took a four week break, and then rode 250 miles in one week. Is it possible I need more recovery time?
2. By my standards my diet this week has been great, loots of vegetables, fruit and complex carbs. Meat wise I had some salmon on Monday and some chick breast on Wednesday. Am I eating wrong? I try minimizing the meat I eat for health reasons, but make sure to get protein from other sources.
3. Sleep/Rest... I slept 11 hours Sunday night and took Monday off of work. I know I haven't been sleeping enough this week, only about 5-6 hours a night. Could that be the issue?
Anyway...sorry for the long rambling post, I tried to be concise I swear. My poor performance is bugging me and I am trying to figure out what I did wrong.
As I said I am new to cycling and I really don't know best practices yet, I am still learning my body and learning about training and recovery etc.. I am looking for the advice/opinion of some more seasoned cyclists.