jimallen

Hey all! First time poster here. (I am a proud 288lb clyde)

At the risk of sounding stupid...I have a question:
I am averaging around 70 miles a week for the past 5 weeks. I am working toward a 50 mile event ride this weekend. This morning on my ride (around 15 miles) my legs were just dead. It was the worst day I have had on a bike in a while. It kind of scared me. I was not worried about riding 50 miles until today. Am I overtraining? I am taking a couple of days off a week. I am going to try to stretch more, I think and maybe some walking this week. Or do I need to suck it up and work through it? How often do you guys ride? I feel like I want to ride everyday.

btw, thanks for all the motivation you guys have given to me and all the other lurkers out there!

KingTermite 

I would say most people that do "big" rides, take a "recovery ride" (small) the day after. But 15 miles isn't a big ride...unless its very hilly or you didn't work up to those miles (in beginning I was only riding 4-8 miles probably). Even so, I would occasionally have a day like you describe where my legs were just not there for some reason.

Sorry...I thought I had something more constructive to say, but reading back what I just wrote it really doesn't look very helpful.

Wino Ryder

[QUOTE]
I think that would be the ticket. Could be you're overtraining, even at 70 miles a week. I ride about 70 miles per week myself, and sometimes my legs and feet just feel weak, like they're made of wood. At first it kinda disressed me, but after a day off the bike my power came back to normal.

jimallen

I certainly don’t think I am riding a lot of miles. I know compared to some of you my weekly average is just a typical Saturday

I am beginning to think this is a nutrition issue. I have been cutting calories also, so I am wondering if I am not getting enough of something…

mkadam68

I doubt it's over training. Probably just tired. Without knowing more about you and your situation, it's hard to be accurate. I would recommend a short recovery ride after a hard effort. And remember, your hard is not my hard is not his hard effort.

Halthane

Could also be hydration/nutrition related. Have done some early morning rides when I didn't eat/drink enough the day before and been pretty weak.

Just a thought.

I've discovered that as I'm riding more I'm actually needing to eat a little more (small regular meals) in order to keep losing weight, as well as be functional. I was just burning too many calories and my body couldn't keep up.

Paul

zpl

How much weight are you losing? If it's more than 4-5 lbs per week, you're most likely cutting too much.

If you're new to cycling or getting back into it after a long time off the bike, it will take some months to build your base back up. I've been riding about four weeks now and am also doing 50-75 miles per week. I sometimes can tell I need to take two recovery days in a row. If my quads feel sore walking up and down stairs, I know it's time to take a day off or ride at a very light pace.

Scott

jimallen

I have issues riding at a light pace...need to work on that. I have been dropping the weight pretty fast 3-4lb a week. I am going to going to bump my calories up to around 2200 and see how that feels.

barba

Even big guys need fuel to ride. Mind your food and water intake. I also find that the quality of my sleep has a fair influence on my performance. Don't sweat one off day, though. Get some rest and see how you feel on your next ride.

Stujoe

My first thought was 'Are you drinking enough water, before and during the ride?'

StanSeven

You didn't say how much you rode befor the five weeks of 70 miles. If your prior riding was minimal or none, that may explain it. If you read anything about training, most sources usually say to build up milage for 4 or 5 weeks. Then back off the milage to maybe 2/3's of the prior week. It's a process of stress on your body and allowing time for recovery.

I would take off a day or two. Since the ride is this weekend, you need to be rested more than trying too hard. Next time go out slow and increase the pace/distance based on how you feel. Take off the next day. Go into the ride feeling rested.

Bill Kapaun

Are you pushing too hard instead of spinning free?

jimallen

Most of the time, I am spinning. Its those damn hills that get me...I have a tendency to try to power up them, instead of spinning up them. I know I should spin, but...

europa

You've just been doing too much and your body is trying to get the message home. Take a day off, stretching is always good, and see how you feel next time.

Warming up is important too. Just taking it easy for a bit may not necessarily do it. I have a HRM and have a routine where I wind up the hr to 120, then let it drop back, then 130, then let it drop back, then 140 and let it drop back, then 150 and let it drop back. Some days, this just feels like a lot of mucking about, on other days, I start out knackered and by the time I've hit the 150, I'm flying, but I can never just jump on the bike and ramp the HR up to 150 ... well, I can but I ride like King Tut's mummy if I do.

But yeah, I reckon you're just tired. If you keep forcing yourself to do something you or your body doesn't want to do, you'll wind up not enjoying it and you'll stop. If your body says it wants a break, give it one ... if you love your cycling, you'll be out there again soon enough.

Richard

Tom Stormcrowe

jimallen,

DOn't compare your miles to some of the ultra high milers here. I've been training hard for 2 years, and others have as well. I train for endurance. It takes time and miles and a good training plan. At this point, you may be a bit short on carbs, but if you are trying to drop weight, then this happens.

It's possible you may be having electrolyte issues, or nutritional, but I suspect it may be because you are expecting too much out of yourself at this stage of the game. Try this:

You have a post ride period of about 2 hrs to replenish your muscle and liver glycogen. Use this site to calculate your caloric burn on your rides. You need to limit the intake post ride though to only that which is necessary for replenishment.
https://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

It's pretty comprehensive and lacking equipment for real time training data, this site has about the best approximation of accuracy I've found and takes a lot of factors into account.

Don't underestimate the need for recovery days either, and don't forget that you also ride to have fun!

CardiacKid

Bicycling Magazine had an article a month or 2 ago, about myths. One of the myths was that if you have a bad day, it is a sign you are overtraining. Everybody has bad days every once in a while, just like we have those no chain days. I wouldn't worry about it.

jimallen

Tom,

I am using a HRM that calculates calories, will that work?

Tom Stormcrowe

That will give you a great estimate of calories burned....that's real time data!

jimallen

Tom,

I guess I am dense. How many calories should I be replenishing? If I burn ~750 cals on a ride, I shouldnt eat 750 cals right? How do you lose weight that way?

Neil_B

I've had this happen.

https://historian2wheels.blogspot.com...or-june-5.html

The advice I was given to solve the problem was "ride."

Tom Stormcrowe

Nope, not 750 calories, you can consume and absorb a max of 250 cals an hr, so if you burn 750 and consume 500 over the 2 hrs, that gives you a net deficit of 250 cals. 3500 cals = 1 pound of fat, by the way.

Also, what you consume during that 2 hr window will go directly toward restocking glycogen and not store to fat. If you are only riding for an hr, then during ride nutrition isn't necessary, just a tad afterward. Then I'd only take in around 250 cals to take the edge off. The trick is to hold your intake down to around 500 calories below your daily activity total. If you cut too far, your weight loss slows down, and if you don't cut enough your weight loss slows. The general idea is to stay in the deficit only far enough to stimulate maximum fat burning and supplement protein to prevent as much muscle mass loss as possible.

Keep a food journal, also, as it'll surprise you how much you really do eat, and what you are eating. That way you have a real data baseline as to your current intake and keep track of how much activity you do as well. There is a website somewhere, I'll have to search for it, that tracks the caloric burn of normal daily activities as well.

zpl

I thought 3500 calories amounted to a pound of fat. Maybe you're assuming someone has a calorie defecit of 500 cal per day, and can lose a pound per week?

Scott

Tom Stormcrowe

Fixed! That was a typo! I need to proofread better, the 3 key on this keyboard sometimes doesn't work and I didn't catch it that time. That IS what I meant to say....thanks and great catch!

I also fixed my post.

caddis

Best move I made was getting a hydration pack. When I head out, I fill the pack with water and then fill my water bottle with Gatorade. Water keeps me hydrated and the Gatorade helps replace the electrolytes I lose through sweat.

If you frequently travel with a standard backpack (I use one when I commute to work), instead of a full hydration pack, you can get a "bladder" that you can stow in, or attach to, your backpack. The one I got holds 3 litres of water. Got mine from Mountain Equipment Co-op (great store here in Canada). Go to www.mec.ca and search for Hydration. Bladders are a cheap and portable (I throw mine in my fishing vest) solution to help with hydration.

jimallen

It really is amazing what food will do!

I am feeling much better today, had a nice easy 25 mile spin. I feel super. I have settled on a 2600 cal diet for now. I am using FitDay to journal my food intake and calories burned.

Thanks for all the help! You guys are best.