Help - weak as a kitten

portuguese mike

On the way to work this morning i really struggled into the slighest headwind (only 3-5 mph according to xcweather.com). i had a very easy day on monday and rest day yesterday so mormally i would have been flying this morning.

i did manage to do a respectable time on a short 500m 9% climb so i can't understand why i was doing a bout 2mph slower for a given heart rate & perceived exertion level than i would have expected.

i used to pretty much ride at tempo all the time but having read up a lot over the winter i have altered my training (since christmas) to include some interval sessions and easy days as well as taking it a bit easier on my long weekend rides (rather than pretty much go as fast fast as i can).Perhaps i'm taking a while to adjust to this new training regime - how long should it take to achieve noticible improvements? in the past i would definately notice a gradual improvement over the winter right up to the summer.

also i was planning on doing a 2 x 20 session tonioght - should i give a miss and take it easy?

BTW my initial targets for the year are the tour of wessex, the dragon ride and the etape.

La cucaracha

I've been rather lacking in power and strength, too. Normally I pretty much hibernate over winter so when I first get back on the bike I tend to find that my average speed is 1-2mph slower and my weight almost a stone less than at the height of summer, but usually this quickly corrects itself. This year, however, I'm still feeling really weak (despite having only lost about 3 or 4 pounds), my average speed is well below 15mph (which has never happened before) and I don't know how my aerobic fitness is because I feel as if I don't have the energy to ride at an intensity that gets my HR above 130bpm. And none of it's improving!

I'm also hoping to do the Tour of Wessex, but at this rate it's looking unlikely. If anyone has any possible explanations, please help!

Jeff Jones

I think it's a winter thing. Your power output is lower in the cold + the conditions ouside aren't ideal for fast riding so your speed takes a big knock. When it warms up, I find things improve by themselves even on exactly the same volume/intensity of training.

So don't panic or lose heart, by the time May comes around you'll be fine.

What I'm interested in, and can't find a definitive answer to, is if there's any point of training hard in the cold. Moderately hard is about as much as I can manage when it's -3 and freezing fog!

Say you've got a power meter and you can do 300W for an hour outside, but 330W for an hour on the indoor trainer - are you going to get more physiological benefits from training indoors than outdoors?

Alex_Simmons/RST

Jeff Jones wrote:

Say you've got a power meter and you can do 300W for an hour outside, but 330W for an hour on the indoor trainer - are you going to get more physiological benefits from training indoors than outdoors?

Overall, if you can train at a higher sustainable power in one scenario over another (and can also manage a similar overall volume), then yes there are more benefits but it also requires more recovery. I liken it a little to hyperoxic (oxygen enriched) efforts.

However, we don't race on trainers, so transferring those gains onto the road is an important consideration. If that power difference reduces as the weather improves, then nothing really much to worry about and you gain the benefit of reducing the likelyhood of picking up a cold/chest infection.

But I'm with you and is why I hate the fact that the State TT champs here are always mid bloody winter. OK I know you know it's not THAT cold but it is relatively speaking.

Jeff Jones

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

Overall, if you can train at a higher sustainable power in one scenario over another (and can also manage a similar overall volume), then yes there are more benefits but it also requires more recovery. I liken it a little to hyperoxic (oxygen enriched) efforts.

That makes sense. One way around it might be to up the volume of your intervals for a greater training effect. Erm, as long as you're able to handle it.

However, we don't race on trainers, so transferring those gains onto the road is an important consideration. If that power difference reduces as the weather improves, then nothing really much to worry about and you gain the benefit of reducing the likelyhood of picking up a cold/chest infection.

For me it's an easy choice because training indoors is not an option (have trainer, have bike, but downstairs neighbours would go spare). If I had one, I wonder what the optimal way of training for an early season event in the cold would be? I guess a combination of indoor/outdoor work rather than just indoors. There's got to be a research paper in that.

I'm just going to accept I'll be relatively slow for the first few races in March. Given that I never normally race until May (sometimes as late as August!) I will not be too disheartened.

But I'm with you and is why I hate the fact that the State TT champs here are always mid bloody winter. OK I know you know it's not THAT cold but it is relatively speaking.

That is annoying for a such a big race, yes. I'd love to have some of your winter temps at the moment though

Alex_Simmons/RST

I think it's simply a matter of which option you prefer/can do and therefore provides best motivation to maximise the overall training opportunity. Better something than nothing.

I have one client who does all winter rides on indoor trainer, including longer endurance efforts. I think they're nuts (in a good way) but when there's 2' of snow outside, what can you do? They actually prefer the trainer.

I have others that have a tolerance time limit indoors, so we just make good use of the time.

I'm a lousy indoor trainer normally (who needs to ride indoors when you live in Sydney?) but with my rehab I'm going to be doing more of it. So I'm building up a special trainer unit:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t449981.html

Cajun

One cause of your fatigue may be that you might be low (depleted) on Potassium.... try eating 3-4 bananas in an 8 hour period and see if that doesn't re-energize you... people seem to forget about the bananas during the cold season... (it certainly can't have any serious side effects...)
also: http://www.cptips.com/ovrtrng.htm

peanut

good advice cajun.
Its easy to become de-hydrated in the winter as a cold glass of water is about the last thing you want to drink.
Try some Hydrolyte ( rehydtration salts) from any chemist. Its Sodium and Potassium powderflavoured with fruit .
The other possibility is a virus

I do 2x 40 minute spinning sessions a week which is recorded on computer. Its very obvious when my performance drops and my heart rate increases occasionally for an identical session.There is usually a good reason for it

portuguese mike

Thanks for the responses, i think it may be a comination of the extreme cold yesterday morning (it was -2 degrees) because today i felt quite a bit better (6 degrees) and that i think i have a cold coming on.

Jeff Jones

portuguese mike wrote:

Thanks for the responses, i think it may be a comination of the extreme cold yesterday morning (it was -2 degrees) because today i felt quite a bit better (6 degrees) and that i think i have a cold coming on.

That's the other thing. If you're getting sick, you often notice it in your legs before the rest of the symptoms hit. Depends a bit on the nature of the illness.

flattythehurdler

I'd go steady if I were you. I posted on here a while back with a similar problem and the advice was to take it easy. I subsequently developed bone marrow suppression and myocarditis, from a virus I had picked up. Continued exercise could, apprently, have bben fatal. I'm still not quite out of the woods. Apparently it's quite common in fairly well trained people.
Still rare though, so don't worry , but if in doubt, I'd say rest up for a few days.