Sluggish Recoveries?

[Nokomis]

Thanks Mags - that article helped! Explains a lot of other soreness I was experincing.

I rode in spin class twice this week, then got out w/ the club this morning. It was mainly a climbing ride, but I felt strong. I do notice that my quads still are pretty sore, but it's better than what I was feeling when I first posted this thread. Recoveries are getting a little quicker, and I am not overwhelmed by feeling like a slug

Thanks again for all the tips & advice!

[Pedal Wench]

Is the problem throughout your ride? I wonder if you're not getting in enough time to warm up before you hit the problem area.

[Nokomis]

It's any point on the ride.

I do think I might be getting better - should get a good test in tonight. Last ride was mostly hills, so wasn't a fair test.

[RoadRaven]

Maybe I read this thread too quickly, but no body seemed to mention lactic acid... my apologies if I completely missed someone's post

The first thing I thought, Nokomis, when I read your first post is that you are reaching your lactate threshold. When you feel your thighs burn and ache and hear them saying "no way are we gonna take you any further" and you feel like you are beating them in submission to make them take you over the crest, that is a build up of lactic acid.

I like being able to recognise this, and if you have a HR monitor, as previously mentioned in this thread, you can work out where your LT is... once you know this, you can set yourself a steady pace and climb under that heart rate and the hill is achievable without too much discomfort.

For example, I know my LT is when my heart reaches about 160 beats per minute (bpm), so when I climb I try and stay under that even if it means others pass me.

The trick is to get to the top in a state that you can still ride in. In race situations I get into a rythym and pace myself up a hill, even though I watch people pass me. If i tried to saty with the faster ones my legs would be shot by the top and it would take me 5-10 minutes to recover and disperse the lactic acid. However, by pacing myself I only lose 30 seconds - 1 minute going up, time I know I can easily recover going downhill and on flats.

As people ride away from you it looks much worse than it is. They may only be going 1-2km faster than you, but it can seem like 10!

Pace yourself, keep having a go at hills and you will see your hill strength increase. Be patient, it takes time, but it happens.

[cherinyc]

I can't figure out how to search for info on what happens to me after I go on a strenuous ride.
Everytime I have been on one of those rides where, by the end I am dying to get off the bike - heavy exersion, something happens to my bowels afterwards. I am thinking there is something chemical going on, but I can't figure out the appropriate terminology to look it up on any website.

Basically...Saturday, go on hard bike ride. Sunday into early Monday, have to go to the bathroom many many times.

What's up with that? (I'm probably alone in this - just setting myself up for more embarassment)

[Geonz]

I know short-term that running activates the bowels, but long-term... sounds more like something in the eating habits. The lactic acid buildup is in the leg muscles, which shouldn't do anything to the gastrointestinal system.
Bet your search got you some fascinating places...

[CyclChyk]

Everytime I have been on one of those rides where, by the end I am dying to get off the bike - heavy exersion, something happens to my bowels afterwards.

I am no doctor or nurse, but it sounds to me like IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It used to happen to me quite frequently when I got over-heated (which is really bad considering I live in the south). It can be brought on by a number of things: diet; heat; stress; koolaid; chocolate; excessive yard work..... There is medication you can take (OTC or prescription) but you can also learn to control it thru trial and error and lots of experimentation (for example, I take lots of cold showers in the summer). Also red wine and grape juice have soothing effects on the tummy when IBS hits.

Hope its just a fluke for you because if it is IBS, you pretty much are stuck with it for life. You eventually find a way to live with it so it doesn't affect everyday life, but its definately annoying.