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!

[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-nur...utter-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-nur...utter-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

[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

[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.