Originally Posted by
wkndwarrior
I have been riding with frequency that does not reflect my online handle, on the road 3-4 days a week doing 25-40 mile rides each time. These rides are usually quite fast, at around 20+ mph with a group (or 17-18 mph solo), with faster bursts. I guess I could say that I'm doing 80-100 miles a week.
Which doesn't sound like much to most of you, I'm sure. But lately, my legs have been feeling heavy and my last ride felt "flat", without a ton of energy. I'm not that tired, but there doesn't seem to be enough spring or bounce in my legs. I was supposed to ride this morning, but I didn't go because I didn't feel like it.
Is this a sign of overtraining? I wonder because I really don't ride THAT much, but when I ride, I ride intense.
i was just thinking about posting a similar topic, i'm experiencing the same "problem" as you, although my weekday rides aren't as long (usually 20-25 miles, sometimes 15-ish but at high intensity).
i took some time off the bike over the winter and started back up again mid-January, i'll have a string of "good" days, take some rest, and then the next week or so my legs just feel dead. something i wasn't doing, at first, was watching my diet closely. i'd just eat whatever the hell i wanted to and just figured i'd ride off the calories. i have about 10-15 pounds to lose, so when i noticed i wasn't losing ANY weight over the past month, i decided last week to start cutting back on the eating and that's when i started to get the "dead legs" feeling. i'm trying to find a good balance of fat/carbs/protein, but when looking back on the calorie-counting app that i'm tracking my diet with, i've dropped my daily carb intake significantly (down to about 20-25% of my total daily calories were from carbs). i tried to increase this lately, to anywhere from 40-50% of my daily intake, and my legs feel like brand new... although i still get the occasional day where they just don't feel right. my work schedule this week will more or less force me off the bike until a week from monday, so i'm hoping a week of rest will do me some good.
are you tracking your daily calorie intake? if so, have you played around with your fat/carb/protein percentages to see if that has an affect on the way your legs feel? i'm still trying to find that sweet spot for my body, i want to have enough energy for my rides, but don't want to take in too many calories and/or carbs that i'm not losing weight as well.
where in the Houston area do you ride?