coping with heat and humidity

Help!!!

I was completely done in by my ride friday morning. We did an office ride as part of the fun for our Official Office Picnic - there were 7 of us wearing the team kit for an out and back on the levee. I managed to hang with the big boys for most of the first half - see ride report on the friday June 27 thread.

Anyway, I thought I did all the right things for recovery. Except perhaps drink some chocolate milk. I tried to stay hydrated, although I have to admit, when I'm trying to hang on at 20 mph, I have a real hard time drinking, breathing, and keeping up all at the same time.

Went to the office picnic after a shower, continued to drink water, had 1/2 a beer (I have a low tolerance for alcohol), and ate pretty good - grilled fish with corn/bean/salsa on the side, fresh fruit. OK I'll admit to the chocolate chip cookies (2), and a few handfuls of chips. It was warm and muggy... but as the day wore on, I felt worse, and more tired than ever. A threatening thunderstorm got me home at 2, feeling worse than ever. Migraine brought on by the heat exhaustion too boot. So I spent the rest of friday afternoon and evening feeling very miserable and useless. Considered going to an ER for better drugs. Woke up this morning with a residual headache, and very tired. Finally managed to get out of bed, and hold down breakfast late morning. I still don't feel back to "normal". Good thing it's currently raining, so I don't have to take Nala for her afternoon walk. I just don't have the energy for it.

So, my question after all this.... how do I cope with the summers? I thought I had it down, but apparently not. Do I hang up my shoes until the weather cools off??
Or am I just paying the price for riding hard after only weekly rides, and a bad bought of irritable bowel issues?

I want to ride my bike, lordy knows I need something to work of office stress... but I don't want to be totally miserable and useless for hours/days either.

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Originally Posted by bmccasland

Help!!!

Or am I just paying the price for riding hard after only weekly rides, and a bad bought of irritable bowel issues?

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Hmmm, wondering if IBS is the cause of your woes? Sounds like the way I feel when I'm battling a case of IBS - tired, headachey, etc.

Sounds like a toxic mix ... but I wouldn't hang up the *shoes* - perhaps one of the other ingredients...

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Originally Posted by bmccasland

I tried to stay hydrated, although I have to admit, when I'm trying to hang on at 20 mph, I have a real hard time drinking, breathing, and keeping up all at the same time.

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Good grief, woman! http://bestsmileys.com/fainting/1.gif No wonder you're pooped. You put your system into overload. :p One thing came to mind--electrolytes that you lost in the process. Do you have any Elite or any electrolyte replacement tablets you can add to your water next time you have a hard ride? The humidity is fast approaching heat exhaustion levels around here and I tend to cycle during the hottest part of the day. I know, kinda dumb. :rolleyes: I found that even with a Camelbak I found it's best to take more breaks and to ease the exertion level a little. And I do seem more fatigued on those kind of days than when the humidity is over 53 %.

Hope you feel better soon and next time you ride with the big boys, wear the disco shiny shorts so they'll slow down, lol!

High exersion rides in hot, sticky weather often bring on post ride migraines for me.
I find a little Vitamin I pre-ride (um, that's Ibuprofen), an electrolyte drink in the waterbottles, and a high-protein drink (I've been doing a 10 ounce gulp of Accelerade) post ride help.
Other than that, a lot of food and drink (and a nap if I can swing it) help me get on the right track again.

Not to mention this weather's got my hair looking like...
..............................Attachment 6378

Lol! :d

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days than when the humidity is over 53 %.

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lol...I'd die for days with the humidity less than 90%

You "ride with the big girls" in a climate that is less than hospitable. Everyone has an off day every once in a while. Sometimes the translate into an off weekend.

I find that many times what I consider high stakes weekends turn into crappy ones for me and when I want to do ten billion things, I end up lounging in bed for the weekend. Like last weekend, I spent 7 hours in heavy traffic driving to the beach with cramps so bad I considered dialing 9-1-1 to come with a chopper to pick me up. I spent the rest of the long weekend shell shocked

Maybe it's your body trying to tell you "hey, gimme a break."

Don't hang up your shoes!

Don't hang up the cycling shoes!!!

I agree with the other posts. I think it was a combination of things. I think you probably over did it and didn't fill your body with what it needed. Electrolytes are a good thing to think about. My husband is big on getting the right "stuff" for your body and, after researching and trying different things, he gets Cytomax Lite. We get it in powder form and mix it into our sports bottles with water. You might want to look into that or something else. We like the taste. Not too sweet and no after taste. You should drink a sports bottle full every hour, probably more in extra heat and humidity ... even if you don't feel thirsty.

What you eat and drink before your ride is important too. You have to figure out what works for you and stick with it. I usually eat a banana and/or toast with peanut butter.

Also, your recovery is very important. We take Recoverite within 30 minutes of hard rides. It helps your muscles recover quicker, but also helps replace lost electrolytes along with some other things. I looked up some info on it and found something relating to stomach distress.

Unlike most recovery products that contain simple sugars, maltodextrin provides a large volume of easily digested and rapidly assimilated carbohydrate, vital for preventing stomach distress and promoting full, efficient restoration of muscle glycogen.

I know that headaches are a common symptom of dehydration, so you probably did dehydrate yourself on your ride. Also, when you push your body harder than its used to, it's going to want rest. It's very common to feel very sleepy after exerting yourself when you go past what you are used to. Your body is screaming for rest (literally sleep) so it can recover. I read in a book recently that said if it's possible, you should schedule in a nap after a hard ride.

If you want to do more crazy 20 mph rides like that (I'm totally jealous, by the way!), you might want to work on building up to it.

I live in California where it's rare to have a humid day. Yet, last summer we went through a crazy heat wave with a lot of humidity. Dh and I did our longest training ride for a century on our tandem in that sort of weather.... 110 when we finished I think. We were pouring water over our heads constantly to keep our bodies cool. That might help as well with the heat and humidity part of it.

I'm not sure I agree with the Ibuprofen idea. I took some before a long ride because the muscles in my back had been bothering me on long rides. I tried to cut it off at the pass. However, I ended up bonking on that ride and my husband thinks Ibuprofen might have been part of the reason. (Also pushing myself past my limits to keep up with my friends didn't help either!) I don't remember what he said about Ibuprofen, but he's read a lot about it because he "used" to take a ton of it and he tends to think it's not the best idea to have right before exerting yourself if you can help it.

Hope my thoughts are helpful. Keep riding your bike!!! :D

+1 on the electrolytes. That's the one thing I wasn't hearing in your post - that, and just simple acclimation.

Your symptoms sound like I feel when I'm hyponatremic, except it doesn't give me migraines. When I'm sweating out 2 liters an hour I'm losing a lottalotta salt, too. I think I've read that your body can only absorb 1 liter an hour, so it's important to continue hydrating after the ride, but you said you did that. But the more I'm sweating, the greater proportion of my drinks need to be sports drinks. On a normal to cool weekend, I'll have one bottle of sports drink to every three of plain water. When it's hot and humid and sweat is running off my body, on a long ride I need it to be every other bottle. If you can't take the sugar and you don't want artificial sweeteners, try Emergen-C powder.

Especially if you continue feeling worse, drink 3 liters of sports drink. I'm serious. That almost always does the trick for me.

But if you're not acclimated to the heat yet, it's going to take a few rides. Once you're properly rehydrated and have your electrolytes in balance, in the recent thread about heat acclimation, someone posted a link to a study. According to that study, the best way to acclimate is to just do it, but if it's taking too much out of you, working out in AC does help, so maybe alternate outdoor workouts with gym workouts until you're fully acclimated.

I don't know anything about IBS, but I would think that that would make you prone to dehydration too, so anything that will increase fluid absorption through your intestines is good - and I think balanced sugar/electrolyte drinks fall into that category, don't they?

Thanks for all the hints. I did have a bottle of electrolyte stuff - made by crystal lite. Maybe not the best, but powerade / gatoraid upsets my stomach. I'll have to look into getting the Cyclomax and Recoverite - thanks Jiffer. I've seen the Emergen-C in my local grocery, so I know I can get that, and I've used it before.... hummm to counteract regular bouts of heat exhaustion when I used to work in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, in the summer. Am I a glutten for punishment or what? Will add the three things to my shopping list, and see what I find first.

I've lived here 6 years, and been biking through the summers for the past 4. So I'm sort of used to the heat and humidity. :rolleyes: What's it like to ride in humidity less than 50%? I forgot.

I was thrilled to be able to hang with the big boys. It's been a long struggle to get my lungs to cooperate (EIA). Fortunately most of these guys don't do the weekly rides after work, so I won't be punishing myself to the same level. And one of the best riders does the weekly rides, will put in whatever pace you want, no matter which direction the wind is blowing. So if we want to be punished at 20, he'll do 20; and if I'm having trouble and need to pace at 16, he's slowed down, let me hide behind him until I recover, then pulls me at something faster. Too bad John is married...;)

That's pretty much how I feel when I get really dehydrated.

Definitely need to take in more electrolytes. I like emergen-c and I've also found the Airborne tablets to help.