I was in a bad car-bike accident last November.
Prior to the accident I was riding 230-240 miles per week. Heart rate at rest was less than 50 bpm.
I was unable to do any exercise until recently.
My resting rate is now over 70 BPM.
I finally was able to get back on the bike today and my bpm were easily over 150 and with very little exertion.
Have any of you had a similar experience and more importantly did your bpm return to pre-accident levels? Needless to say I am concerned if it doesn't as it could be the end of my Ironman competitions.

Patience. After six months off, it's going to take you a while to get back into shape. I wouldn't schedule any ironmans in the next year; then take a look and re-assess.

You're out of shape, did you expect anything different?

Give it a month back on the bike for your heart rate to calm down.

You've gone from a top 0.1% athlete to an average Joe. Nothing stopping you from getting back to where you were except time. Accept that a lot of work needs to be done. This season is a rebuilding season. Next season you will be close to where you were before. 2019, if you keep it up, you should be back in full.

When I was 24 yo and in elite conditioned road racer, I had a very serious head injury. I got back on the bike much sooner than you to race one last season. (11/3 my accident. Back on rollers in February, the road in March. September when I rode my last race, I was still a shadow of the racer I had been.

Unless you have pressing goals that cannot wait, watch carefully that you don't overdo it. I came back too fast, broke a few "rules" re: knees and have paid for it with a life-long condition. (That last season I knew before going in was it; that I would never pin on a number again. So I rode and trained to be the best I could possibly be that season. No regrets, despite the injury I inflicted on myself.)

Keep your head up and plug away. It's so worth it, even despite the time and challenges you will face.

Ben

Assuming you are cleared by your doctor, you just need to keep at it. You didn't get out of shape in a day. You won't get back into it in a day either. Keep going!

Humorous paraphrase:

I haven't worked out in months. Now, I feel like I haven't worked out in months. What's wrong?

Iron man, schmiron man.

Lucky to be alive. Everything else is icing.

Count your blessings.


-Tim-

Thank you all for your thoughts. It looks like patience is the key for a very impatient man.

I don't know about after an accident, but I lay off the bike every winter. It takes a few months' of riding to get my HR and legs back into sync.

Glad you are still here to post.

Too many of us are lost every year.

If it's any consolation, I've found that rebound time is generally shorter than the first time you reached a level of conditioning.

My 2011 bike crash had me off for only 4 months due to C6 and clavicle fracture, C5-C6-C7 compression/shifting resulting in Long Thoracic Nerve damage and even with resulting issues to this day recovery was possible. Resting HR before/at time in ICU of the crash was 38bpm and 2 years ago before my first prostate cancer treatment it was 32BPM, so return to pre-crash condition is possible just time consuming. My first IRONMAN was 2013 and I fared fairly well considering my 63yo body was beat up. My suggestion is to follow doctor/therapist recommendations and give yourself time to recover.

Had a total right shoulder joint replacement last October and my first swim test will be next week with results helping to determine if I try another IM in 2019. My first priority however will be to improve on my 307 miles in 22 hours this past Bike Sebring 12/24 Hour Race to 400 non drafting miles in the 2018 Bike Sebring 12/24 Hours for a RAAM Qualifier Classification.

Good luck with smooth roads ahead.

I had a knee injury due to two falls on 2016 Eroica California. Damn toe clips! I was on and off the bike for a few weeks with swollen knee and previously undiagnosed arthritis. I developed a high heart rate (for me) of 155 to 165, sometimes on flat roads at slight effort. It also would not come back down when I stopped. After several diagnostics, I found I have a mild aortic stenosis (wonky heart valve). I had a couple of mild dizzy spells, but no chest pain. It took a couple of months of tests to nail down. I just turned 68, and ride almost 5K miles a year. I now have a new beta blocker (Metropolol), and a small dose aspirin a day. I'm back doing 100 miles a week, 40-45 resting heart rate, usually 120-140 on the bike. I've lost 20 lbs and feel great. Long story short, see a cardioligist, and get checked out. I feel great now, and Dr. says keep doing what I'm doing, and re-evaluate valve problem in a year. So far so good. Im convinced that part of my hr problem was due to laying off due to the knee. Good luck with yours.