Resting up vs. pushing too hard

[RolliePollie]

So yesterday evening I had my first real lesson in pushing myself to ride too much without any rest days in between. In the last 5 days, I've ridden roughly 80 miles...and none of this was flat or easy riding. That's a lot of miles for me. Anyway, last night I went on a group ride which included lots of climbing. I did not do so well! Super weak, dead legs and a tired shaky body! I felt like a big slug. I kept telling my legs to go, but they weren't listening. I had ridden this same route on Saturday and did pretty well. But I was fresh and rested up on Saturday!

Then after the ride, I literally crashed. Couldn't muster enough energy to fix myself something decent to eat (so I just had a bowl of cereal and a big glass of milk), and then went straight to bed. I'll tell you what...when I woke up this morning, I could've eaten a horse!!!

This was actually a very good experience for me. I'm learning about my body's limits and how hard I can push myself. For someone who has really never officially exercised before, it's fascinating to get more in tune with my body. Now I know that if I'm going to do a hard hill climb ride, I probably need 2 days off beforehand.

Evidently being all tuckered out doesn't impact the ability to fly down hills though...the best part of last night's ride was a new top speed...44.6 mph!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Whoa Sara, 44.6 mph????!!!!!

I didn't really ride big distances last year and didn't notice a need to rest. But this year I am averaging 106 miles per week and now I find that I really benefit noticeably from 1 or 2 rest days per week. I come back stronger than before when I take rest days.
Plus, I can get all the boring stuff like weeding and supermarket and cleaning done on my off-bike days!
I discovered last week that weeding uses totally different muscles than biking- now I can enjoy sore muscles in a whole set of NEW places!

[Zen]

Rest is an extremely important part of training.
i'm a big fan of rest

[Cardijn]

With an average 3-4 hour sleep a day. I have noticed a tremendous change in my reflex and thingking ability. since I got back my routine had been night check (watch standing at work) in Norfolk then off to oceana at 0500, a 30 min motorcycle ride, then off at 1500 another 30 min motorcycle ride, then I put my bike on my rack, drive 30 min then ride my mountain bike to a flat dirt road for 10 miles or so. drive back home, sleep for 3 or 4 hours if I'm lucky.

Sleep? what sleep? I miss sleep and rest

Just the other day I could not even add, subtrack or multiply Fractions. coz the night before that I did not have any rest.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

With an average 3-4 hour sleep a day. I have noticed a tremendous change in my reflex and thingking ability. since I got back my routine had been night check (watch standing at work) in Norfolk then off to oceana at 0500, a 30 min motorcycle ride, then off at 1500 another 30 min motorcycle ride, then I put my bike on my rack, drive 30 min then ride my mountain bike to a flat dirt road for 10 miles or so. drive back home, sleep for 3 or 4 hours if I'm lucky.

Sleep? what sleep? I miss sleep and rest

Just the other day I could not even add, subtrack or multiply Fractions. coz the night before that I did not have any rest.

Should you even be riding a motorcycle and driving a car under those conditions?? You could fall asleep and kill somebody!

[RoadRaven]

Then after the ride, I literally crashed. Couldn't muster enough energy to fix myself something decent to eat (so I just had a bowl of cereal and a big glass of milk), and then went straight to bed. I'll tell you what...when I woke up this morning, I could've eaten a horse!!!

This is a really normal and expected reaction and it is most excellent that you listened to what your body was saying.

After a good workout, you should eat a little, rest/sleep and then eat again.
Any good training book will tell you that this is a good way for your body to respond, and you should listen to what it tells you.

[agrsgrl]

I agree with Raven. This is normal. Especially if you just upped your miles. You'll find that the 80 miles a week gets easier after awhile.

I've gotten into taking a short nap when I get back from long/hard rides. Otherwise, I can't function either (and I'm quite cranky!). I also try to take at least one day off a week or I start to see my performance drop.

[RolliePollie]

Ahhhh....that's more like it!

After taking Thursday and Friday off from riding, I felt like myself again today! Just got back from a 24 mile ride, complete with my normal hills, and all went well. My legs felt strong again! I'm definitely going to do a better job of thinking ahead to plan riding vs. resting days. It certainly makes sense that your body needs time to rest and recover. Especially a body like mine that isn't used to all this!

[Jiffer]

You might also want to think about "recovery rides" after a hard ride. Just take the bike out and spin easy to get your legs moving, but not working hard. DH swears his muscles recover so much faster after running a marathon, riding a century or anything really strenous, when he does a recovery run or ride later that same day and/or the next.

I'm big on rest days, too. My legs are a little sore today from what I've done this week and I'm going on a tandem ride with DH later. I was planning on riding my single tomorrow, but I'll wait and see how I'm feeling after the tandem ride. I want to give my muscles a chance to recover.

Sounds like we're at a similar level. I ride 90-ish miles per week right now. I feel I'm doing amazing for me! Pushed myself to do a climb yesterday that I've only done on the tandem before. And it wasn't too horrible! That's a good thing!

By the way, you're doing a good thing learning to listen to your body. Along those same lines, you shoudl also be listening to how your body feels after certain foods. I find eating a banana before a morning ride works well for me. Eating something different may or may not affect my ride. When you have an especially hard time riding, think about what you ate that morning and the night before, how much sleep you got and, of course, if you simply need a rest.

[RolliePollie]

You might also want to think about "recovery rides" after a hard ride. Just take the bike out and spin easy to get your legs moving, but not working hard. DH swears his muscles recover so much faster after running a marathon, riding a century or anything really strenous, when he does a recovery run or ride later that same day and/or the next.

Sounds like we're at a similar level. I ride 90-ish miles per week right now. I feel I'm doing amazing for me! Pushed myself to do a climb yesterday that I've only done on the tandem before. And it wasn't too horrible! That's a good thing!

Oh Jiffer, I like knowing there's someone out there at about my same level! I'll be thinking about you when I'm out riding. I've never ridden a tandem though, so you've definitely got me beat there!

I'm struggling a bit with recovery rides. Because of the terrain around here, I can't avoid hills. Unfortunately there is really no place I can ride that would just be an easy spin. Even my short 10-11 mile loop has about 850 ft. of climbing. It sounds like I'm whining...but really I'm not! I am beginning to appreciate the topography around here because I know it's making me a stronger cyclist. But I feel like I have to look at other options if I want a recovery-type activity. So what I'm trying to do instead is go on walks after longer rides. It does seem to help keep the muscles loosened up. If I do a relatively hard ride in the morning, I try to walk 3-5 miles in the evening. And if I take a day off from cycling, I'll do a walk that day as well. I'm also trying out recovery drinks. Not sure I'm noticing a difference yet, but time will tell!

[Geonz]

I am also a big fan of "recovery rides," if only because I commute so I'm going to be riding every day. There are commutes where I work up a veritable lather; but if it's after a long day... then it's an early start and a low gear. I let the body dictate, although sometimes I'll be cruising and realize that I really could and should kick it up a bit. I am *strongest* after restful days. (Okay, I'm chomping at the bit!)

[Jiffer]

Unfortunately there is really no place I can ride that would just be an easy spin. Even my short 10-11 mile loop has about 850 ft. of climbing.

I have a lot of climbing here, too. The first thing I do when I turn off my street is go up hill, but I don't know how it compares to your . For my 12 mile standard ride, which I would typically do for a recovery, I start out at a 3% grade, which becomes 7.8% for a bit. Total climbing for that ride is about 600 feet. I used to think that it was impossible to go up that incline at a "recovery" pace. It just seemed that no matter what gear I was in, I'd be "working it", so might as well push harder and get it over with. However, I have learned that I can put it in a really easy gear, push fairly minimally and simply go really, really slow up that incline! But if the incline is a lot steeper, I don't know if that would still work for a recovery ride. Do you know what your incline percentage is?

I too am happy to meet someone with a similar ability. How fast do you ride? My "fast" ride today was 12 miles, with those inclines at 15.5 mph average. My last "long" ride was 25 miles and was a 14.9 average. I'm really motivated to get my speed up. I'm the slowest cyclist I personally know! I'm riding with a friend next week, who is a stronger rider. We've mostly only ridden tandem with our Dh's together. The only time we rode singles together was a short group ride where I was bringing up the rear and really working it, while she said it was a fairly easy ride for her! However, that was only my 2nd time out on my single and I know I'm already stronger since then, so I'm really curious how we'll do together. I'm sure she'll push me to do more than I normally would. She's already suggesting a really difficult ride. A 27 mile ride with a SERIOUS climb. I just did it for the first time on the tandem and can't even imagine doing it on my single yet ... but I'm actually thinking about going for it. We'll see!

[RolliePollie]

How fast do you ride? My "fast" ride today was 12 miles, with those inclines at 15.5 mph average. My last "long" ride was 25 miles and was a 14.9 average. I'm really motivated to get my speed up. I'm the slowest cyclist I personally know!

Well, now you know a slower cyclist!!!

Around here locally, I average about 12.7-13.7 for my longer 20-30 mile rides and up to 14.3 for my shorter 9-11 mile rides (I just made it to that 14.3 tonight...and strangely, I felt slow tonight!). I don't really know what % the inclines are, but sometimes I'm going about 3.5 mph in my granniest of granny gears. The last time I rode the wonderfully flat bike trail down in Sacramento, I was able to average 16.4. I'd like to get somewhat faster on my local rides but I seem to be pretty well stuck with these speeds. However, my stamina has improved dramatically (i.e. no rest stops versus 1-2 rest stops just a few weeks ago), so I'm very happy about that. What I'd really like to do is conquer a hill or two in my middle ring instead of my granny gears! But heck, that's what those grannies are there for, so I might as well use them, right?

[Flybye]

Because of the terrain around here, I can't avoid hills. Unfortunately there is really no place I can ride that would just be an easy spin. Even my short 10-11 mile loop has about 850 ft. of climbing. It sounds like I'm whining...but really I'm not!

I have a solution for the hills.
Step 1 - put your bike on rack on your car.
Step 2 - drive to the top of the longest hill.
Step 3 - loosen your car's battery terminal so that car will not start. Also DH or other person will not suspect your plan.
Step 4 - take bike off of rack and turn odometer on.
Step 5 - ride home down hill
Step 6 - eat a banana and have a glass of lemonaide while you call DH or other person to come fix your car
Step 7 - smirk the entire time and call it a recovery ride. recommend this method to other TE'ers.
Step 8 - go to the getting to know you post and insert this in the "what is the biggest lie that you have ever told" spot.

That's my 2 cents worth!!

[RoadRaven]

Oh Flyebye... too much!




I like... I like muchly!!!