What did I do wrong?
 

On Sunday I rode in a 50 mile Fixed Gear Fondo. After the ride I was profoundly tired. I was woosey on the drive back home, actually missing the exit for my house. On Monday I was dragging around the office struggling to stay awake. Really struggling. The funny thing is my muscles were not sore. I was just dog tired.

A bit about me. I am 57 and I ride just about every day, 5000+ miles a year. I take racing classes at the local velodrome. About 2/3 of my miles are on a fixed gear. I ride 40-50 mile rides often without any drama. This ride I approached as a competitive event and I rode hard. I was the second finisher, the first on a fixed gear.

Here is what I did the day of the ride:

My normal breakfast of cereal and a cup of coffee and OJ. I had a 16 oz coffee on the ride to the start. Once there I had a cliff bar. On the first 25 miles I drank a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade. I filled my bottles with Gatorade at the 25 mile point and had 3 fig newtons. I peed. I drank both bottles on the return. I was warm and sunny and I struggled for the last 10 miles but kept up the pace. At the finish I had 2 bottles of water and a coke. After about 1 hour I had a burrito and another bottle of water.

I never recovered my zip on Sunday. I watched TV and hung out. Went to bed a bit early and had a restless night. I rode to work on Monday in a bit of a fog (not sore). I was close to falling asleep at my desk. Riding home was not as bad. I had track class in the evening and I was a bit off, but not to bad. I took 3rd in the race.

I feel I may have done some things wrong on Sunday. Is there something I could have eaten or not eaten on Sunday that would make me feel better.

I am thinking the extra dose of coffee was a bad idea. I should have probably had more water at the beginning, before we started.

Any suggestions?

Ride Safe,

Joe

What about Saturday night, how many hours sleep, what did you have for dinner? You did say that it was warm and your effort was maybe a bit higher than typical. I'd consider being tired a more or less normal response to a hard day. I doubt the coffee had anything to do with it, but looking at what you ate, those 3 fig newtons might be the most nutritious thing you ate all day. Was that a burrito as in massive Chipotle w/ whole beans, or as in Taco Bell refried beans?

Wasn't it 92-94F and humid?

Muscle soreness (DOMS) is worse in hot and humid environments. Leg strength is reduced for up to 4 days. Legs get sore...too

I did a long ride in that general area and my legs feel worse than usual. For me, it was the heat.

Was that all the solid food you had on Sunday?

- breakfast cereal
- a cliff bar
- 3 fig newtons
- a burrito

Unless that bowl of breakfast cereal was huge ... and unless that burrito was massive ... I'm thinking you didn't eat nearly enough.

Yes, you also had OJ, Gatorade, and a Coke ... but they're all pretty swift acting sugars without much substance.

I think you're over thinking this. You're 57 years old, you rode harder than usual on a hot day, got tired afterward and took a few days to recover. What's the surprise?

Eating better might have helped, but not necessarily. It's easy do (among other things) for electrolytes to get out of balance when working hard, sweating and drinking. Even with the Gatorades, you might have lost electrolytes that weren't replaced, or it could be any on dozens of other things.

But at 57 you can't expect your body to handle hard efforts and recover the same as when you were 20, it just isn't going to happen. So either ease up a bit or accept the consequences. I've a decade on you and prefer not to ease up, but I've learned to accept the consequences.

Offhand, I would guess that you became dehydrated and/or did not eat enough food. When I feel really bad after rides and slow to recover, it's usually due to:
- Very hot, humid weather and not drinking enough
- Exerting more effort than usual due to fast pace, lots of climbing, winds, etc.
- Starting out too fast on a long ride without proper warm up

Thanks for all of the comments. It sounds like I made a bunch of mistakes before the ride even started. Not eating and drinking enough. Not drinking enough. Not eating enough. Trying to catch up after the ride was not the way to do it. The burrito was massive, and tasty too:-)

I rode 50 miles in hotter sun the week before with no ill effects. I have ridden centurys and felt much better after. I was profoundly run down after this ride. Driving the car was very difficult. I need to be more careful about eating and drinking before a ride where I exert myself.

Ride Safe,

Joe

OP, I'm a lot younger than you are but I had a similar experience this past week.

It was very hot out so I attribute the extra fatigue to the heat and me just simply not staying hydrated.

When I find myself unusually tired it's either because I didn't get enough sleep, didn't drink enough water or got busy and forgot to eat.

Don't overcompensate with drinking. That can also lead to your problems. Read about hyponatremia which is becoming more common these days after events like marathons and triathlons. It's real and can be as or more serious than dehydration. IMO many people like yourself may be suffering from this at subclinical levels after hot rides because they sweat and drink so much.

What is a proper warm up and cool down after every ride?? I ride anywhere from 20 to 40 miles a day, and I just start then stop. What should I be doing??

The question is: how often did you pee? It was only 50 miles, and you peed during. But did you pee after, too? If you did, it's not hydration. If you didn't, that's certainly suspect.

My guess is that, as other posters have said, you didn't eat nearly enough. I assume, it being a Fondo, that you rode hard. On a hard ride, a steady 200-250 calories/hour is the ticket to survival. It really doesn't matter what form the calories are in as long as it's carbs and the intake is steady. Then after the ride, in the first 10 minutes, another 200 calories or so of carbs and maybe 60 calories of protein. Then on the way home, eat a bagel or Clif bar or some such, a little at a time, not all at once. Just keep the carbs coming slowly until you get home, when you'll have a nice healthy carb-and-protein rich meal and feel fine the next morning.

On such a short ride, I don't think electrolytes would have been a problem.

That depends on the individual, but I generally ride at an easier pace during the first 5 miles of a long ride. Cadence is important for me, and I try to spin at fairly high RPMs while warming up, and avoid pushing big gears. On large group rides, the pace often starts out very fast, which is not good for me and usually leads to worse performance toward the end of the ride.

Have you ever noticed professional cyclists riding trainers before races? They do that to warm up their legs ahead of time, so they can go all-out once the race starts.

I personally don't worry so much about cooling down at the ends of rides.

Sounds like you simply over did it and your body required a little more recovery time than you are used to. I would think every one of us has done this at one point or another. Let your systems recoup and get back to it.

Definitely not dehydration. You finished second and I assume it took you 2:45 or so. I calculate you drank 140 to 150 oz of fluid during the ride and at the end. You drank too much. I rode 132 miles that day and drank 122 oz. there is a limit to how much we can absorb. ....it varies from 16 to 25 oz per hour but can be more when cold and not exercising.

I've had that feeling a few times. Best thing is not fight it and let your body have what it needs, eat a big meal and take a nap. Worst thing is sitting around watching TV when you are that tired, it only interferes with your sleep later that night and carries the fatigue into the next day.

That comment really hit home. I should have has an Egg McMuffin and large Mc-OJ instead of the McCoffee on the ride in. That would have had me a little better fueled for the hard ride.

I do appreciate the advice. I will definitely eat better before the Lake Nockamixon century and the MS City to Shore (175 miles) later this year. Thanks for the good advice.

Ride Safe,

Joe

Don't Have a lot more coffee than normal on a ride. But don't stop just for the ride either. Keep it about the same. About 1 to 1.5 hours for one big bike bottle of water.