Dead Legs & Tired After Long Rides

Ok, I've been struggling with this for a bit so I'll put it to you ladies.

In June I started picking up my milage a bit. I went from riding twice a week to 3-4 times and I'm up to 100-125 miles a week. Regardless of if I'm riding 15 miles or 50, my quads feel like lead when I'm done.

I ride 2-3 times during my lunch during the week, averaging between 12-15 miles. I eat a cup of yogurt before I ride (since it's lunch time and I'm starting to get hungry) and drink plenty of water in the morning and I bring 20oz with me. I stretch before I ride but admit to poor stretching afterwards because I'm hurrying to get back to work.

My Saturday ride is my long ride. I stretch better before and after (even using "the stick"), eat 300-400 calories for bkfast and 100 calories per hour on the bike, not including my energy drink. I struggle to down 24 oz/hour of beverage on the bike, I'm usually a little under and I take one electrolyte tablet per hour. My recovery drink is a glass of chocolate milk regardless of my time on the bike.

I'm training for a century. I'm up to 50 miles for my long ride. I'm planning a 60 mile ride this weekend (organized ride) which is a 10 mile mileage hike and I'm expecting to be sore. My questions are these:

Why do my quads feel like lead regardless of my ride length?

Am I taking in enough calories on the bike for my long rides and before my lunch rides? I am still trying to drop 10 pounds so I'm thinking this might be an issue. You're gonna ask me how many calories I'm taking in per day right? I need to log a few days again to make sure, but I believe I'm around 1800.

About 3-4 hours after my long rides I'm wiped out and ready for a nap! Is this normal? I don't remember feeling like this last summer. This is only my second year riding and my longest ride ever is 64 miles so I'm getting up to my PR. I was a little heavier last year but I felt I rode stronger then and didn't have these issues.

Any advice would be appreciated. TIA!

i'll tell you what the gals told ME when my quads were burning every day.
(and i'll let someone else discuss food issues because i'm still clueless there)

NO PUSHING for 1 week!! no hard rides. No hard climbs. take it easy for 1 week.
And then ... your legs will be better. It worked for me!

I think the tiredness could be from not enough protein or good carbs. When I overexert I get that symptom of being wiped out and needing a nap, too, but only when I don't eat right.

I don't think a container of yogurt before a ride is enough to sustain you, even on a short lunch ride. I usually eat a big bowl of oatmeal with a handful of raisins and walnuts for breakfast before I ride.

I've determined to ride more this week, so I rode last night as well as yesterday morning. (The morning ride was cut short because dh broke a spoke.) At midnight last night I was still awake, and I started getting really hungry! I never eat past 7 or so--just not hungry. I had a peanut butter foldover at 12:15. When I woke up at 6 am, I wasn't hungry but I wanted to ride again in the cool morning air. I had another PB foldover and a glass of milk before I left. That carried me through the ride, but by half hour afterwards, I was starving. I had Kashi cereal (not my usual--cereal doesn't last long with me anyway).

By 11:30 I was starving again. I think I've staved off the nappy feeling today by having a big salad with some chicken and lots of not-lettuce veggies. But I definitely need to lay off riding until tomorrow evening. This morning's ride had that lead feeling and I don't want to feel tired the rest of the day just so I can ride more.

I know you're trying to lose weight, but try fortifying your diet with more nutrient dense foods. Add nuts for a snack if you're not eating them already. And you probably do need a rest week.

Karen

Two thoughts come to mind immediately.

First, you might not be allowing enough time in between rides to allow for recovery. I struggle with this one. You just can't push it every single day without allowing time for your muscles to rebuild.

Second, it doesn't sound like you're eating enough immediately after your rides. I do a recovery drink immediately, but I still need food - a real meal, with some protein. Otherwise, I'm hungry and run down for the rest of the day.

yeah, it's kind of funny, after we got home from our challenging ride this weekend, DH said to me; "are you hungry?" no, not really. I was just tired, i told him. so i laid down and settled into a good book and he came out a little later
with this incredible meal that he whipped up...
I couldn't believe how quickly I ate it! ALL of it. a heaping plate full of salmon salad, mixed bean/rice/veggie salad
shortly after that i had energy again (hmm!) and got up and cleaned the kitchen.

I have a related question--on a long ride, say a century or so, how often do you eat? I've done one actual century, and one almost century (stopped at mile 80, unfortunately the last loop went one mile from my house and the temptation as too great). Both times, I NEVER felt hungry. I was with someone who reminded me to eat. Now I want to attempt a century on my own, which may be one of the all time dumb things I've ever done, but my greatest concern is that I won't know when to eat.

What do you think? A snack every 2 hrs until I'm done? Does it matter how much I eat, so long as I choke something down and it doesn't come back?

more than every two hours. and sit down if you can and have a real meal in the middle. otherwise, you never catch up!

2 things come to mind for me...

1) Are you eating enough carbohydrates?

2) What's your cadence?

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

First, you might not be allowing enough time in between rides to allow for recovery. I struggle with this one. You just can't push it every single day without allowing time for your muscles to rebuild.

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And you also need to build in easy/rest weeks. You don't benefit if you do the same thing all the time, week in and week out. Do a search (here or in google) on periodization. Though I'm sure there are some gals here that can provide a wealth of info on it (me: not an expert, but know that it was built into my training regime last year when I was actually training for something, and belive that it actually worked!).

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

i'll tell you what the gals told ME when my quads were burning every day.
(and i'll let someone else discuss food issues because i'm still clueless there)

NO PUSHING for 1 week!! no hard rides. No hard climbs. take it easy for 1 week.
And then ... your legs will be better. It worked for me!

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Mimi, I tried this last week, but even my easy flat rides left my legs feeling like lead. Of course, I will let the numbers speak for themselves. I did notice that my "easy" rides my mph ave is just slightly below my regular average. I think I will need to force myself to ride slower.

For food, I do eat nuts for snacks, yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese, cheese and crackers and an occasional South Beach bar. After my lunch rides I obviously eat my lunch and after my long rides I drink my milk, shower, then eat a meal. The only days I ride back-to-back are Saturday and Sunday. Long ride;recovery ride. HTH.

Oh, and on the bike I eat every half hour. My current faves are sport beans, clif blocks, fig newtons and mini salted nut rolls. My energy drink choice is Sustained Energy.

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Originally Posted by mtbdarby

For food, I do eat nuts for snacks, yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese, cheese and crackers and an occasional South Beach bar. After my lunch rides I obviously eat my lunch and after my long rides I drink my milk, shower, then eat a meal. The only days I ride back-to-back are Saturday and Sunday. Long ride;recovery ride. HTH.

Oh, and on the bike I eat every half hour. My current faves are sport beans, clif blocks, fig newtons and mini salted nut rolls. My energy drink choice is Sustained Energy.

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it doesn't sound to me like you're getting enough grams of carbohydrates. i really think that's your problem. for the amount of riding you do, you should be taking in a few hundred grams per day. it doesn't seem like you're getting much at all.

for the next week, try taking in as much carbohydrates as you can. it's your body's MAIN SOURCE OF FUEL for cycling. after a week, you should absolutely feel much more alive, peppy, and ready to go.

Peanutbutter and jelly (or honey) sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk. The best pre- and post-ride meal in my book. ;)

Some guy at BikeJournal is freezing pbj sandwiches, cutting them in bite-sized pieces, and eating them on his ride! Sounds like the perfect take-along fuel for a long ride.

I went from 60 miles this spring to 100 miles two weeks ago without riding at all through the week. I hardly have the time.

I run perhaps twice a week (see training log). I did perhaps 4-6 rides of 60 miles since March, and a few 30-40 milers in between. I upped it once to 120K, then went the full monty the next week. depending on terrain, ymmv. This is my third season riding and I can ride 4 out of 6 days in a training camp, but not in real life.

Take a week off, you are killing yourself. When's the event?

Recovery rides should be flat, high cadence, HR not over 120, maybe an hour. I prefer a swim or a very slow jog not over 30 minutes.

I agree that you may need to have a better post-ride meal. A yogurt is probably plenty to keep the stomach rumbling at bay for an hour ride (which is what I am assuming you are doing at lunch?). I use a granola bar for my lunch rides. BUT, you should eat a real meal within 30 minutes of the end of your ride. I notice that if I don't, particularly on long rides, I'm wiped out within an hour or two.

We often do our long rides in the country which means that we may be driving 45 minutes or so to the start. When we do that, I always leave something in the car for me to eat right away because if I wait until I get home, it's too late and my energy is non-existant for the remainder of the day. For the immediate post ride 'meal' I shoot for a 4:1 carb to protein ratio and about 150 - 200 calories which seems to work well for me. I too am still trying to lose weight, so it's a tough balance to find the right intake that doesn't leave me weak!

The only other idea that occurs to me is related to something I recently experienced. How is your bike fit? Have you been professionally fit? Have you changed anything since last year? I just recently had a professional fit and she raised my saddle signficantly. I now use more of my whole leg where as before, I was using predominantly my quads. I rarely get the cement quad feeling from biking anymore (and I notice my leg soreness is more well rounded).

Lastly, take a few days off and see if that doesn't get your legs back to feeling good (like 3-4 days at least).

Good luck!!

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

I have a related question--on a long ride, say a century or so, how often do you eat? I've done one actual century, and one almost century (stopped at mile 80, unfortunately the last loop went one mile from my house and the temptation as too great). Both times, I NEVER felt hungry. I was with someone who reminded me to eat. Now I want to attempt a century on my own, which may be one of the all time dumb things I've ever done, but my greatest concern is that I won't know when to eat.

What do you think? A snack every 2 hrs until I'm done? Does it matter how much I eat, so long as I choke something down and it doesn't come back?

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On a century, I like to eat something every 20 miles or so. Times out about right with when I need more water too, and usually the bathroom breaks. The trick on a century is to start eating right away. If you wait until later in the ride, you'll never be able to keep up with the calorie deficit.

I know everyone has been talking about food and nutrition (they are probably right), Have you made any adjustments to your seat, cleats, or any changes. I find that if I am 1mm different, a different part of my leg will get tired. Just throwing this out to you.

You're eating about 1800 calories a day?

Sounds to me like you simply aren't eating enough. 1800 calories a day might be fine for a sedentary woman trying to lose some weight, but not for an active woman. Especially on the days where you ride long miles.

I transport my bike back and forth from work to home so something could have shifted. I did break my seat post bolt a few months ago and I'm pretty sure I did not put it back in the exact spot. I actually recall lowering the seat a tad because I felt like I was reaching on the pedals. Lately I've been tipping my seat a mm at a time because my girlie bits have been hurting.

I think I will log my food on fitday for the next couple days and see how my nutrition looks. Meanwhile, the wrench at work said he'd take a look at my fit and I'll see what he thinks (he ran a bike shop for 13 years but is no longer currently doing that - obviously!).

Thanks ladies! I had to get some ideas because Saturdays ride just ended up being no fun for the first time ever and I don't want that to happen again.

Someone asked when my ride was. This weekend I have a 60 mile ride planned in Partyville. The following weekend is the Paper Fest ride and I've actually been contemplating doing a century then. Otherwise I'll do the 73 mile loop. Then that would push my first century back to August 26th. At what point are you ready for a century??

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Originally Posted by mtbdarby

Then that would push my first century back to August 26th.

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Cream City? Nice ride, although I've only ever done the metric with "that hill" in it.

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Originally Posted by mtbdarby

At what point are you ready for a century??

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Here's hoping you get some good answers. This spring, I, too, found myself lagging after rides. I really don't think I was overdoing or increasing mileage too fast, yet I was getting more and more tired. At the same time DH (who is usually the less strong rider) was passing me and looking bored. I pulled back and a few week later the tables were turned. Turns out I had picked up a virus with mono-like symptoms and passed it on to DH.

Thus, we missed our first window for his first century (and my first in 20+ years) because of me and then we missed our second option because of him. Now we're shell-shocked to push the mileage back up again. So, yes, when are you ready for a century?

When I was doing century training earlier this year, I started using a 5 day a week schedule with steadily increasing miles. With every thing else I have going on, it was too much for me. I cut it down to 4 days and my legs were much happier.

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Originally Posted by Thorn

Cream City? Nice ride, although I've only ever done the metric with "that hill" in it.

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Yep! Cream City was my first choice but Paper Fest is on July 21st and it's on my radar. I turn 40 on August 2nd so I was shooting for my first century around that date as a milestone and celebration:p

Southern Belle - my time doesn't allow for 5 days of training either, so I'm training on 3-4 times per week. I also don't feel like I've increased my mileage in excess, and I tapered back last week. So I'll check bike fit and nutrition. My current training plan only has my long rides up to 65 miles then the century, which is why I asked when you're ready for one.

GLC was right - I made a slight saddle adjustment and my legs feel tons better! I did 65 miles yesterday and my legs feel fine other than slightly sore. So yeah! Thanks for all your help:D