newbie, exhausted AFTER ride?

OK, I am new to cycling, been at this about a month. I've been doing 10-13 miles a day as minimum (time restrictions mostly), to build up stamina and strength, been off 4 days. Went out today to find that 13 miles was a piece of cake! Had to push to get any real workout at all, and was feeling I'd made progress. Got done, fine, got home, CRASHED. I needed a NAP! I was exhausted. Any idea what this means? I would like to ride my bike to work, (which is why I'd like for 20 miles to be a piece of cake), but I can't go to work and take a nap! LOL!

Bikerchicks2

What's your diet like? You're not restricting carbs are you? If so, that may be part of the problem. Did you have a good breakfast before you went out?
Otherwise,you may be pushing yourself too much, trying to do too much too soon.

Whatever your time constrictions are see what distance you can comfortably do in that amount of time without feeling exhausted.
stay at that pace/mileage for a week. The next week increase your mileage by ten percent for the same amount of time.
And make sure your body has enough fuel for the trip.
There are lots of threads here that reference proper nutrition for distance riding.

Keep us posted, I'd like to hear how things improve for you!

Sounds like you put out a lot of effort and you were tired. Your body "pushed" those 13 miles after you decided your regular pace was too easy, and then said "OK, time for me to build muscle because the muscles sent the fatigue signal, so now you take a nap so I can do that."

We build muscle when we rest. Effort and exercise set up the signals to the muscle-building system. At the next restful opportunity the muscles build. (Like during your 4-day break.)

I bet when you do that 20 miles at a "not pushed" level of effort, you will find that they are a "piece of cake", too!

Knot-who-just-woke-up-from-a-nap-after-riding-45-miles.

Yes, made sure I ate well before going, probably more so than before. I just thought it was something I should be expecting that I wasn't. And I do hope that it meant that I was building muscle, cause I gotta tell ya, that would be a GREAT trade off for all the flab I have stored up! LOL!
I have kept a bike log on my PC. I record everything, mileage, how I feel that day, weather, and measurements, (not everyday on those though!).
So, in the first month, I have recorded and lost some in inches, but gained about 4 lbs! So I went with the muscle weighs more than fat excuse, and I can definately feel muscle definition beginning. So if needing to sleep after a workout is what I need right now, then so be it!
Thanks for the input. I thought maybe I was missing something else!

bikerchick2

My body seems to want to nap after a bigger ride too, or when I ride a bit more than usual on a given day.

So, I'll curl up in my favorite chair, with my blankie, and start some knitting, until I nod off. DH will be watching TV, and keeps after me: KNIT dammit! My body has a hard time beating the war for the nap (it tries hard, and he tries hard to wake me, dang it!) This means my lovely nap gets interrupted a lot, and takes much longer to accomplish than it would if he'd just let me nap!

Seems hard to wake from my post-ride naps, but when I grab a handful of salty crunchies, either nuts or some kind of chips, what an amazing cure! To that, I add some gatorade-type beverage, usually Propel...

Think a salty snack and electrolyte beverage might get you back in the game?

Karen in Boise

BC2 - Yeah, I find it's better to pay no attention to the scale and instead pay attention to how my clothes fit. (and how strong I feel on the bike! It's quite a thrill to get up a hill with short walking breaks that before I had to walk up the entire way)

I think, as the others have mentioned, that it is quite normal to feel tired after such an effort. I've also found that it is really important to eat something immediately after a ride. I'm a big fan of Balance bars for just this purpose.

My DH used to tell me I'm "worthless" after a ride. (He didn't mean it in a bad way). But most of the time I just wanted to take a nap after riding. Now that I've been drinking a glass of chocolate milk after my rides I seem to have more energy and don't need the naps as much as before. You could try that after your rides...it might help.

eat a banana and/or drink OJ and lots of water.

And yes I'm totally worthless after a good ride. nappy time

smilingcat

with the being really tired thing after a ride - since you've only been riding for a month, your body could still just be adjusting to the demands and stresses of the sport and is nothing out of the ordinary. your body probably got a little bit of shock from the 4 days off and then a harder than normal ride for you. perhaps you didn't have enough carbohydrates in your system and most of your glycogen stores were used up...could be not having enough electrolytes...could be that you pushed at a higher intensity for a longer time than usual. this causes your body to create a higher demand for physiological adaptations and will effect you by being tired, sore, hungry, etc. these are all good things because they're signs that you put a higher stress on your body and it therefore needs to adapt to handle these additional stresses (i.e. you get better).

there are many possibilities as to what caused you to totally crash after your ride but i think it's mainly because you're still new and your body is still getting used to it. when i have rides that are above my normal intensity or volume, i get tired too! it's normal. it's okay :)

I often feel very sleepy after a hard workout as well. When this happens, I always recall my sister telling me how when she and her husband started running and doing 5k's, they would come home and crash. They now do Marathons, and I'm sure they crash after doing those, but not after doing the 5k's anymore. The stronger your body gets, the more it takes to exhaust you like that.

I also recall many a time coming downstairs in the morning to find my husband crashed on the couch after having gone running or cycling. That doesn't happen very much anymore and he's going stronger than ever.

Always remember to give your body protein after a hard workout. Protein is great for quicker healing of those sore muscles. I'm not a nutrition expert, but you should look into this. I just know my husband hands me a drink of some sort he mixed up after a long ride and says, "Drink this within the next 20 minutes." And I obey! It's a recovery drink of some sort. There are lots out there.

I meant to respond to this thread a few days ago (in fact, I thought I had... hmmm... where'd my post go???)

Anyways...
Just wanted to add that remember to have a nap or rest after a good workout is a natural part of your body's recovery from the the demands you have placed on it.

After a solid or long ride, you should typically want to eat something, and then want to shut your eyes or just blob for half an hour or so.
Very natural and very important in the development of your fitness.

Effective recovery is as important as the workouts themselves.

When I started running in my lunch hour I would also nearly fall asleep at my desk. 20 miles is not a joke. You may want to make 20 miles feel easy before taking this on as a commute. It will come quickly.

happy to hear your riding.

on your days off the bike instead of utter resting add 20-30 mins of weight training to continue building your muscles and go for a walk around the block for fresh air.

When I first started two years ago even until today if i stay out of the saddle for a few days and have no physical exercise of any nature i'm wasted on the next return ride. in addition, prepare a recovery drink, gel, bar for the return ride home, and prepare raw veggies and protein meal for arrival home.

Accelerade, Endurox and almost any CLIF product are fabulous for me.

Stay hydrated out there everyone.

Final Note: come to bikejournal.com and join the TeamEstrogen Club.

I have done century rides where after I'm ready for more and can stay up all night and I have done 20 milers where afterwards I'm exhausted. So many factors to consider and after you gain some experience you know how certain things affect your ride:

Nutrition before during and after a ride: What you eat even days before a ride can affect your performance. What you use during the ride to keep your electrolytes and stamina up and keep you from getting dehydrated is very important. After a ride you should replenish your body with protein and good carbs. Something like V8 juice is good.

Hydration: Nothing make me more exhausted than poor hydration. If its hot out I tend to not do as well. Cool weather I can ride forever. I can climb like a billy goat. Hot out, I am a slug. Some people are just the opposite.

Too little or too much training: Of course too little training will affect performance but too much will as well. You might feel great the first coulpe of rides but then it all catches up with you. I always feel best the first ride after a slight layoff.

Other things like road conditions can be a factor. Was it breezy one day and nto the next? Are the roads slick, were there alot of hills or was the ride flat.

No one expect every ride to be the same. I never know what to expect. That's the thrill of getting out and giving it go. I have learned,however, after my ride to not come right home and veg. I get home, shower, and then start doing all my chores. I find if I engage myself I start to feel better. If I immediaitely hit the couch then I'm a slug the entire day.

The first picture (not posed) was taken of me after an 18 mile ride in February. The second around mile 34 of 40 last week...