I went for a ride with the fast group today for the first time, and boy did it whip me. I was doing fantastic and hung in for the first two climbs, but blew up on the third. I lost the wheel about 10-11 miles in, but fought like a crazy person over the next two miles to not get completely dropped. I was almost there, literally 20 feet or so and surging; and then we got to a sprint point and they were GONE. I had nothing left after the two miles of chasing and shut it down. Continued on the ride, turned around after a little while and met them back at the starting point.

Now, several hours later, my heart feels really tired. It doesn't necessarily hurt, but I definitely feel a little weak. I just started riding about two months ago. I've ridden a lot in those two months (almost 1,000 miles), but I've still obviously got a long way to go before I'm completely in shape. Is this normal fatigue after an especially tough ride, or is it something I should monitor?

Sorry for what may be kind of a stupid question, but my dad had his second heart attack last weekend (he's ok thankfully), and I'm a little gun-shy. Heart disease runs in the family, and I've accepted I may have to deal with it, but I'm not ready to start that fight at 28!

Thanks!

There's no point asking here for advice about your heart. In the first place most of us aren't cardiologists, and even if we were, we aren't in a position to examine you or undertake investigations.

FWIW, it's normal to be exhausted when you've exhausted yourself. Make sure you give yourself time to recover - more than a day - before doing another hard session.

Yeah I realize that. I was mainly just checking to see if it was normal to feel like that after a particularly hard ride, or if it was an obvious warning sign I wasn't aware of.

Rest days sound fantastic right now - especially since it's almost 5AM and I've yet to be able to fall asleep.

You've only been riding two months. It takes time to build a base, even at 500 miles per month. And going faster is much, much harder than going further, as you've just discovered. Keep these all-out efforts infrequent. The usual coaching advice is to keep the easy days easy so you are fresh enough to make the hard days hard. But in your first few months, it's probably a good idea to just get in plenty of time on the bike, riding at a pace that is challenging enough to give you a workout but doesn't leave you on your knees as soon as you get off the bike. As time goes on, build in more intensity to work on speed, climbing etc...

Go see a doctor. Now.

It is probably nothing but good old fashion tiredness, but . . .

Maybe I'm just old, and have heard too many stories, but better to be safe than sorry.

I'm curious. What does a "tired" heart feel like ? How did you come to that conclusion.....that your heart feels "tired" ? I mean I've felt weak before, my heart has beat really fast or really slow, I'm out of breathe, etc., but a "tired" heart ? What is that ?

I have no idea what a 'tired heart' would feel like but I have felt like I've abused my lungs when I've ridden harder than my body is prepared for. This would apply when starting up after an extended period of inactivity or just a particularly hard ride.

Given your family history I would recommend seeing a doc and perhaps getting a stress test.

I was asking myself the same question.

Yeah, sorry for the poor description. Basically my heart just felt really weak for about 8-10 hours after the ride. It felt like it was beating fast, but wasn't quite getting the job done. I also felt really "aware" of how it was beating, if that makes any sense at all (probably doesn't). Pretty strange feeling. It still feels kind of tender, but I can't tell if I'm just making it up, or if it really does still feel like that. I couldn't sleep at all last night, so the fatigue may have something to do with that. I'm also still fairly short of breath, which does have me a little concerned.

I definitely pushed myself, but it wasn't like I was doing anything that extreme. It's very possible that since I was with a group much faster than I usually ride, I just wasn't aware of how hard I was actually going.

Going to take the next few days off, and probably schedule an appointment just to check things out. I'd much rather be seen as a hypochondriac than the alternative.

This is a good idea. Better safe than sorry.

Poor heart rate recovery, tenderness or muscle aches, shortness of breath and a family history of heart disease.

I would schedule an immediate appointment with your cardiologist right away. He may even recommend you go to the hospital now if you are really that worried. They can at least do a blood test to make sure you didn't suffer a heart attack.

OP, your second description sounds much more alarming than your first. Get checked out.

OP you have described "symptoms" symptoms of what, you don't know. it's probably best to seek professional diagnosis before the symptoms subside.

Sweating like a pig and not being able to catch my breath after working out were the first signs I got of the heart attack I had 6 weeks ago (this after losing 55 pounds, working out at the gym, and riding my bike a ton). Go to the doctor ASAP. It may be nothing more than being out of shape, but it could be way worse.

FWIW, back on the bike, did 14.2 miles this morning, feel great.

"Still fairly short of breath" is definitely not a good thing. Get checked out ASAP. Not sleeping well after extreme fatique is not unusual. A rapid heart rate for a couple of hours after a hard ride is not unusual either. But after good nutrition and rest, it should begin to slow down. But it shouldn't take 8-10 hours or more. Feeling your heart beat can come from a number of things...like from anxiety caused by worrying about it. After a hard ride, my heart rate is usually about twice the resting rate for a couple hours after the ride, then returns to normal. And though it's beating a little quicker than resting rates, it doesn't pound like it does when I'm racing or riding hard, but it's not a heart problem. It does what it needs to do to return normal body function as your metabolism slows back down. Part of that is why eating healthy foods or drinking proper recovery drinks right after a ride is very important. But, again, the retained shortness of breath is of concern. Normal breathing should return almost immediately after a hard ride if not during the cool down.

For what it's worth, I'm not a Dr.. Just my experience and limited knowledge.