Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
+1 to everything, but...
I know now that I need more recovery time, as I age. I hate to admit this, but it's true. Even if I eat perfectly, drink, and all the stars line up, I have to be careful, or I send my body into overdrive. Now, I am prone to over training syndrome (since a young age), but now, I have to take 2 rest days a week. Usually, one of them is an active recovery, like walking or yoga, but some weeks it's 2 full days off. I find that since i added in the boot camp, the recovery is even more important. For example, Friday I did a short ride, Saturday, a fast 40 mile ride, with small rolling hills. Sunday, I took a 3 mile moderate hike, and yesterday I went to boot camp. I started feeling horrible yesterday after boot camp; my immune system is in overdrive, as usual. I should have skipped the hike on Sunday, even though it was a "recovery" activity. When I do a fast, hard effort for me, I need more time. It's either this, or not be able to do all of the stuff I love.
+1 to what Crankin said.

The need for recovery time is one of the most important things I learned when I returned to cycling at age 58.

In addition, it's quite normal to feel tired if you more than doubled your usual mileage on the 34-mile ride. If you increase you distance gradually, you should be able to handle longer rides with no problem as long as you schedule rest days.