How Tired Are You After Riding?

[mimitabby]

funny you should post this b/c I am wasted today and wondering why... I'm almost 55 y/o and am riding about 100 miles a week, and sometimes - I don't know why - just dropping after a ride. I do a lot of major hills (live on a super-hilly island) so the mileage isn't all of it - I can do a brutal 20-mile ride with 6 substantial hills... At any rate, I did five consecutive days of 20-20-20-20-30, and today I'm empty. How much does age factor in?

Cat, i'm your age and live across the water in hilly Seattle .. 5 days of hard riding in a row would wear out a 20 year old. Do figure in days off.
Last year about this time i was riding every day and my legs were starting to hurt. Wise women here told me to cut back for 1 week and not do ANY vigorous riding. helped immensely.

[Crankin]

I have found that I need more rest every year. It's just not worth the extra time I end up taking off because I get sick, when I push myself too hard. I do something 5-6 days a week. I can't ride more than 4-5 days unless I've really prepared for it. I find that if I change my activities, including some weight work and yoga 2-3 times a week, I feel better and am stronger for riding.
Of course, I don't do the mileage that some of you do, but I do ride about 3,000 miles a year. But I am not doing centuries every week! For example, I did a metric yesterday and I took a rest day today. Tomorrow I am commuting, but I have a feeling I will be tired.

[OakLeaf]

Are you sure you're not overtraining? Have you checked your resting heart rate and looked at yourself honestly for other signs of overtraining?

Overtraining has to do with your life as a whole - it doesn't just happen to elite athletes. It has everything to do with the quality and quantity of your recovery.

Also, are you getting enough protein?

[cyclinnewbie]

Cat - I live not too far from you in super-hilly land. I can't ride any more than 4 days a week, or else I'm just wiped, then get a cold. I don't know why, just the way my body is. I do weights and some yoga classes at the gym 2 days a week, then just walk on my "rest" day. Even during the winter, I can't do more than 4 hard work-outs a week without getting sick. My mind wants to do more, but my body just can't do it. And I'm in my late 30's, so I don't know how much age really has to do with it. Maybe it's more genetics?

[jennrod12]

I read in another forum about a study done in Australia that said a 20-yr-old will take 6 hours to recover from a hard effort, while a 40-yr-old will take two days to recover from the same effort!

I used to feel really wiped out from my weekend rides (usually 3+ hours) and need a nap. Then all of a sudden that stopped. About that same time (okay, exactly that same time) I started drinking Cytomax on my rides instead of Accelerade. I'd like to think it's coincidence, and that really my fitness took a big jump, but I don't want to give up the Cytomax to find out.

Jenn

[Delta7]

Yesterday (Sun), we rode 57 miles of mostly intense hills and I felt great today. I was a little tired after the ride but not wiped out, like I have been before. I started using Recoverite from Hammer almost immediately after my longer rides this year and it seems to make a difference. I also drink Cytomax and take glucose tablets during the rides. Every now and then I'll have a clif shot blox (mostly 'cause their fun to eat !)

I started doing 30 minutes of yoga after my last couple rides, and I think it helps to relax my muscles, my sleep has been very good lately.

I rode to work (30 miles RT) twice during the week, Tu and Th (BTW) and took a couple days off, so Sunday I felt pretty refreshed.

[OakLeaf]

About that same time (okay, exactly that same time) I started drinking Cytomax on my rides instead of Accelerade.

Hmmm. Accelerade has whey protein and Cytomax has no protein. Could it be you're allergic to milk? Fatigue (both mental and muscular) is really the #1 symptom I get with allergies, particularly food allergies.

[indysteel]

it seems to me that some people seem to equate fewer hours sleeping to somehow being smarter or busier or just better (?) - I have never understood this, for I need sleep! When I run a lot and bike a lot I sleep more. This is how my body recharges and how I manage not to hurt myself. When I lose my precious sleep, I tend to get sick. Though having said that, six days a week of high intensity work outs is just begging to get hurt or sick! Your body needs time to recover. Even when I'm doing crazy miles running, my daily runs are kept pretty short (4-6 miles), and of fairly low intensity. Same goes for riding for me - If I'm going to do a century on the weekend in the hills, I keep my daily rides/runs pretty easy. Listen to your body and rest as needed - take two pieces of chocolate and let us know how you feel in the morning

60 Minutes recently aired a piece about sleep and the very strong misconception--especially in the U.S.--that being able to "survive" on less sleep is an indication of good health. The report essentially said that just the opposite is true. Even a modest amount of sleep deprivation can lead to a plethora of health problems and that we should, therefore, strive to get the recommended amount of sleep every night, i.e., 7 to 9 hours. The report also said that as we age, our sleep becomes less restful. Thus, even if we get the same number of hours of sleep, we may still feel sleep deprived. I dont' recall that they offered much of a solution to that.

I provided a link to a New York time article a few months ago about the effect of aging on endurance activities. I'll try to find that again. One comment that stood out is that older folks can and should strive to maintain the intensity of their workouts but should do fewer of them. In other words, you can handle the same intensity but need longer recovery times.

[indysteel]

Here's the link to my previous thread re: the NYT article.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...hlight=article

[Crankin]

Wow, I never thought about the whey protein in Accelerade. I use it because I think the protein is important for endurance, along with carbs, but I am allergic to it! No wonder my stomach hurts sometimes when I use it... Maybe I will try Cytomax.
I ride in a hilly area, too and think that takes it toll on my aging body. I can't imagine what it would be like to ride on flats all of the time. I have a treat when I start my ride somewhere other than my house and don't have to ride up my my street and driveway. Just like someone else posted, I want to ride more, longer, etc. but my body doesn't let me. I often walk on my rest day (s), along with stretching and yoga. I think some of this is the Fibromyalgia, but truthfully, I have always been this way, since I was in my 20's. Overtraining is not just for elite athletes. When I was about 34 and I was just starting to teach aerobics, I developed palpitations, and was a wreck because I was teaching 5 classes a week, 2 of them at 5 AM, not getting enough sleep, teaching high school, and caring for 2 little kids, when my husband was traveling for business all of the time. I got down to 92 pounds even though I was eating fine. Believe me, I learned my lesson!

[sundial]

Hmmm. Accelerade has whey protein and Cytomax has no protein. Could it be you're allergic to milk? Fatigue (both mental and muscular) is really the #1 symptom I get with allergies, particularly food allergies.

Good point, Oakleaf. You're on the ball!

[Flybye]

Hmmm. Accelerade has whey protein and Cytomax has no protein. Could it be you're allergic to milk? Fatigue (both mental and muscular) is really the #1 symptom I get with allergies, particularly food allergies.

Hmmm, I second what Sundial said. I don't stomach milk well and have been having protein drinks after my long rides. My tummy has been hurting and I didn't even consider that is might be MILK related. Hello???? Anyone home???

Is there a non milk based protein drink?

I also wanted to add that cycling is fun. It sometimes takes me awhile to figure out why I need a nap or am so fatigued and then it dawns on me "you are tired because you rode X# of miles and of course you need to give your body some extra rest." Riding is so fun that it seems like it shouldn't wipe me out!

[dachshund]

When I was in my mid-twenties I did a lot of centuries, 100K - 100 miles. I would come home, shower, drink coffee, and go on with my day. After I hit 30, I'd come home after one of these, shower, drink coffee, stretch out on the couch and go right to sleep!

When I started riding again a couple of years ago, I got all gung-ho and ended up eating too much before rides. My breakfast normally includes some good carbs anyway, so I realized I didn't need to eat anything extra.

These days, at 52, the balance is getting out there regularly - either riding or going to the gym, but including one or two days a week for rest. There's no way I could "work out" 7 days a week.

[shootingstar]

When I was in my mid-twenties I did a lot of centuries, 100K - 100 miles. I would come home, shower, drink coffee, and go on with my day. After I hit 30, I'd come home after one of these, shower, drink coffee, stretch out on the couch and go right to sleep!

When I started riding again a couple of years ago, I got all gung-ho and ended up eating too much before rides. My breakfast normally includes some good carbs anyway, so I realized I didn't need to eat anything extra.

These days, at 52, the balance is getting out there regularly - either riding or going to the gym, but including one or two days a week for rest. There's no way I could "work out" 7 days a week.

Interesting to read your experience over a long time period. I have nothing to compare prior to cycling return at 31 yrs. Prior to that I had not cycled for 12 years.

In my early 30's, I used eat less food prior to an early morning cycle : ie. be able to jump onto bike in 80-85F degree, humid summer day at least 80-85% humidity and cycle for 25 kms. in blazing sun, without stopping ..on just 1 c. of tea with abit of milk.

I can't quite do that anymore. I have to eat abit more for that same distance before I start cycling.


Flybye:
Agree that some rides are such fun/enjoyable that ...for me, I literally forget how dehydrated I get which probably contributes to my feelings of depletion. I will drink more fluid at the end and at supper, not during ride. Then next day after waking up, I wonder why I still feel abit dehydrated.

[bounceswoosh]

I'm only 30 ... the last several years I've found that after anything strenuous, I would just sack out on the couch the rest of the day. Could barely lift a finger to feed myself. I thought maybe it was just part of having Crohn's and that's how it would always be.

This year, I started seeing a nutrition counselor, and I am eating a lot more whole foods, and eliminated gluten and several other suspected allergens for me (soy, egg). I'm a lot more careful about random chemicals in my food. And I've noticed that I'm not nearly as tired as I used to be. Tired, yes. Useless, no.

So I'm definitely on board with the "take a look at what you're ingesting" camp.