Question from Hubby:

[Dogmama]

He is averaging about 4 miles of running per day for a seven day week and around 30ish miles everyday riding. Not to mention it's been super hot.

That's a lot! How old is he? Maybe he's beginning to become overtrained? Or, as I said before, maybe he's just a wuss. But I doubt it.

[spokewench]

In addition, to what he eats during the ride, one of the most important things is that he eats immediately after the ride. He needs better recovery. He may try a recovery drink right after the ride as well and this may help. It may also be because he is training a lot during the week and he just may be training too hard without enough off-time recovery time.

Do you train as much as he does during the week; maybe this is the difference between your strength on the weekends after the ride and his lack of?

There are a lot of variables that may be contributing to him being that tired.

[abejita]

We are both 37. I ride about 100-150 miles a week and I don't run (unless chased :-)

[lemondirgopie]

I'm no expert, but maybe replace the sugar in the homemade gatorade with honey? Personally I've never reacted well to real sugar (I immediately feel tired and strangely I get a lot of phlegm in the back of my throat). The sugar may not be the only reason he is crashing, but my guess is it's not helping. Honey is great because not only does it have plenty of nutrients but your body processes it differently, which could have an effect on how he is feeling.

I have a recipe for homemade gatorade that I got from a beekeeping seminar I attended, but can't seem find it. I think it was very similar to your recipe, without the lemon juice and the honey replacing the sugar. Since you already heat up your mixture it would be easy to add the honey. Sometimes I like to add a little bit of raw apple cider vinegar for the health benefits & taste, but of course that's all personal taste. If you want to add a little pick-me-up, brewing some green tea to add to the drink might be a good idea for the caffeine.

[OakLeaf]

I'm the opposite. I can't tolerate much fructose at all on a ride. That goes for everything from fresh fruit to honey to liquid Gatorade (the powder is made with sugar).

I'm also prone to hypoglycemia, but I have never had a problem during a workout. That's been discussed here before and I think it's the consensus among all of us who have those issues. Your body processes simple sugars very differently during hard exertion than it does when you're watching TV and eating bonbons.

[grey]

I had this issue about a month ago. For me it was overtraining for too many weeks in a row. I took a few days off, and when I got back on the bike, I wasn't dead after a ride. Before that - I would be useless the rest of the day. I would eat and then crash for several hours, and I do NOT have time for that! A day in between to rest was not enough (then). Right now it is fine, but I've also leveled off my miles and am in better shape than I was.

[Dogmama]

I had this issue about a month ago. For me it was overtraining for too many weeks in a row. I took a few days off, and when I got back on the bike, I wasn't dead after a ride. Before that - I would be useless the rest of the day. I would eat and then crash for several hours, and I do NOT have time for that! A day in between to rest was not enough (then). Right now it is fine, but I've also leveled off my miles and am in better shape than I was.

Same here. I've had some of my spinning students tell me that they're wiped out too. I think it's partly the oppressive heat & dehydration for them. I read that overtraining, for most people, is difficult to achieve but many of us under-recover. That means days off need to be pleasant - not running around doing errands, cleaning house, etc. I don't think most of us have that luxury, but maybe we can work in a half day here & there.