Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
Another thing which works for some people for neck issues is slightly changing their position:
Riding Position Discovery
Works like a charm for many people.
Also shrugs, and all the dumbbell stuff: seated presses, lateral raises, front raises, bent-over (rear delt) raises. I super set the raises all same weight - quicker.
Since one can't stretch an ITB, the pain seems to come from where tendons/ligaments cross it, and thus I believe it's really swollen bursa. So with a foam roller, one is rolling those bursa which of course hurts like hell. Those stretches are designed to stretch the tendons around the knees. The ham stretches are particularly important. It takes a while for much to happen, maybe a month to really clear it up. Good luck.
Thanks for the follow up, I will focus on riding position more. I have been doing the stretches suggested by my doctor which feel like they target the right area. They are variations of hamstring stretches as you suggested. I'm fortunate my pain was gone after a week of rest, but I want to make sure it doesn't come back. I've since fully resumed my usual riding and lifting. I already do circuits for my volume lifting, but I plan to add in some of the suggested exercises as well.
Originally Posted by
downtube42
A rule of thumb is don't ride more in a day than you regularly do in a week.
Another rule of thumb is don't change anything going in to a big ride. Equipment, fit, food, etc.
Of course there are exceptions. Don't count on being an exception.
Ramp your miles up slowly. As problems arise with longer rides, sort them out before progressing. With each distance, learn how to finish that distance well hydrated, well fueled, and feeling good. Then move up.
I've never heard the mileage rule of thumb, but it sounds reasonable to me. I think I've proven I'm not an exception
I was aware of the equipment change rule, it was my primary motivation for the training ride. I had ridden the bike previously, but only shorter distances where I didn't develop ITB pain. Thanks for the tips.
Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
That first rule falls apart at 300k. No, you don't have to ride 300k in a week to do a 300k and up. 150 miles/week is really all you need, but one ride needs to be 4 hours or so with hard hill efforts, way beyond what you'd do on a brevet. You should be hardly able to walk at the end. You need to really draw it down, because that's how you build glycogen stores. If all you do is ride a lot slowly, you get good at riding a lot slowly.
In his defense, I think most rules of thumb don't apply to all situations, but thanks for the clarification. I should clarify that my training goals are simply to be able to finish a 200k without pain, I'm not too interested in improving my speed substantially, at least not over my non-injured speed. I might someday attempt a 300k, but I don't have any aspirations of completing an SR series.
Originally Posted by
seajaye
Everyone has offered pretty good advice here. I went from riding 200k's with IT band pain for 100 of the 125 miles, to being able to ride a 1200k IT-band trouble free. A lot of it for me was being hyper-cognizant of my pedaling, careful cleat placement, saddle height/tilt/etc, stretching often / during brevets, using "The Stick" to roll out my legs frequently, and realizing that staying off the bike without doing stretches and such doesn't actually help you recover. I needed to take a very active role in managing my knees, because I found the problem would rear its ugly head on the next ride.
For a little bit, I was suffering from flip-flopping IT-band problems. Lower the saddle; it's the left side. Raise the saddle; now the right hurts. Eventually I put a BikeFit leg-length shim in my shoe and it has seemed to help. I only feel a bit of a flare-up if it's an exceptionally nasty elevation profile and I'm getting fatigued and sloppy with my pedaling technique; spin-it-to-win-it has become my new motto of late.
I have shied away from professional fits for a few reasons, the primary one being financial. But also, I'm also nervous because my position that I've settled on has been refined and micro-tweaked after tons of brevets, and now I can do a 1200k. If it ain't broke...
Thanks for sharing, this gives me hope and confirms what others have suggested. Spin-to-win was the only way I even finished the 200k, walking or standing hurt severely by the halfway point, but I could still spin gently. Used a 28-32 ratio on most of the mild hills
I can relate to the reluctance about professional fitting, I don't have a lot of disposable income. My plan is to consult my preferred laid-back LBS for some general fit advice given my goals, not go in for one of the "system" fits. If I were in your situation, I would definitely do as you are and not mess with it.