How do you periods affect your rides?

[Jiffer]

I know I've read a thread somewhere before about how periods affect your rides ... but can't find it. For me, my periods never used to affect my rides that much. If anything, maybe the second day, when my flow is heaviest and I just don't feel so great. But I am finding that sometimes I do feel more fatigued on a ride some months than others.

I did a tempo ride yesterday. I finished the first tempo portion okay, but felt really bad at the end and right after. I decided not to do anymore and just rode slowly home. That was my 3rd day on my period. Tonight I did a club ride, which is pretty fast paced. Again, I did okay getting up to the regroup at the top of the climb ... but fell off the group quite easily on the way back and took the fast route home instead of finishing the usual route. I recall that same thing happening before when on my period ... but not always.

So, I guess I'm finding that when my period is affecting me, I can ride pretty well for a while, maybe 30 minutes or so ... then I kind of fall apart. Yet, this does not "always" happen. Sometimes I can ride strong for a long time when I'm on my period. Maybe now that I'm 41 and maybe pre-menopausal ??? this could be affecting me? My symptoms before and during my periods seem to vary a lot more in the last few years than they used to. I get night sweats, but not every month or sometimes not as bad some months than others. So I guess it's the same with how I feel when I ride. Some months will affect me more than others. That sucks! :(

How do your periods affect you and is there anything you have found that helps? I'm wondering if eating certain kinds of foods would help ... probably all the healthy ones! Haha! :D I also wonder if I'm getting lower on iron some months than others. I did get full blown anemia last August after having lost some weight during the previous 6 months. I was riding better than ever, my period hit and boom ... my riding sucked! It took a long time to get over it and get back into training. (A coach had told me to eat red meat! He was way more into natural foods than supplements. And told me it's fairly common for women losing weight and training a lot to get anemia.) So maybe I'm more susceptible to low iron levels, especially at that time of the month, and should be taking iron during my cycle ... so I can cycle! Haha! I crack me up. After I got anemia and my training basically came to a halt, I also started letting myself eat more and my weight slowly came back. So now I'm back in weight loss mode ... though I feel I've had plenty of foods with iron, including red meat and eggs ... but maybe I need to up my iron even during my period.

Luckily I seemed to have avoided cramps in my life. I feel for you women who deal with that.

Anyways, so while I think I may have figured out my own issue while writing this ... iron ... I'm still curious what your experiences are.

[Aggie_Ama]

I find as I am getting older I am much more fatigued during my period. It is like I am just a slug. During other times I can sustain a higher HR but not during my period. It also seems I dehydrate easier and have a more sensitive stomach so while most of the time nutrition is not as relevant for me it is super relevant during that week or so. I also have a lot of issues with being more prone to chafing, not a fan of chamois butter but have to use it during that time.

[Jiffer]

Interesting. Yesterday at the end of my 20 minute tempo interval, my stomach was really bothering me, and that's not typical for me. Yeah, maybe it's just a "getting old thing". :( Sucks if an important event falls on the wrong time of the month.

[shootingstar]

I've never really noticed much difference in the past to pin it down to my period. I never felt the best if it was a humid, hot day but I no longer live in such climate. It's just abit more uncomfortable when exerting alot of energy under hot conditions.

Except for getting off the bike more frequently..to check self at washroom. I mean this is probably the one thing about being a woman...when did guys ever have to "check" themselves on regular intervals in their life. Even those of us who aren't affected much in exercise, there's always this annoying ..check. :o

I don't experience cramping, etc. nor regular, hot flashes, sweating like others may often.

Maybe some relaxation exercises might help or relaxation breathing. For latter, I found myself doing this abit more often if I anticipate a different piece of riding ahead while on bike. Under stress, I now tend to think more mindfully of this, as I get older..for whatever life situation or time of the year.

[Crankin]

My periods stopped about a year or so after I started riding; coinciding with the purchase of my first road bike. I remember feeling just awful in the days before it started and during the first two days. I could barely turn the pedals over and my average speed definitely was lower. I also remember thinking that if I was competing, it would totally suck if I had my period. When I taught fitness classes, i would pray that i didn't have to teach the day before it started or on the first day.
But, I had horrible PMS, my whole life (the physical symptoms), from age 11 on, and I never felt good at the beginning of my period, although I only had bad cramps when I was very young. Menopause was a breeze compared to my period; I was either getting it (10 days), having it (5 days), or trying to avoid thinking about getting during the other 2 weeks of the month.

[emily_in_nc]

I haven't noticed any issues other than occasionally needing to go into a restroom for a tampon change. Annoying, but nothing I can't deal with. No difference in strength, speed, fatigue, etc. Guess I'm lucky that way. :rolleyes:

[Aggie_Ama]

It may also be that I am not any different except now I race. I am much more focused on how I feel. When I was more into long road rides and charity rides I didn't notice, but while I wasn't slow I was never really pushing myself super hard since it was an endurance based training. I also am now more an XC mountain biker which is constantly at aerobic/anaerobic threshold. Even just a fun ride is a fairly high intensity but it is the nature of the sport.

[Karma007]

With my Paraguard IUD, I was out for a week. The periods were really heavy, and I was exhausted and miserable. Back on the pill, it's a non-issue.

[Chicken Little]

Fatique has worsened with age. I just put up with stuff. It will all be over soon...

[channlluv]

I get really tired and cold the first couple of days and I treat it as a cleansing time, so I take it really easy in all things. I don't get on the bike. I may do a light workout in the pool, but then follow that up with a sauna.

Roxy

[redrhodie]

I actually don't have problems from my periods, but if I get passed during it, it's a nice excuse!

[roadie gal]

On the first day I tend to have less energy and my back gets more sore. I adjust my riding ambition for the day to my energy level.

I'm 52. Hopefully it won't be a consideration for much longer.

[nscrbug]

I'm 45 and definitely in the midst of "peri", but for the most part...I try and not let it affect any of my workouts, be it cycling or the gym. The 2nd day is my heaviest and most troublesome, when it comes to planning bathroom stops. I generally can't go more than 2-3 hours without a tampon change on day 2. Aside from feeling a lack of energy (which in my case, is nearly everyday anyways) and perhaps a headache, neither of those things would stop me from riding on my period.

[Miranda]

Jiffer... I totally feel for you... and am right there with ya!

I'm 42 and peri-menopasual. Exhausted like first tri-mester prego, craving red meat, and the water weight loss is the WORST! It is nearly *impossible* to hydrate properly:(.

My OB/GYN happens to be a cyclist, and so is his wife the peds doc (killer household income, eh? lol). We discussed my bonking hard on some century training rides during this time. I weighed myself, and basically dumped my 5lbs of monthly gain within few days:eek:. Plus, what I sweated out. At that time, my body weight at 5'5" was 120lbs, so basically 4%+ total loss. Significant.

I dranks like crazy, got my electrolytes, salty foods, whole nine yards. The only thing he had to suggest was maybe taking a pill to prevent the weight gain. But, that makes you dehydrated to not gain the monthly bloat. Kinda defeats the purpose we decided.

Just sux *sigh*!

[crazycanuck]

I officially need help with this:

A few days before my period starts, I get super duper itchy, enlarged inner upper legs etc & have a hard time biking. No matter what type of knicks I wear, it's quite painful to ride. I can't wear a tampon on the bike as they itch & just have to keep on going to the loo. I have been reduced to very short rides w a pair of knicks I don't love, during that time of the month. (yes, everything gets washed right away when i get home).

What to do de do?

The only thing that helps me during my period is strenuous exercise...

[Susan]

I generally feel bad during the first days of my period, I'm in a bad mood, sometimes tearful for no apparent reason, my whole body and especially my back and abdomen hurt and I have cramps. My always low blood pressure drops even lower and sometimes makes me feel dizzy.
I still try to exercise because really helps with the mood and cramps, but I don't push myself if I don't feel like it. Using the mooncup really helps with all kinds of exercise during my period.
As a teenager I was very unhappy with these monthly problems, and even took the pill for some years to avoid it. It got better since I treat this week as a time to take it easy and relax. I try to see it a bit like an ancient ritual - sounds stupid but makes me feel a bit better about it ;)

[Jiffer]

Well, as for me, I figured out I'm definitely anemic again. BLEH!!!!!!!! :(

I can't believe I did this to myself again. I went through this last July and I am STILL not at the level of fitness I was just before it hit. I was just starting to see some real progression, though, and was headed that way. I was also in weight loss mode again, getting ride of the weight I had gained back since I was last anemic. It occurred to me yesterday that this time around with eating and training, I hadn't consciously done anything different from when this happened before, so of COURSE it's going to happen again. Since I'm worried about iron toxicity, I haven't been taking iron supplements (since I got over it before). Although, I did intend to always take iron supplements when on my period and completely forgot. Duh! But the main plan was to be more aware of the foods I was eating, mostly getting adequate red meat (per a coach and stuff I've read about it being the easiest to absorb iron from). But while I wasn't consciously trying to eat foods with iron, I do eat red meat, eggs and other iron rich foods quite regularly. But apparently not enough for the training I'm doing and since I'm eating less food over all.

So, let this be a lesson to you guys. If you are training even reasonably hard and, particularly, if you are trying to lose weight, be careful to get enough iron. I have done tons of research on this and it is really quite common for women cyclists to get anemic.

[pinkbikes]

I officially need help with this:

A few days before my period starts, I get super duper itchy, enlarged inner upper legs etc & have a hard time biking. No matter what type of knicks I wear, it's quite painful to ride. I can't wear a tampon on the bike as they itch & just have to keep on going to the loo. I have been reduced to very short rides w a pair of knicks I don't love, during that time of the month. (yes, everything gets washed right away when i get home).

What to do de do?

The only thing that helps me during my period is strenuous exercise...

There can be lots of things that cause itchiness that lurk around and pounce on you when your resistance is a bit low. Three that come to mind are dry skin dermatitis, thrush and herpes virus. All three can cause itchiness in this area and can spring on you when you are feeling low. It would probably be worth getting checked out by a doctor when it is actually happening to have some chance of diagnosis as to which?:confused:

I know I have in the past used a soap which caused the dermatitis along the elastic line of my knickers. I have also had thrush from time to time that was pretty damned itchy. The most annoying thing is that I assumed the former was the latter the first time it happened and treated it with canestan (as you would if it was thrush) only to find that the anti-fungal was so drying that it made the dermatitis worse!:o

The other stuff many of us may be stuck with, but you should not be suffering with this sort of itchiness as a routine thing. I think it would be a good idea to get it really checked out.

[Tokie]

Hi Jiffer - just a thought - have you seen an MD about your anemia problem? Besides diet (which seems like a stretch, unless you were eating a really weird diet) and heavy periods (which you don't mention that they are especially super heavy) there can be other causes of anemia. Things to rule out (off the top of my head) bleeding from your stomach or intestines. My friend got her colonoscopy "early" (in her late 40's) because she was scheduled for a hysterectomy - for heavy bleeding and anemia - and she was an avid runner. She wanted the colonoscopy before her hyst because she knew that scar tissue from the hysterectomy sometimes makes a colonoscopy a bit trickier. Well, it turned out that she had been chronically been losing blood from a colon cancer - and her periods added onto that pushed her into anemia. She had surgery and chemo for the colon cancer and her hysterectomy, and is back to her previous athletic lifestyle, running again. good to rule out all possible causes for anemia before blaming your diet and your period........tokie

[Jiffer]

Hi Jiffer - just a thought - have you seen an MD about your anemia problem? Besides diet (which seems like a stretch, unless you were eating a really weird diet) and heavy periods (which you don't mention that they are especially super heavy) there can be other causes of anemia. Things to rule out (off the top of my head) bleeding from your stomach or intestines. My friend got her colonoscopy "early" (in her late 40's) because she was scheduled for a hysterectomy - for heavy bleeding and anemia - and she was an avid runner. She wanted the colonoscopy before her hyst because she knew that scar tissue from the hysterectomy sometimes makes a colonoscopy a bit trickier. Well, it turned out that she had been chronically been losing blood from a colon cancer - and her periods added onto that pushed her into anemia. She had surgery and chemo for the colon cancer and her hysterectomy, and is back to her previous athletic lifestyle, running again. good to rule out all possible causes for anemia before blaming your diet and your period........tokie

Thanks for your concern, Tokie. I'm actually seeing a doctor tomorrow. It's very common for women cyclists to get anemic, though, so I'm pretty convinced that's all it is. You lose iron in your sweat and when you lower your food intake and still train hard, it can lead to anemia. In both instances I was losing weight and training hard and it seemed to hit suddenly (during my period). My dad and sister have trouble with their iron levels as well, so in addition to being a female cyclist losing weight, it may somehow be a hereditary thing with me. I didn't go to a doctor the first time I had trouble with this because we don't have health insurance (not for basic health car anyway, only the big stuff). I waited to see if the symptoms would go away without a doctor's visit and they did. But the weight came back and now here we are as I attempt to lose it again.

So tomorrow I'm paying $225 to see a doctor ... yikes ... plus the cost of the blood test and I have no clue what that will be. With this being the second time this has happened, I do feel I need to be more closely monitored. Rule out other issues, but also just stay monitored as to how my iron levels are. I'm actually hoping that if I get my iron levels up enough, I'll actually be stronger than I ever have been. I always tend to breath harder than every one I ride with and I wonder if it's because my iron levels are never as high as they should be (which causes shortness of breath). But I've been afraid to take too much iron because too much can be toxic.

Anyway, we'll see what the doc says. A coach I know recommended him to me, partially because he is a cyclist (the doctor). So I'm hoping he can give me good advice on if and how much I should be riding right now and when it's okay to ride harder. And he knows what to look for in the blood test, cause there are certain things my coach said they should look for because of the cycling.

[Tokie]

sorry you don't have insurance....medical care is costly. There is a screening test for blood in you bowel movements which is much cheaper than a colonoscopy - "Stool for occult blood" ( you take home a little kit and apply small smears of poop on little paper spaces for 3 days -return it to the doctor's office where they put drops of test liquid on the back of the paper, and it turns a certain color if there is blood in it) They are actually doing a free screening at the Catholic church in my town next week. Hope it all works out ok for you. Tokie

[hebe]

I'm quite lucky in that I'm not affected too badly. However, the couple of days beforehand I would really rather spend on the sofa eating chocolate. My period itself is fine though, I have Mirena coil which has made my periods much much lighter, and they have been pain-free since having my daughter. I did find tampons a pain with cycling and have switched to a menstrual cup which I always forget is there.