I'm Pooped

[Reesha]

I'm getting a bit of a late start this year, so I've only been riding regularly for about a month now. Yesterday, did my first "big" ride of 42 miles and for the rest of the day my body was just DONE. I'm not sure it's a nutrition issue as much as just normal fatigue when I whip my body into shape. I had 30 oz of banana, strawberry, honey smoothie before the ride, a wheat bagel ham, egg and cheese sandwich not long after and tons of water. I napped for a few hours in the afternoon, but never really felt up for much else.

Today, my body felt great, but I didn't ride, instead walking a leisurely 6 miles and again, body asked for naptime. After my nap I felt much more refreshed and went for a lovely 5 mile spin ride around the park near my house, just for pleasure. Body felt good.

So here's the thing: do you think I should just listen to my body when it is begging for some naptime? I was reading in the cyclist's training bible that naps are integral to some pro's success. I think it probably has something to do with the early stage of my cycling as well. I took a year and half off to swim intensively instead and lost a lot of the awesome bike muscle I'd spent years building. I don't think I'm pushing too hard, generally I've been listening to my body.

Are there times when I should ignore my sleepiness do you think? It's summer vacation now that school's out and I can get away with naps for now.

What are your takes on naps and being pooped after rides?

[bmccasland]

Naps are good. Not so good if one falls asleep at the wheel when driving back from a long ride. Yes I did it, fortunately nothing was hurt in the process. So after a long ride, if I need a nap, I take one - even if that means pulling the car off the road.

[m.eliza]

In addition to the smoothie before and bagel afterwards, do you fuel during your ride? I think my body would completely shut down if that was all I ate for a 42-mile ride!

[marni]

I find that there are times when I need a daily nap after anysort of a workout or ride, and others where Ican just keep plugging along. I'm also finding that I am napping more and more these days, but I attribute that to mental escapism as much as fatigue. There are times when I just can't function without a daily nap. Listen to your body. Sleep is a very much under indulged in pleasure. I loves my naps and would rather nap for a couple of hours than be semi functional for a while.

marni

[Reesha]

In addition to the smoothie before and bagel afterwards, do you fuel during your ride? I think my body would completely shut down if that was all I ate for a 42-mile ride!

You know, I had a raspberry hammer gel in my back pocket that I never got around to eating. The ride was only supposed to be 30-35 but turned out 42 (some missed turns ;)). I thought of eating it multiple times, but didn't. If I had, I probably would have felt better during the last six!

Still, I had a combined 1000 calories before and just after the ride. I guess I just need to feel out the ride nutrition thing!

[emily_in_nc]

Timely blog posting I just read tonight about the importance of recovery fueling after a hard ride, and the smoothie recipe sounds great too!

http://lovingthebike.com/cycling-nurition/loving-the-bite-almond-butter-smoothie

I was exhausted today after my 50-miler (very hot and humid towards the end as well). I was soaked with sweat and didn't feel hungry at all when I got home. Although I think I was well hydrated as I drank a good amount on the ride, I drank a tall glass of Simply limeade, took a shower, then made some salmon salad b/c I knew my DH would want it after his ride (78 miles). I could have easily skipped food for several hours and just napped instead! I ate salmon salad on a bed of lettuce and drank a lite beer for a very late lunch.

I guess I didn't eat enough on the ride, though I thought I did at the time. I had pancakes before the ride. During the ride, I ate a homemade energy bar (oats, honey, raisins, etc.), drank a 16 oz. chocolate milk, and one of my water bottles was diluted limeade with a couple sprinkles of salt added. Reading that now, it doesn't sound like a whole lot for 3.5 hours of warm-weather cycling with a good number of hills, plus ~45 minutes of stops.

I've just started doing long rides again -- guess I am out of practice!

[Reesha]

Timely blog posting I just read tonight about the importance of recovery fueling after a hard ride, and the smoothie recipe sounds great too!

http://lovingthebike.com/cycling-nurition/loving-the-bite-almond-butter-smoothie

I was exhausted today after my 50-miler (very hot and humid towards the end as well). I was soaked with sweat and didn't feel hungry at all when I got home. Although I think I was well hydrated as I drank a good amount on the ride, I drank a tall glass of Simply limeade, took a shower, then made some salmon salad b/c I knew my DH would want it after his ride (78 miles). I could have easily skipped food for several hours and just napped instead! I ate salmon salad on a bed of lettuce and drank a lite beer for a very late lunch.

I guess I didn't eat enough on the ride, though I thought I did at the time. I had pancakes before the ride. During the ride, I ate a homemade energy bar (oats, honey, raisins, etc.), drank a 16 oz. chocolate milk, and one of my water bottles was diluted limeade with a couple sprinkles of salt added. Reading that now, it doesn't sound like a whole lot for 3.5 hours of warm-weather cycling with a good number of hills, plus ~45 minutes of stops.

I've just started doing long rides again -- guess I am out of practice!

I'm with you there! 40 mile plus rides every weekend in my future until I'm in killer shape. I need 750 more miles in my before I truly have a base. Only 250 in me now, yeesh.

I'm climbing the steps at the Arch (a lovely set of 60) tomorrow at 7 am. I'll have to get up early and eat something yumsies. Muesli or oatmeal might be on the menu :)

[nscrbug]

I am a huge proponent of naps. Infact, I take an hour long one nearly every day! My body simply craves it, which is reason enough for me. :D

[pll]

I went to a nutritionist who scolded me for doing 45-50 miles and not eating a little something (a hard boiled egg, half a banana) every hour of the ride. I end like Reesha describes, "done for the day." It does not matter what I eat afterwards. I don't feel like stopping every hour and eating. Hence, I now recognize glycogen depletion, and it is no longer a surprise to me. I wish it came with naps -- I have never been able to nap.

PS: said nutritionist is also a cyclist.

Correction: While I recall a mention of every hour, in she wrote to me "Hydrate AND fuel with calories during rides greater than 45 minutes to avoid glycogen depletion, as discussed. Eat small snack immediately upon return if planned meal is > 1 hour away." I think we all follow the eating within an hour of returning.

[Catrin]

Yep, it is important to eat during a long ride - yesterday I didn't take my own advice and was starving/exhausted at the end of it. I thought my breakfast was large enough & close enough to the ride to carry me through it - but it wasn't. Thankfully ride ended at my LBS and was able to snag a Cliff bar until I got home and ate real food.

I was so worn out at the end of my ride that my butt was still on the saddle when the bike stopped :eek: I didn't fall over though, and was fine as soon as I had something to eat.

[Reesha]

I went to a nutritionist who scolded me for doing 45-50 miles and not eating a little something (a hard boiled egg, half a banana) every hour of the ride. I end like Reesha describes, "done for the day." It does not matter what I eat afterwards. I don't feel like stopping every hour and eating. Hence, I now recognize glycogen depletion, and it is no longer a surprise to me. I wish it came with naps -- I have never been able to nap.

PS: said nutritionist is also a cyclist.

Correction: While I recall a mention of every hour, in she wrote to me "Hydrate AND fuel with calories during rides greater than 45 minutes to avoid glycogen depletion, as discussed. Eat small snack immediately upon return if planned meal is > 1 hour away." I think we all follow the eating within an hour of returning.


Yep, it is important to eat during a long ride - yesterday I didn't take my own advice and was starving/exhausted at the end of it. I thought my breakfast was large enough & close enough to the ride to carry me through it - but it wasn't. Thankfully ride ended at my LBS and was able to snag a Cliff bar until I got home and ate real food.

I was so worn out at the end of my ride that my butt was still on the saddle when the bike stopped :eek: I didn't fall over though, and was fine as soon as I had something to eat.

I'll just have to remember to wrap up little quarter sandwiches with PB and nutella for rides like that so I don't bonk in the last ten miles. Urgh.

[Geonz]

I realized when I felt sleepy after a ride that, in fact, I hadn't had the usual caffeine intake - a glass of iced tea cured it completely. I can kinda tell now when it's real "need a nap" and when it's "have a cup of tea, dear!" time -- but figure specific depletions of any of a number of things could bring on sleepiness, and a nap wouldn't even really help.

[pll]

Mild dehydration can cause sleepiness...

[featuretile]

This is my experience. I did 2 rides this week that were close in length and elevation gain - some big hills (28-30 miles). The first one (28) I was riding with someone who was faster than me and I pushed myself. I also stopped less and ate less. I was really tired when I got home. The second ride (30) was with a friend who rides about my speed. Stopped and had a drink and a few bites and a short lunch break. Got home, felt great and could have ridden longer - no fatigue at all.

I have also discovered that you don't need to eat alot while you are riding, but you need to eat something. If I don't eat when I am riding, I start to feel really not good - it is probably what others have called glycogen depletion. And once that sets in, it doesn't go away right after you eat something. So, I was probably eating too much to compensate for this and sabotaging weight loss. Now, I realize that I can eat 4 pretzels or half an energy bar and avoid glycogen depletion without adding a whole lot of extra calories.

[Reesha]

What I really need is one of those nifty bento boxes it would seem.

[pll]

Or a route with coffee shops. A couple of small snacks can fit in your pockets.

[KathiCville]

If I'm riding more than 20 miles I nibble on something about every half hour throughout the ride, from the get-go. (I don't wait till I'm hungry to snack.) Usually it's just one or two Clif gel blocks (or similar), but sometimes it's a couple of bites of a 'power' bar of some kind.

Eating a little bit at regular intervals throughout the ride keeps me from getting hungry or hitting the wall, and also doesn't weigh me down. So far, so good. I rode 39 miles on Saturday and felt pretty strong the whole ride---my longest and toughest outing so far this year. :)

[Reesha]

Or a route with coffee shops. A couple of small snacks can fit in your pockets.

Yeah but I hate stopping on rides between 30 and 40 miles and I am not particularly skilled at wrestling things out of my back pockets even after all this time! W/ a bento box I could shove some pretzels in there and eat while riding with ease.

[Becky]

I have noticed that being dehydrated or electrolyte deficient can knock me on my butt as hard as not eating enough. I started adding a couple of Endurolyte capsules (or similar) to my post-ride drink and snack, and it has really helped.